The National Review Online has excerpts of Sarah Palin’s prepared remarks. From the small sample of passages provided, one can infer that her speech will in part be about defining herself as hailing from a place that isn’t Washington.
“I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town. I was just your average hockey mom, and signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids’ public education better. When I ran for city council, I didn’t need focus groups and voter profiles because I knew those voters, and knew their families, too. Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown. And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves. I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities.” …
“I’m not a member of the permanent political establishment. And I’ve learned quickly, these past few days, that if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone. … Here’s how I look at the choice Americans face in this election. In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.”
Every four years a fresh set of candidates promises to lay siege to Washington. Barack Obama himself has adopted the role of a kind of exotic Mr. Smith coming to Washington; and so as we see does Sarah Palin. Both present themselves as outsiders. But the media, which wants them to be “rebels” also demands they possess “experience”. So both say they have “experience”. But how can a candidate simultaneously be an insider and outsider at one and the same time?
One answer apparently, is to create a parallel country; a place of alternate belonging to which the candidate can claim to represent. In that way the candidate can be experienced in government — but only as an infiltrator — and simultaneously be a person from somewhere else. Mickey Kaus at Slate has watched the emergence of the “other country” in political speech. Even John McCain has said he wants “to understand what you’re going through, to stand on your side and fight for you … to make government stand on your side and not in your way.” The phrase ‘who goes there?’ echoes in the paranoid corriders of Washington, the capital’s version of Chicago’s ‘who sent you?’ The National Organization of Women, reacting to the nomination of Sarah Palin noted that “Gov. Palin may be the second woman vice-presidential candidate on a major party ticket, but she is not the right woman.” And ‘the right kind of woman’ is of course, what NOW feels itself qualified to determine.
Joe Lieberman’s lonely appeal at the RNC for all voters to consider themselves Americans first, instead of Democrats and Republicans has the kind of wistfulness found in Macaulay’s longing for simpler times in his Lays of Ancient Rome, a nostalgia for the days before the mythical fall. But maybe the reality is more complex. Perhaps there was never a Golden Age of harmony. From its inception the United States has been the scene of endless conflict to define itself: from civil wars to marches into the wilderness to found a city of God and has never since stopped. Maybe this place of contention, marketplace of ideas and tumultous chorus has always been home, and no one would have it any other way.
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225 Comments
1. Eggplant:I presume the speech was written by a McCain staff member of a sort like Peggy Noonan. Given that Sarah Palin reads speeches for a living, she should do a convincing job. Where Palin will be tested is when she debates Biden. That will be “interesting”.
Hopefully by the time Palin debates Biden, the Messiah’s poll numbers will be low enough that the debate won’t be important.
Sep 3, 2008 - 5:11 pm 2. nichevo:Why worry about debating? How long do you think it will take Biden to cut his own throat?
Sep 3, 2008 - 5:17 pm 3. RattlerGator:But how can a candidate simultaneously be an insider and outsider at one and the same time?
By being in the place but not of it, that’s how (and, of course, the media isn’t demanding any “experience” from Barack Obama). Peggy Noonan, with her slip-up today, provided a good media example of someone in and of the place. Barack Obama is clearly in and of; John McCain, less so.
Sarah Palin will be the closest we’ve had in many a day who will legitimately be in it but not of it. Still, she’s enough of an “insider” that she has been selected for the ticket and has thus spooked the hell out of D.C., including some Republicans there.
Soldier on, Governor Palin, soldier on.
Sep 3, 2008 - 5:22 pm 4. Willard:Robert Shalhope, writing in 1982 on the Ideological Origins of the Second Amendment, describes the basis of – and necessity for – the cultivation of “good republican (small r) stock” to help ensure the very survival of colonial America. Ms. Palin seems cut from this same cloth, as kind of a throwback figure:
As a result we now recognize the importance of “republicanism,” a distinctive universe of ideas and beliefs, in shaping contemporary perceptions of late-eighteenth-century American society. Within such a political culture thoughts regarding government were integrated into a much larger configuration of beliefs about human behavior and the social process. Drawing heavily upon the libertarian thought of the English commonwealthmen, colonial Americans believed that a republic’s very existence depended upon the character and spirit of its citizens. A people noted for their frugality, industry, independence, and courage were good republican stock. Those intent upon luxury lost first their desire and then their ability to protect and maintain a republican society. Republics survived only through the constant protection of the realm of Liberty from the ceaselessly aggressive forces of Power. America would remain a bastion of Liberty, in stark contrast to the decadent and corrupt societies of Europe, only so long as its people retained their virility and their virtue.
Sep 3, 2008 - 5:24 pm 5. NahnCee:Peggy Noonan is not only a Bubblehead but a bobblehead, and has laid firm claim now to the “crazy aunt in the attic” title heretofore held by Helen Thomas.
Noonan has increasingly been playing Chicken Little the last year or two, as she’s edged over into Bush Derangement Syndrome. I’ve been trying to decide if the issue with her is that Bush simply is not Reagan, or if she’s annoyed tht she’s no longer part of the inner circle. To that list of possible Noonan issues, I think I will now add “aging anti-feminist”.
As for Palin’s speech, I think she needs to add a paragraph telling the American people that she’s got a big ol’ oil well all picked out in Alaska, just brimming with black gold and ready to spew forth in a way that will make Saudi Arabia look like backwards pikers, and if the Dem’s will just get off their arugula-chewing butts and give the word, drilling can start tomorrow.
Sep 3, 2008 - 5:41 pm 6. filbert:Never forget Wasilla, Governor Palin . . .
Go with Godspeed to Washington, kick some butt, take some names . . .
Sep 3, 2008 - 5:57 pm 7. The Ratnest » Blog Archive » The Golden Age:[...] good ol’ days weren’t that good, but it’s who we are. Perhaps there was never a Golden Age of harmony. From its inception the United States has [...]
Sep 3, 2008 - 5:58 pm 8. Dr. Sanity:Things are not always what they seem-or at least how they are ‘reported’ or youtubed. Noonan explains here:
Sep 3, 2008 - 5:58 pm 9. cjm:http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=M2IyOTRlNGIxNTY4OTZkZjllZWYzYzkwNDRhOTYwYTc=
noonan can make excuses all she likes, but she is done with a capital B. personally i think it’s egg envy.
Sep 3, 2008 - 6:11 pm 10. RattlerGator:Dr. Sanity, I’m not buying it.
Things were EXACTLY as they appeared, which is why she rushed that explanation into the Wall Street Journal. Too late, baby girl, too late.
Sep 3, 2008 - 6:24 pm 11. coyotl:Here’s the youtube that Rattlegator and others are referencing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq4sOM4tpno
While Noonan’s “it’s over” is subject to interpretation (see Dr. Sanity’s link above), it’s harder for her to disavow the “bullsh*t” statement.
Sep 3, 2008 - 6:24 pm 12. highlandpeat:C’mon yinz guys. Peggy’s already apologized for her “off mike remarks” (see the Corner)She’s the real deal…now onto Sarah America’s speech tonight. A “grand slam” from what I’ve seen in the “leaks” so far…I pray she delivers. As Theoden says in LOTR “And so it begins”
Sep 3, 2008 - 6:28 pm 13. slade:Sally Quinn makes Peggy Noonan look like Ann Coulter.
Sep 3, 2008 - 6:28 pm 14. Ken:Sorry, not good enough for me. The fact that she would think that Hutchinson would be better than Palin–or, for that matter, that Lugar would be better than ANYBODY, even Quayle–shows just how entranced she is with Beltway culture. Hutchinson is probably a nice enough person, but unless I’m missing something she really is an empty suit. Can you name one piece of legislation she’s pushed successfully? unsuccessfully? (Co-sponsoring someone else’s legislation doesn’t count. I don’t doubt Hutchinson is competent to sign her name).
And Lugar is god-awful. He is a long-time supporter of gun control, in a pro-gun state–that in itself ought to render his judgement questionable, as well as his loyalty to the constitution and a free republic. Also, he’s like Chuck Hagel, or come to think of it, Joseph
Biden, in that he likes to always make “foreign policy” sort of an issue in itself, while refusing to actually support working foreign policy moves when they come along. He ran for President in 1996, and his entire platform was basically, “Vote for me and I won’t ignore foreign issues the way Clinton has done.” However, when foreign policy got hot once again in the following decade, the only things he could come up with was lots of negotiations, and a refusal to make his mind up on the ultrahypersuccessful Surge in Iraq. Hutchinson is an empty suit, but Lugar is a black hole in a suit.
Yet Noonan actually admires people way, way worse than Lugar or Hutchinson! She once ran a column in which she pretty much literally said the world was ending. Her proof? A Senator said that he didn’t want to be around to see what his grandchildren would see.
Who was that Senator whose advice Noonan so respected?
It wasn’t Kay Bailey Hutchinson.
It wasn’t Richard Lugar.
It wasn’t Chuck Hagel.
It wasn’t Lincoln Chafee.
It wasn’t Joe Biden.
It wasn’t even Chuck Schumer.
IT WAS EDWARD KENNEDY.
If it is true that America no longer sees eye to eye with GOP principles, and I’m not saying it is–personally I think we’re just getting past a fairly light 15-year storm of liberalism, with a coming conservative squall in the next decade*–I nevertheless think that the American people even in most Blue States do not see eye to eye with Swimmer Ted.
*Politics, for reasons I don’t entirely know, seems to run in thirty-year cycles.
Sep 3, 2008 - 6:32 pm 15. cjm:slade: interesting triad, but i just can’t parse the meaning.
Sep 3, 2008 - 6:37 pm 16. bobal:Politics, for reasons I don’t entirely know, seems to run in thirty-year cycles
Time enough for the old to die out, or be pushed out by resurgent youth.
Sep 3, 2008 - 6:46 pm 17. slade:Sally Quinn was interviewed on O’Reilly today. She is firmly opposed to the Palin VP selection. (There is some sort of “who is the better hunter” kerfluffle going on between them.) Peggy Noonan is apparently conflicted. Ann Coulter, I am assuming, is not, although I have not heard a formal statement. Quinn’s opposition is so virulent it makes Noonan’s equivocation look like the dogmatism of Coulter.
Sep 3, 2008 - 6:48 pm 18. Peterike:Noonan’s judgment often leaves much to be desired, but she can still turn a phrase, and when she strikes out in a direction I like it can be very powerful.
Thirty minutes to THE SPEECH.
God, I’m nervous.
Sep 3, 2008 - 6:52 pm 19. slade:I agree with that Peterike very much. She is an excellent writer. But she veers into excess with statements like “America is a vast and lonely country.”
Sep 3, 2008 - 6:54 pm 20. Ken:Bobal: but wouldn’t that result in 20 or 25 year cycles? The length of a generation?
Sep 3, 2008 - 6:55 pm 21. slade:It’s almost as if Noonan is becoming a stranger in her own strange land – a phrase that captures her borderline melodramatic context.
Sep 3, 2008 - 6:57 pm 22. Ken:There’s a certain point of negativity where it ceases to affect me negatively. When someone is as utterly depressed as Noonan, I don’t so much share her depression; I’m more inclined to wish she’d take some Prozac, since her problem is clearly not political but medical.
The same goes for Buchanan and others like him. At a younger age, I tended to think that they were Cassandras who were bravely telling people what they didn’t want to hear. Now I just think of them as tired old men.
Back to Noonan: she was raised a Democrat, but was so disenchanted by the New Democrats–elitist and anti-American–that she switched parties. At some level I think that she realizes that she’s become one of them culturally, and that it drives her to literally near-suicidal depression.
Oh, and as a side issue: I realize despise that writing tic of hers in which she always talks about how “we” feel about everything. It’s fine to talk about “America united” and all that barnyard epithet, but integrity as a writer demands that you state your opinions and impressions as YOURS, not some widespread vague feeling.
Sep 3, 2008 - 7:12 pm 23. bobal:Folks live longer now I quess, Ken:)
Sep 3, 2008 - 7:20 pm 24. Ken:Back to the original Noonan hasty backtrack: she states that the American people no longer are in line with the Republican “base.” Any time someone says something like this, you know they’re going to end up reluctantly giving the farm away, or trying to. And usually there’s no need for it.
Are a lot of voters pissed off at the GOP? Yes. Are they angry at the oil companies to whom they pay high gas prices? Yes. Do they want some sort of action to control medical bills? Yes, even though they’re wron
The problem is, though, that Noonan hangs around a bunch of ultraleftists, so she doesn’t get the nuances of American opinion. Probably she thinks that gun control, to name one example, is a bad idea, but she may think that if a Republican supports it, the American people will be willing to forgive his unwillingness to support interfering in the health system.
Fat chance. The real reaction will be, “The Republicans? They’re the ones who want to take my guns AND won’t fight Big Pharma!”
Her connection to reality has fallen and it can’t get up.
Sep 3, 2008 - 7:26 pm 25. Ken:That doesn’t work either, Bobal, since the cycle goes back at least to the 1890’s. If anything, there was a slight glitch after the (liberal) Civil War, and that time it took FORTY years to get another liberal decade. Of course this could reflect that it’s not really thirty years, but rather thirty-three or something like that.
Or it could just be a wild coincidence, but it’s been going on too long for me to believe that.
Sep 3, 2008 - 7:30 pm 26. Peterike:Out. Of. The. Park.
Sep 3, 2008 - 8:09 pm 27. cjm:the revolution starts tonight
Sep 3, 2008 - 8:17 pm 28. Ken:Did you notice that she even managed to ever-so-subtly point out that she’s to the right of McCain on Anwar?
Also, I have to admit that I can see now why she has a reputation as a babe. I didn’t really see it in still photos, but when she gets going…oh, well, I don’t want to seem like a groupie so I’ll leave it at that.
Honestly, I expected her speech to suck. Not “ignorant drooling hick” suck, as the media seemed to expect. But at least Pawlenty suck. I thought she’d trot out the standard lines and look like a reasonably intelligent person doing it. Instead she brought back Reagan memories.
I guess it was that whole “lowering expectations” thing. That whole thing started when Bush I ran against Dukakis in 1988, and I thought it was stupid even then. Granted, Bush still beat Dukakis in the debate, but in the following four years he managed to lower expectations for Republicans for the next 20 years. Instead of lowering expectations, Palin has really raised my expectations for the future of the GOP and of the country.
Wow…I really am a groupie.
Sep 3, 2008 - 8:30 pm 29. cjm:joan of Arc
Sep 3, 2008 - 8:31 pm 30. Peterike:Most disappointing moment. When she said of her husband, “Two decades later, he’s still my guy.” So that means she’s not, like, available. Dang.
Meanwhile, they’re hiding the guns at MSNBC to avoid a mass suicide.
Sep 3, 2008 - 8:36 pm 31. starling:Had to wake up at 5AM or so to catch the Palin speech on Al-Jazeera English. It more than passed the test of “Am I glad I crawled out of bed to watch it?” Impressive. And as a vegetarian, I feel that for the first time in many years, I had some red meat for breakfast.
Sep 3, 2008 - 8:37 pm 32. NahnCee:RE: Noonan, the thought does cross my mind to wonder if some sneaky progressive journalist deliberately left the mikes hot to see what they could capture when neocon mouthpieces were unaware they were being taped. Sort of like what happened to the Dem’s when they were taped thanking God for sending a hurricane during the Republican convention.
Sep 3, 2008 - 8:45 pm 33. Peterike:Amazingly (not), the two Leftie media commentators on Fox immediately say “well she didn’t write the speech.” From what I’ve read on line, a number of commentators on other channels said the same thing. Then the official zerObama reaction comes and it goes, “Well she didn’t write the speech, GEORGE BUSH’s speechwriter wrote it!”
Huh. What an odd coincidence that the media and the Obama campaign just stumbled on the same talking point. You think the objective media might be on Obama’s side or something?
Sep 3, 2008 - 8:51 pm 34. DanM:Heh… Even the Dem Pundits were impressed with Sarah Palin. I predict a new front on their attack on her. Just can’t place where the weakness is…
If this is the future of the party, I’m liking it.
Sep 3, 2008 - 8:51 pm 35. cjm:screw noonan, who needs her alchy ramblings.
tonight was th eAmerican Agincourt
Sep 3, 2008 - 8:51 pm 36. Uncle Jefe:Loved it. I felt great for American women like my Mother, my Wife, and my Daughter, as well as all of the women in that crowd. Terrific.
Sep 3, 2008 - 8:51 pm 37. outa my league:I must say, though, that Giuliani had the best lines and delivery…
“Next time call John McCain.”
Heh.
@Ken: “Did you notice that she even managed to ever-so-subtly point out that she’s to the right of McCain on Anwar?”
McCain’s no ninny. He’s going to “come around” on Anwar, or at least drop hints, perhaps by tomorrow night. Sarah’s rocket to stardom is all the political cover he needs to flip-flop on Anwar, and sew up the election to boot.
Sep 3, 2008 - 8:52 pm 38. hdgreene:She did good.
I love how our “news media” can turn on a dime. Oh, they expected her to do well because McCain had studied her speeches before the selection was made. What? They said he had not vetted her. It was a last minute snap decision by him — except for studying her speeches, of course.
Sep 3, 2008 - 8:53 pm 39. cjm:rudy is going to be scotus or ag
joe-l is going to be secstate
mitt is going to be sec treasury
that leaves sec def ???
Sep 3, 2008 - 8:54 pm 40. cjm:i bet buddy is writing a poem. can’t wait to read it
Sep 3, 2008 - 8:56 pm 41. Aristide:@hdgreene
Torie Clarke said yesterday that McCain had studied tapes of her speeches and of her handling of Q&A sessions afterwards.
Sep 3, 2008 - 8:57 pm 42. Aristide:@cjm
Rudy = ag …. What’s he know about farming! LOL!
Sep 3, 2008 - 8:59 pm 43. cjm:haha “green acres, is the life for me”
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:00 pm 44. DanM:cjm,
coffee on the keyboard… Thank god for extras..
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:07 pm 45. hdgreene:Aristide, good for Torie Clarke. Who is Torie Clarke? I’ll google.
I didn’t mean to suggest that they did not have the information, just that they would not let it step on their story line: McCain rolled the dice himself. Desperate pick. Insufficient vetting. Reckless! Thomas Eagleton the Second! Bah.
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:09 pm 46. James:Great speech, great delivery, great presence.
As far as I can see, she did what she needed to do. She defied expectations, she got some powerful and effective hits in on Obama. She got some good hits in on behalf of McCain, and also on her own behalf.
She spoke clearly and calmly in a voice that is soothing and reassuring and confident, without a touch of the grating bitchiness evident in the voice of someone like Hillary Clinton. Far from some air-headed, untested, unprepared beauty queen persona that the media wanted to assume her to be, she spoke in a way that seemed neither afraid nor arrogant.
As to her babe reputation, I’ll say that it goes much further than that. It’s not just that she’s beautiful with her large, sparkling eyes, gorgeous smile, perfect skin, and lustrous hair. It goes much, much deeper. It’s the personality behind the looks, and how that personality manifests itself in her features and bring them alive that makes her a very powerful force.
Sarah Palin is an extraordinary communicator on the non-verbal level. She radiates calm and poise and inspiration, all at the same time. Frequently people of power or high social status exhibit what are called “cathathetic signals”; things that indicate their awareness of their importance, signals that are also designed to make the listener aware that the listener is of less importance. Their ego manifests itself in postures, expression, and tone meant to reduce the ego of others. Think of the pompous arrogance of Joe Biden. Or even Hillary Clinton. They think they are better than you, and they can’t help but communicate it.
Sarah Palin communicates confidence and ease with power, without exhibiting any of these signals whatsoever. NONE. What’s interesting is that Obama tries extremely hard to accomplish this same goal, it’s part of what makes him an uplifting and inspiring figure. But with Obama it is not genuine; it’s very carefully managed and controlled and there are times when he loses his grip on it and a less flattering side of himself is revealed.
Personally, I don’t care much for McCain. And the campaign is still very young. But if tonight was any indication I expect some amazing things from Sarah Palin.
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:13 pm 47. hdgreene:Peggy Noonan defends herselfhere. I imagine it is the same controversy you folks were discussing above.
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:17 pm 48. cjm:obama was gutted and hung out to dry tonight, along with all the other eunuchs in the msm. i wish i could have sen steele and giuliani speaking.
he and his minions will be spitting and shrieking all the way down.
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:17 pm 49. sigintel:I like that chant tonight “Zero, Zero”….I predicted the other night on a post here that Palin and Mac are going bag both of the Zeros! OODA loop hell, their on the mothers tails with guns blazing…this is going to get real fun to watch as the tracers tear into the cheap fabric of the dems platform and their doomed unskilled pilots.
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:18 pm 50. cjm:peggy noonan? didn’t she used to be a writer or something?
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:21 pm 51. James:Peterpike wrote:
“Amazingly (not), the two Leftie media commentators on Fox immediately say “well she didn’t write the speech.”
Absolutely irrrelevant. The words of the speech weren’t the essence.
Eggplant wrote:
“Where Palin will be tested is when she debates Biden. That will be “interesting”.”
Palin is a very good match for Biden, and I’ll tell you why: Biden is a powerful orator and can go on and on extemporaneously forever, as any CSPAN2 junkie knows. However, Biden hasn’t had to run a real campaign for decades. He’s been a shoe in. Anyone familiar with the Senate floor knows that Biden’s lucidity is equally matched by his arrogance. His power is unthreatened and he’s conditioned to be unafraid of offending or upsetting anyone. Old habits are die hard.
My guess is that if Sarah can maintain her poise she’ll win the debate, no matter what is said. Televised debates are very structured, candidates speak with minimal interruption and have a moment to gather her thoughts. If she can stay on message and stay focused, I think she’ll win. If Biden tries too hard to badger her or provoke her (something he tries a lot on his colleagues in the Senate), he’ll lose.
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:24 pm 52. Staring In Disbelief:Sarah Barracuda! She sailed right past all the media drivel and PASTED the lefties. With relish. Smiling while twisting the knife. Perfect. She has the Teflon magic if she just keeps ignoring the pathetic left-media criticism and bores in for the kill. Confident common sense beats snooty elitism every time and twice on Sunday.
Cripes, we had to go to Alaska to find a Republican with some balls.
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:26 pm 53. cjm:biden will be lucky not to wet himself in the debates.
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:29 pm 54. Corp Cactus:The best speech of a Republican in years. Sarah Palin just spoke ten times better than Meg Whitman, Carly Fiorina, or Hillary ever could in their wildest dreams. The mainstream lib media has egg all over the faces. Hah! Give em hell, Sarah!
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:32 pm 55. Peterike:Not only that, but it is very authentic – with smarts. This is no mere pretty face, but a quick study and capable of breadth and vision. She ad libbed a little, paused, smiled between lines, and danced with her eyes. Mischief, spunk, humor, guts – she rode em cowgirl all the way to the White House if America is also smart. For this Obama is unproven and with too many unsavoury past associates and friends. He has to prove himself first and he hasn’t done so. Americans should ask themselves – are there risks to the trust factor if Obama is elected? How about McCain? Can anything be more the classic heroic, apple-pie story than John McCain? Reliable. I believe in Yellowstone Park its called Old Faithful.
Time for bed. I leave you with words that should be carved into the fancy mahogony desks of every newspaper editor, TV news anchor and producer in the country.
“And I’ve learned quickly, these past few days, that if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone. But here’s a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion — I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this country.”
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:36 pm 56. Charles:A helpful thing to remember is that the founders anticipated the tensions in the republic between the big cities and the small towns, the large populous states and the small states.
The strove to tilt power away from the urban centers because they believed that the urban centers were morally corrupting. That good government needed good character–which is not generally produced in urban centers.
If you look around the country you’ll notice that the state capitals are never in the major cities of any state. The state capital of New York is Albany, not New York City. The state capital of California is Sacramento, not LA or San Francisco. The state capital of Texas is Austin, not Dallas or Houston.
This was intentional. The founders believed that the state capitals should be away from the major places of commerce–because they rightly believed that politicians could be bought.
The same thing went for the make up of congress. While the house could overweight populous states, the senate weighted all states equally no matter how large or small by acreage or people.
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:36 pm 57. Ken:Pretty much every right winger has his problems with McCain. Still, I do think it’s important to note that he did, in a very real sense, earn the nomination by standing fast on his opposition to withdrawal from Iraq, as well as his advocacy for the successful tactics that won there.
Around about 2006, I was pretty sure that the final, most bitter, knife in the back for the American tragedy would be McCain turning against the war. Yes, I knew that he’d always been a big-time hawk on Iraq and pretty much everywhere else. But given his bad history, I figured that would just make it a bigger story for the anti-American Left. “Biggest Supporter of War Flips, Demands Withdrawal.”
Then came the disastrous elections–I never DREAMED that on the day Daniel Ortega would be returned to power, the OTHER news would be so much worse that I wouldn’t even care! Then, of course, Rumsfeld’s resignation–which McCain had called for. The setup for the epic betrayal seemed complete.
But something unexpected happened: McCain didn’t flip. In fact, Bush finally adopted McCain’s “win the war” strategy that he’d supported for years. And in the following months, Bush’s arch-enemy became his biggest supporter on the war, in a desperate attempt to turn back the pro-surrender tide.
By the skin of their teeths, Bush and McCain managed to hold Reid and Pelosi at bay until the surge turned the war around and won it.
My point is this: I don’t know if I’ll ever LIKE McCain. But in a weird sort of way, I admire him. And it’s unfair to pretend that he’s the nominee for no other reason than some weird coincidence. He stuck to his principles on the number one issue and triumphed. He’s a prick, but he has brass balls.
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:37 pm 58. Bridget:“Oh, they expected her to do well because McCain had studied her speeches before the selection was made.”
No, no, no. It’s because somebody else wrote the speech. All she did was deliver it, you see.
And make hash out of Maureen Dowd, Andrew Sullivan, and Perez Hilton with one hand, while filleting Barack Obama with the other. In heels.
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:37 pm 59. cjm:harry reid’s hide is going look nice up on her office wall. might smell though.
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:38 pm 60. Lugh Lampfhota:Sarah’s power is that she is a real, normal American that any decent person can relate to. Contrast Sarah with Senators McCain, Obama and Biden who no-one can relate to at any level. I’ll vote for McCain/Palin but I’d much rather vote for Sarah for President now.
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:42 pm 61. Ari Tai:I don’t know why the MSM is so down. Their ratings will skyrocket and their pay raises assured if they just keep her on the air for the next 8 weeks… (long pause by the anchors.. “ahhh.. now wait a minute!”
She’s done better, call this a warmup while she gets acquainted with her new team, takes control and starts to drive…
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:44 pm 62. Charles:Its getting easier to say that obama will get +-40% of the vote.
Now I’m a little less scared that McCain will take his landslide and think that nobility requires him to give away the country.
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:52 pm 63. Joseph Somsel:Someone on fox said it:
“A star is born.”
She knew the MSM was the enemy. They got in the first ineffective shots but tonight, she declared war. Of course she’s out to beat the Democrats but to declare war on the media takes real courage. But now is the time and she’s the person to do it and win.
As for McCain and the surge, Bush all along said that when the Iraqis stood up, we could stand down. The years drug on while the government was organized and its security forces training and equipped.
The surge was ordered when the Iraqis were ready, whether or not McCain proclaimed for it or not. It fact, he was a bit premature but he staked out his public position understanding the big strategy.
I’ll give him credit for placing his bets so publicly.
The biggest success of Gov. Palin and the other speakers at this convention was helping me to WANT to vote for McCain.
Sep 3, 2008 - 9:54 pm 64. Buck Smith:I think Biden will have a very hard time debating Sarah Palin. Biden’s schtick, his persona and his vibe don’t match up well against Palin. She is going to destroy him.
Sep 3, 2008 - 10:08 pm 65. buddy larsen:Joe Biden, wearing a false beard and sunglasses, has just been sighted in a Tijuana bus station buying a one-way ticket to a monastery south of Guatamala City.
Sep 3, 2008 - 10:11 pm 66. krontekag:Quite a day. Palin has arrived, and there is no going back….
The media frenzy puts one in mind of a circling pack of kamikaze pilots, throwing everything they have into a final, brutal, intimidating attack.
America saw off the kamikaze with losses, and once the smoke cleared Japan had nothing left. Determination won the day in 1945, and hopefully the same coin will prevail again.
Sep 3, 2008 - 10:12 pm 67. buddy larsen:They tried to decapitate her in the crib –Eagleton indeed. May they break out in warts and boils.
Sep 3, 2008 - 10:15 pm 68. Triton'sPolarTiger:I noticed the absence of “bitch screech” as well (a la Hillary).
I pretty much rate her performance AND specifics to be a grand slam…
I visited an Atlanta-area General Nutrition Center (GNC) during lunch today – the twenty-something at the register went on at length about how positive he was about Palin being on the ticket.
Mrs Triton has for days been hearing all kinds of crosstalk about Palin from checkout clerks at Publix, floor personnel at SEARS, etc, many of whom were minorities who otherwise wouldn’t give a fig about Republicans.
Gov Palin has, I believe, not only captured the imagination of the conservative base, but also of many who might have otherwise sat out the election.
(I’m betting the number of tv viewers will be positively monsterous)
Add that to the PUMA’s, and it’s not so hard to believe that McCain is going to wind up winning BIG in November.
But I’m not predicting… at least not yet.
Sep 3, 2008 - 10:15 pm 69. bobal:I’ll certainly take that Palin lady over that fellow pounding his shoe in the post below.
Best part of the speech to me was when she blew that gracefull kiss to that fellow who had been in prison camp with McCain. Gracefully done, and it obviously meant a lot to him.
Small gestures speak large words.
Sep 3, 2008 - 10:16 pm 70. Dave:bobal: The guy she blew a kiss to is from Lancaster, Ohio. Home of “Uncle Billy”
Sherman.
And with her eldest on his way across the pond to earn his CIB, she is a nervous wreck inside. The son himself is fighting the jitters too.
What does the kiss mean? “Come back with your shield or upon it.” Like those who have gone before you have done. A sine qua non of Western Civilization.
Sep 3, 2008 - 10:23 pm 71. Nortius Maximus:Anyone got a working link to a ‘cast of the speech as delivered? Google is not helping me at this time. Thanks.
Sep 3, 2008 - 10:34 pm 72. Tarnsman:Ladies and Gentlemen may I present the 45th President of the United States, Sarah Palin. Wow! Had tears of pride welling in my eyes several times during the speech. Only politician ever to do that to me was Ronald Reagan. Never, ever liked John McCain before. Respected him for his courage and service to our country, yes, just didn’t care for the man. Guess his maverick ways hit the wrong nerve in me. His selection of Sarah Palin, however, has earn my admiration and a budding fondness for the man. For me, experience isn’t something I look for in a candidate for the Presidency. As President Clinton correctly phrased it, no one is truly prepared to be President. For me the determining factors I look for is character and judgement. McCain has the character part down in spades. His selection of Palin (as well as unwavering support for victory in Iraq) shows his judgement is beyond reproach. She is clearly more than qualified for the position of Vice President and is without question the best possible pick the Mr. McCain could have made. That he recognized this speaks volumes about his judgement. I have absolutely no doubt that he will be a good President. Oh, and the admiration part? By elevating Mrs. Palin to the second position on the ticket he has given me and millions of other conservative Americans a gift: hope. Hope for the future of Mr. Reagan’s vision (he did predict that the first American woman President would be a Republican). Hope that the new rising star, Sarah Palin, and may well turn out to be America’s Margaret Thatcher. We shall see. Can’t wait for the Biden – Palin debate. Think the Senator from Delware better start preparing now given what we witnessed at the RNC this evening.
Speaking of Maggie:
“If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.”
“Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country”
“I’ve got a woman’s ability to stick to a job and get on with it when everyone else walks off and leaves it.”
“I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.”
Sep 3, 2008 - 10:35 pm 73. Mike Force:She reminded me of my mother, who had absolutely nothing in common with her. That’s power.
Sep 3, 2008 - 10:35 pm 74. cjm:http://www.kcal9.com
Sep 3, 2008 - 10:36 pm 75. James:Video of the speech:
http://www.stoptheaclu.com/archives/2008/09/03/video-sarah-palins-convention-speech/
Sep 3, 2008 - 10:39 pm 76. Nortius Maximus:Thanks, cjm! Much appreciated.
Sep 3, 2008 - 10:39 pm 77. Leo Linbeck III:2008 as 1812, courtesy of Leo (Tolstoy):
Napoleon, the “outsider,” rises up to overthrow the established order and capture the imagination of France, and then all of Europe. He positions himself as a “reformer,” but is in fact an outgrowth of the political machine that seized control of the Revolution. As he destroys the enemies of France, the conquered aristocracies throw their support behind him, and he emerges as the Emperor, the One who will unify the civilized world.
But Russia stands athwart history, and refuses to bend. Napoleon’s might seems irresistible, but in his way is a crusty old warrior, Michael Iliarionovich Kutuzov. Kutuzov is a man from another time, long ago; a time of honor, heroism, and country. He carries the physical wounds of campaigns long ago, but he has the heart of a lion. He is picked by the Tsar to lead the Russian army against Napoleon, while the fate of the nation lies on the edge of a knife.
Knowing that his nation is in a moment of weakness (in fact, many Russian aristocrats begin rooting for Napoleon to win), he does his best to avoid engaging the great Frenchman, and instead draws the French army into the heart of Mother Russia. At first he is roundly criticized for his bumbling and star-crossed organization. His “strategy” emerges: a full-scale retreat. The Emperor enters Moscow triumphantly.
C’est moi! he shouts. Je suis l’etat, je suis Russe! He leads his conquering army into Moscow, with his insufferably pompous associate Murat, the “King of Naples.” But there is no one there to cheer him on; the great city is a “queenless hive.” Within weeks, Moscow is burning and it is the French who are in full retreat. The “great man” is exposed as an empty suit, and the Russian army hounds him out of Russia, then Europe, and finally into exile.
But what Napoleon did not realize is that he lost the war weeks before entering Moscow, at the Battle of Borodino. There, the mortal blow was delivered by a division led by Prince Bagration, a brilliant military leader from the exotic hinterlands. Napoleon and Murat, in spite of their reputation and superior numbers, are beaten by a rube, a man of action, a fighter who would not give up when all seemed lost.
Tonight, the role of Prince Bagration was reprised by Sarah Palin. The knife was inserted, and the critical artery was cut clean. And while Obama’s momentum will carry him forward for another 60 days, make no mistake about it: the war is over. The rest is Epilogue.
L3
Sep 3, 2008 - 10:58 pm 78. buddy larsen:Oh, it’s all very well to write reviews,
and carry umbrellas and keep dry shoes.
To say what everyone’s saying there,
and wear what everyone else must wear,
but tonight I’m sick of the whole affair,
I want free life and I want fresh air.
I want free life and I want fresh air;
And I long for the gallop after the cattle,
In their frantic flight, like the roar of battle,
The mêlée of horns, and hoofs, and heads
That wars and wrangles and scatters and spreads–
The green beneath and the blue above,
And dash and danger, and life and love –
–and Lasca!
Lasca used to ride
On a mouse-gray mustang close to my side,
With blue serapé and bright-belled spur;
I laughed with joy as I looked at her!
(there ya go, cjm –a smidgen of old cowboy poem “Lasca” by old cowboy Frank Desperez, around 1880. “Lasca” as in “Alaska”. See whole thing here.)
Sep 3, 2008 - 11:04 pm 79. Joshua:Gov. Palin’s speech tonight brought to mind, of all things, U2’s Bono introducing the band’s cover of “Helter Skelter”: “This is a song Charles Manson stole from the Beatles. We’re stealing it back.”
In this analogy, Palin is Bono, Obama is Manson, and Hillary Clinton is the Beatles. Obama stole Hillary’s thunder in the Democratic primaries; now along comes Palin to steal not only Obama’s own thunder, but also the thunder Obama had stolen from Hillary. By the time 2012 rolls around, Hillary may well find herself being the “other” woman in the campaign; for all we know she may even (heaven forbid) be up against a female incumbent.
(Cross-posted on, well, a whole bunch of blogs
Sep 3, 2008 - 11:15 pm 80. cjm:superb.
Sep 3, 2008 - 11:16 pm 81. Medea:The gist of Palin’s speech to Obama:
Sep 3, 2008 - 11:17 pm 82. trangbang68:“Do you feel lucky? well, do ya, punk?”
Agree her poise,timing and mischieviousness were awesome. What tact can the libs take that won’t blow up on them. Very impressive speech.
Sep 3, 2008 - 11:21 pm 83. Kirk Parker:Peterike, MSNBC has guns??? That’s a scary thought!
cjm,
No, no, no, no–Bolton for State. I’m sure they can find a useful place for Lieberman, too, except that if he goes then CT gets to appoint a (certain-to-be more liberal) D to fill out his term. We’re probably better off if he just stays in the Senate.
Sep 3, 2008 - 11:26 pm 84. buddy larsen:Re NOW proclamation that SP, tho a woman, is “not the right woman” –NOW has become WAS (Women Against Sarah).
Sep 3, 2008 - 11:29 pm 85. cjm:doh! of course bolton.
Sep 3, 2008 - 11:29 pm 86. buddy larsen:if you remember the Borking Bolton took, you’ll know he’s right for that job.
Sep 3, 2008 - 11:36 pm 87. bobal:NOW IS LOST AS LOST IS WON
While I don’t know what I’ve written means, I do know it’s called a
palindrome, which is a sentence that reads the same backwards as forwards.
A palindrome, get it?
PALIN-drome
You can blame Buddy for this, with his play on NOW and WAS, which got my mind meandering.
Sep 3, 2008 - 11:42 pm 88. buddy larsen:Are we not drawn onward, we few, drawn onward to new era?
(read it backwards)
Sep 3, 2008 - 11:51 pm 89. OldSalt:Sarah’s power is that she is a real, normal American that any decent person can relate to. Contrast Sarah with Senators McCain, Obama and Biden who no-one can relate to at any level. I’ll vote for McCain/Palin but I’d much rather vote for Sarah for President now. – Lugh Lampfhota
So many good adroit comments on this BLOG tonight, I haven’t got much to add. But in response to this one by Lugh:
1) The Democrats are so cockeyed-arrogant that most can’t believe that there’s any possibility that they could lose this election. They seem to feel this way just about every election.
2) Prior to Palin’s speech, Democrat insiders were starting to worry. The Demos, their brown shirts, and “fully-in-the-tank” MSN cronies had 2 or 3 days solid to “define” Palin to the public. In some areas (e.g. the US Magazine cover), they were realizing success with people who hadn’t heard much about Palin yet. But they overplayed their hand, setting up the ball for Palin on a “Tee”.
3) That Democrat counter-offensive against Palint just died tonight. Palin is not going to be their Dan Quayle, Robert Bork, or Clarence Thomas moment of 2008. Democrats in the know are now privately thinking “:::::oh no.. 8 years of McCain, and then what, oh..dear..no, 8 more years of Palin?!:::::: “. As BHO’s campaign goes off the rails, there will be a desperate effort to “get” Palin, and frame McCain as a dangerous, unstable kook. If McCain/Palin win, an entire industry will evolve to do to Palin over her term of (VP) office what they did to Bush. They must kill her politically, make her a pariah to the electorate, make her the next left-wing abortion, or they’re facing 16 years in the wilderness, and their vaunted neverending-Democrat-Congressional-Majority may be stillborn in as little as 2 years.
4) Hillary’s life has gone from unthinkable to horrid to unfathomable in about 45 days. Never in her wildest dreams did HRC image the female star of the 2008 election would be anyone other than herself. The Secret Service just beefed up her security to staff a 24/7 suicide watch.
Sep 3, 2008 - 11:59 pm 90. OldSalt:Oh, by the way. Tonight, the Republican party finally found a leader, when most thought there was none remotely on the horizon. Kudo’s to McCain.
Second, she’s strong enough to push McCain through to the Presidency, which he couldn’t have done on his own.
Third, should they win, it’ll be interesting who she hires to staff her offices (i.e. dominated by small town types of Washington insiders?), and what if any influence she has advising McCain on staffing the Cabinet and appointments. McCain is clearly his own man, but I think he respects Palin. If a trust develops between them, we’ll see that reflected in the appointment process.
Sep 4, 2008 - 12:08 am 91. Lifeofthemind:Guess the Democrats are focusing on the Republican speechwriters because Obama can’t get good help.
Two reasons for that I’d think:
1) The Clinton wing are bailing and leaving them to twist in the wind.
2) The Kennedy wing no longer has the bench strength of talented writers.
3) Our host can write as can many of us but ideology aside; would you want to work in the same organization where Michelle Obama is stalking around? She has achieved a miracle. People now find Hillary Clinton warm and sympathetic.
OK, three reasons. I wasn’t expecting the Spanish Inquisition.
Peggy Noonan needs to take a ten week vacation, and then go away.
While the media is focused on the Convention Circuses after the Olympic Circus the world goes on. Putin took advantage of one distraction to start a war without the media paying attention. Dick Cheney is taking advantage of another distraction to arrange our response.
Sep 4, 2008 - 12:15 am 92. wretchard:Every candidate has strengths and weaknesses, but since the Democrats didn’t have a ready estimate of Palin because McCain played the list of his veep choices so close to his chest they didn’t know what to expect. In the brief period since McCain announced the identity of his running mate, the Democrats have naturally been trying to make up their intel deficit and understandably focused on Palin’s wearknesses, glomming in on the superficial ones, like her daughter’s pregnancy. But the real danger lay in the ignorance of her strengths. In the absence of a real intel estimate, many pundits naturally assumed she was stupid and laid their plans accordingly. Tonight’s speech demonstrated how politically expensive underestimating Palin could be.
In retrospect, Obama may have miscalculated by selecting Biden. His advisers may have assumed that McCain was going to select another experienced white man and by choosing Biden, Obama was going to going to have an experienced white man of his own to set against his projected opponent. This would leave BHO the charismatic black man free to go one on one with the old war hero. Unfortunately McCain set up an asymmetric matchup with Biden; a woman candidate who was moreover free to fire over Biden on BHO himself. To use the metaphor of the Battle of the Denmark Straits, it was almost as if the British, expecting the Bismarck and Prince Eugen to emerge from the mists, found that the Bismarck and the Tirpitz had showed up instead.
Doubtless the Democrats will fix their intel deficit as quickly as private investigators and political operatives can do it. But in the meantime they are dealing with an unknown quantity. However, no one should lose sight of the fact that John McCain is the real surprise package here. Palin is only the outcome. McCain has hidden reserves of nerve, cunning and calculation. His body may be old and broken, but evidently his mind hasn’t given up the ghost yet. And it should always be remembered that Ahmadinajad, Putin and Hugo Chavez have resources of secrecy, conspiracy and money far greater than the Republican Party. If McCain can run tactical circles around Obama, imagine what it will be like when BHO strides in for his summits with those deceiving men. BHO can expect some level of civility and decency from McCain. Putin will show Obama no mercy.
Sep 4, 2008 - 12:31 am 93. Lifeofthemind:@Old Salt,
Sep 4, 2008 - 12:34 am 94. Lifeofthemind:Hillary’s people are already being supportive of McCain/Pallin. Some overtly with money and more by standing aside and letting the Obama/Biden campaign go splat. Stephanapolous the other day refused to shore up attack themes for his anchor. I expect Bill and Hill to campaign for local Democrats. Given the record of how short Bill’s coat tails were that may not help the Cangressional candidates but it may help Hill get control of the party back after Obama tanks. Officially they will say something supportive of the ticket at every stop. Would Hillary be much happier without Pallin in front of her? Of course but Hill is a pro at this and she will keep moving forward. It is all she knows how to do. What Obama will end up doing is harder to say. If Rezco really blows up then he goes away. I cannot see him being welcome back in Chicago if he does not make it into the White House. Maybe he can get a job at Gazprom. Right now I think Michelle Obama’s market worth has slipped from $317,000 to about $31,700. Is there a futures market for such issues?
@Wretchard,
Sep 4, 2008 - 12:45 am 95. Bob Murphy:The wires from Obama go to Soros. So do those to Saakashvili as half the staff of the FSB have been in here reminding us. What resources are supporting Obama and what weapons/evidence can be found or manufactured in the next 8 weeks? Putin should as you indicate want to see Obama in and if so what resources will the Bear bring to bear? Do interested parties believe that Americans will panic and react to a terror strike like the Spanish did? The window for catostraphic events in both the US and elsewhere, especially Lebannon, Korea and Hormuz, is open until the risk of Obama getting in has closed.
That gal said it all. I’m gobsmacked. Even the way she blew that guy a kiss looked like a salute.
Sep 4, 2008 - 12:50 am 96. ledger:Absolutely rivetting.
And I can think of no other country in the world that could produce someone like her.
Great comments y’all. What a place.
Palin left a few painful marks on Obama. The two that remember were:
Senator Obama and Senator Biden have been going on lately about how they’re always, quote, “fighting for you,” let us face the matter squarely: There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you.
(APPLAUSE)
There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you in places where winning means survival and defeat means death. And that man is John McCain.
(APPLAUSE)
[and]
This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting and never use the word “victory,” except when he’s talking about his own campaign.
(APPLAUSE)
But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed, when the roar of the crowd fades away, when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot…
(APPLAUSE)
… when that happens, what exactly is our opponent’s plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet?
(APPLAUSE)
The answer — the answer is to make government bigger, and take more of your money, and give you more orders from Washington, and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world.
See: Palin’s speech
Sep 4, 2008 - 12:57 am 97. CPT. Charles:http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/03/raw-data-sarah-palin-remarks-at-gop-convention/
Great speech. I will sleep soundly tonight [unlike many in the MSM] and have great sport with the Obambi supporters at work tomorrow.
Sep 4, 2008 - 1:05 am 98. bobal:Excellent, Buddy. More technically correct than my own.
Sep 4, 2008 - 1:12 am 99. Brian S:Here’s an international perspective from New Zealand: that speech rocked! F*** vice president, this woman should be president.
Sep 4, 2008 - 1:27 am 100. Fletcher Christian:Mr. Murphy, I can think of one; and someone else got there before me (and before you). The UK. And it already has, although socialist governments in the years since have thrown away her legacy. Another quote to add to the list above:
“I stand before you tonight in my Red Star chiffon evening gown, my face softly made up and my fair hair gently waved, the Iron Lady of the Western world. A cold war warrior, an amazon philistine, even a Peking plotter… Yes I am an iron lady, after all it wasn’t a bad thing to be an iron duke, yes if that’s how they wish to interpret my defence of values and freedoms fundamental to our way of life.”
There aren’t enough politicians like that. Not nearly enough, in any country.
Sep 4, 2008 - 1:41 am 101. TonyB:Able was I ere I saw Elba.
Sep 4, 2008 - 2:40 am 102. buddy larsen:Mrs. Thatcher could’ve done many things besides dispatch a fleet to the bottom half of the other side of the world to right a wrong in the Falkland Islands. But she didn’t do any of those easier safer more prudent things. Nah, she instead sent the RN to defeat a large modern military inside its own lair, which RN then did, with the help of some infantry and paratroops, writing along the way some new names, such as Goose Green, into the permanent honor roll of British arms.
Speaking of ‘down under’, glad you liked Mrs. Palin, Brian S.
Bobal, thanks, but t’warnt my work –it’s an oldie –just thought it fit particulary well as a palindrome in a Palin era.
Sep 4, 2008 - 2:44 am 103. Doug:“In retrospect, Obama may have miscalculated by selecting Biden. His advisers may have assumed that McCain was going to select another experienced white man and by choosing Biden, Obama was going to going to have an experienced white man of his own to set against his projected opponent.”
—
The conventional wisdom is this was to address his difficulty in getting the White Male vote.
The problem he has now is how do you counter one of the most formidable politicians to come down the pike in years.
She exuded confidence and competence throughout her speech.
—
“And when you forget you’re a Bubblehead you get in trouble, you misjudge things. For one thing, you assume evangelical Christians will be appalled and left agitated by the circumstances of Mrs. Palin’s daughter. But modern American evangelicals are among the last people who’d judge her harshly. It is the left that is about to go crazy with Puritan judgments; it is the right that is about to show what mellow looks like. Religious conservatives know something’s wrong with us, that man’s a mess. They are not left dazed by the latest applications of this fact. “This just in – there’s a lot of sinning going on out there” is not a headline they’d understand to be news.
So the media’s going to wait for the Christian right to rise up and condemn Mrs. Palin, and they’re not going to do it because it’s not their way, and in any case her problems are their problems. Christians lived through the second half of the 20th century, and the first years of the 21st. They weren’t immune from the culture, they just eventually broke from it, or came to hold themselves in some ways apart from it. I think the media will explain the lack of condemnation as “Republican loyalty” and “talking points.” But that’s not what it will be.”
Sep 4, 2008 - 3:19 am 104. James:– Noonan
Reported on Salon.com:
“Shelve the Dan Quayle and Tom Eagleton comparisons. Sarah Palin had a glint in her eye whenever she stuck her stiletto into Obama and the Democrats that said, clear as the light reflecting off an Alaskan glacier — I’m for real, and don’t you forget it. . .
Going head to head against Exxon and BP in Alaska takes some backbone, and if there’s one thing that was clear to me after watching her speech in Minnesota, she’s got spine. . .
On one of the crucial issues in this campaign — energy policy — Sarah Palin knows the territory.
She’s a player. We got ourselves a ball game.”
http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/?last_story=/tech/htww/2008/09/04/sarah_palin_stiletto/
Sep 4, 2008 - 3:30 am 105. starling:I sneaked a peek at the Feministing blog to gauge left-of-center women’s reaction to Palin’s speech. Predictably, most are underwhelmed with Palin, many overwhelmed with animus, and quite few are more motivated than ever to get Obama/Biden elected. For those who dare to go there, here’s a link to the open thread on Palin’s speech:
http://www.feministing.com/archives/010826.html#comments
Sep 4, 2008 - 3:40 am 106. bobal:Palin Without Teleprompter
People have been raising a ruckus about this. Try as I might, I can’t see anything offensive in it. The way the world is going, Alaska just might be a place of refuge.
Church #1–Goddamn America
Sep 4, 2008 - 4:04 am 107. socialism_is_error:Church #2–God Bless America
Think Scott Glenn in “The Hunt for Red October”:
Sep 4, 2008 - 4:04 am 108. James:-
“Combat tactics, Mr. Ryan.”
-
The DNC/MSM axis of evil has been masterfully outflanked with, as Lugh said, a fresh breath of classical American.
I find it really interesting in reading the left-wing media/blogs to see how frequently they use phrases like “cheap shots”, “mud slinging,” and “personal attacks” to describe the content of Palin’s speech. Along with that seem endless descriptives such as snide, condescending, snarling, vicious, etc. And a whole lot of talk from the slightly calmer ones about “no discussion of policy”.
I’m not sure what these attacks were. Palin made some very direct and powerful comments regarding Obama’s lack of experience, but I don’t see how this classifies as a “personal attack.” What I felt was impressive about Palin is that she did make some very powerful statements, statements clearly intended to significantly reduce Obama’s aura. But what I felt was very powerful about her “attacks” was that she delivered many of them in a simple, almost light-hearted manner. She did not insult Obama’s character or make any accusations or allegations.
What she did do was make Obama-mania seem all just a bit silly. She didn’t seem to me to be stabbing Obama so much as deflating him.
Whatever it is she has done, she’s made a number of left-wing commentators absolutely furious. I’m beginning to assume that her humorous deflation of Obama, her light-hearted diminishing of him from status as savior, has simply been so devastating to many lefties that they are filled with a deep rage and are projecting that back into Palin herself.
Sep 4, 2008 - 4:10 am 109. Wadeusaf:They messed with the woman’s family, a stupid thing to do. They (the MSM and the Dem’s ticket) deserve EVERYTHING they got in that speech and a whole lot more.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching and listening to her speak, and look forward to more of the same clear eyed and strong message delivered with that woman’s distinct deft touch.
Sep 4, 2008 - 4:23 am 110. programmer:It has occurred to me that the big difference between the Left and the Right is a God given sense of humor. The Left is humorless. Leftists preen and prance, showing off their brittle intelligence as evidenced by advanced degrees in non-science. The Right looks at each other, shares a small grin of mischievousness, pop a couple Leftist balloons, and get on with the business of trying to build a better world for everyone, even the poor benighted Left. (Okay, I’m over generalizing, but for some reason hyperbole seems appropriate today)
Sep 4, 2008 - 4:37 am 111. Bob Murphy:Fletcher, I quite agree about Thatcher.
Sep 4, 2008 - 5:24 am 112. CPT. Charles:We are blessed to live in a time when she, Reagan and the Pollack Pope ganged up on the most murderous cult in history.
I fear for the UK’s future, but if it eventually goes down it sure won’t be Thatcher’s fault.
And Australia will probably get some good Pommie immigrants.:)All welcome to the party.
programmer: the Left’s reaction shows, for all to see, their roots.
One does NOT mock the ‘Dear Leader’ and stay upright.
The dems desire to expand the ‘Fairness Doctrine’ to the internet is all the warning you should need.
Sep 4, 2008 - 5:34 am 113. James:For those who are interested, the complete audio of Palin’s speech, and all of the speeches at the RNC and DNC conventions, are available for free at the iTunes music store. If you have iTunes on your computer (and you really should) simply click on “iTunes Store.” You’ll find your way from there.
If you don’t have iTunes installed on your computer, you can find it at: http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
Sep 4, 2008 - 5:38 am 114. Peter Boston:Governor Palin’s authenticity is a mortal threat to not only the Democrat Party but also to the Left’s grand march through our cultural institutions. Her family. Her self reliant accomlishments. Her confidence in herself and in her countrymen. These admirable qualities are everything the Left seeks desperately to degrade.
Like Reagan, Sarah Palin speaks directly to the American people. She neither needs nor seeks the approval of the talking heads. That makes her untouchable by the MSM. Above their reproach. Beyond their reach.
Just as a side note – Governor Palin, even before the election, has already done more to solve America’s energy problems with a new $40 billion gas pipeline in the works than the Democrats propose to do in next 10 years!
Sep 4, 2008 - 5:44 am 115. Mongoose:Here
someone points out a keen, if obvious, truth.
This will be the next line of attack against Palin: Her faith.
Sep 4, 2008 - 6:08 am 116. cjm:did you notice she didn’t refer to obama by name (except once i think at the end)? subtle and effective; obama shrunk a little each time she refered to him this way.
Sep 4, 2008 - 6:33 am 117. programmer:As an another aside, did anyone watch Governor Palin on tv, or did most do as I did, watch her on streaming video (full 20 inch screen, great definition) on my second monitor while I tried to work on my primary monitor. The internet is making/has made television unnecessary.
Sep 4, 2008 - 6:43 am 118. Lifeofthemind:@Bob Murphy,
the most murderous cult in history
Permit me to argue with that. Sovietism probably was the most effectively destructive system in history since it combined both a totalitarian contempt for life with sufficient organizing resources to endure for 70 years. The resultant number of man years it was able to harness explains the toll in death and blighted societies that could be credited to it. Nazism only lasted 17% as long. On a per day or per man hour harnessed basis it was even more destructive. It was so ruthlessly efficient at diverting resources to an orgy of blood that was consumed before it could consume itself. Therefore by the criteria of intent Nazism is the more murderous cult. The third candidate after Third International’s Triumph of History and the Third Reich’s Triumph of the Will is Islam’s Triumph of what? Islam has proven to be a cult so murderous, so destructive of basic human attributes such as creativity, loyalty, and compassion that it has proven unable to sustain the level of cohesion demanded by its pretensions. Like a one trick pony it has been sustained by the triumph of its initial wave of enthusiasm. It deadens the very intellectual resources that would have given it the tools to continue to conquer and destroys the spirit and wastes the potential of the majority of those who fall into its grasp. It is the shear waste of human potential, the opportunity cost, which has held Islam back. That combines with an ideology which at the core is totalitarianism so pure as to destroy the value of human life and all of God’s creation. All are seen as disposable mirages projected by an arbitrary will that can be disposed of at the whim of fallible human egos. At the same time this very disorganization and backwardness have helped it survive. It is this combination of lost human potential of hundreds of millions of lives over fourteen centuries and overwhelming contempt for life and all of creation that makes Islam the most murderous cult.
“We are going to win, because they love life and we love death,” Hassan Nasrallah
Sep 4, 2008 - 6:56 am 119. maril:NOW says Sarah is “not the right kind of woman”. What a laugh!!!!! What don’t they like -Sarah is a smart, strong, determined woman and mother. Oh, I know what they don’t like – Sarah is not just a bunch talk like they are.
Go Sarah Go
Sep 4, 2008 - 6:59 am 120. programmer:@Lifeofthemind,
“We are going to win, because they love life and we love death,” Hassan Nasrallah
My kneejerk reaction to this this kind of stuff is good. Feed them all the death they want. I seem to remember Mullah Omar saying something similar with words to the effect, “we have two million martyrs willing to die.” And again, my kneejerk response is/was, “Well, that’s a start.”
But they are not really serious about it. When we start bringing death to them, they get all whiny about it and want to negotiate. Wusses.
Sep 4, 2008 - 7:17 am 121. Aether:programmer:
“It has occurred to me that the big difference between the Left and the Right is a God given sense of humor. The Left is humorless.”
Good Point! I had commented to my lovely wife that ALL of the republican speakers have that certain “twinkle” in their eyes.
I’ve watched both conventions quite closely on C-Span and in contrast to the Dems, every Republican speaker has given an excellant speech. They absolutely ROCKED that house! Guiliani was having a blast and even Linda Lingle who started out slow and wooden, had the crowd on their feets and wrapped up with a bang!
also, One clear difference between the Dems and Repubs is that the conservative bench has depth. My fantnsy picks…
Guiliani: Homeland Security
Sep 4, 2008 - 7:24 am 122. cjm:Thompson: Secretary of Defense
Lieberman: Secretary of State (he wields a mean stilleto)
Bush (Laura): Education
Steele: Justice
thompson has already held a cabinet position, and did not shine. he may be a good person but politicaly he’s a stiff.
Sep 4, 2008 - 7:37 am 123. M. Simon:Classical Values has the videos.
Sep 4, 2008 - 7:53 am 124. M. Simon:BTW Spengler has a post up on Palin pre speech. I blogged it.
“Midway for Obama” Click on my name and scroll down.
Sep 4, 2008 - 7:58 am 125. cjm:who will be secdef in mccain’s admin?
Sep 4, 2008 - 8:01 am 126. Aether:Did I say “Fred” ? I meant to say “Jeri”, she’s smart as a whip and a besides that, she’s quite a hottie.
seriously, Fred is smart as hell and has balls of steel.
btw, Thompson was a Special Counsel and a two term Senator… what cabinet position has he held?
Sep 4, 2008 - 8:05 am 127. Lifeofthemind:All the major speeches are here.
Sep 4, 2008 - 8:16 am 128. trangbang68:http://www.gopconvention.com/videos/
slightly o/t-
The US magazine propaganda where the Obamas were treated like Joseph and Mary on the cover in June and Palin was savaged by lies and innuendo.
Sep 4, 2008 - 8:19 am 129. M. Simon:If anything it shows the colossal hypocrisy of the left.
US Magazine’s publisher, Jann Wenner, left his wife and children in midlife to take up with another guy. Now that is sordid.
Old Salt,
I think your take is in error in one respect.
If she can’t have it as a D no D will get it for a very long time. Hill’s brother is signing on. Rumor has it that her mother will be at the R convention.
She is a woman scorned. It will be scorched earth for her. She wants to destroy the Chicago wing of the party. Rumor has it that Rezko is singing like a canary.
Sep 4, 2008 - 8:33 am 130. Joseph Somsel:I’ve not been enthusiastic about women political leaders in the US, in general. Of course, my congressional rep had been Barbara Boxer and now she’s senator so there’s a bad example.
But Sarah Palin is no affirmative action candidate! She’s earned her aclaim legitimately, on her own merits.
Sep 4, 2008 - 8:48 am 131. Tony:Sarah Palin was fantastic last night, I love that look on her face, seems to say “You think you’re getting by me?”
Reminded me of Sarah Connor, in the greatest movie of all time, The Terminator, when Sarah C was cocking her twelve gauge in one hand.
Can’t wait until she debates that pompous windbag Biden. Ohhhh, this is going to be good. Redneck bonanza – whoo-eee!
Sep 4, 2008 - 8:52 am 132. 3Case:“But how can a candidate simultaneously be an insider and outsider at one and the same time?”
Answer: Obama!…Obama!…Obama!
Sep 4, 2008 - 8:56 am 133. 3Case:Well said, lotm.
‘“We are going to win, because they love life and we love death,” Hassan Nasrallah’
Haven’t had the opportunity to say it for a while now, and I think I have said it in response to Mr. Nasrallah previously, so permit me:
Slaughter now or slaughter later.
Sep 4, 2008 - 9:05 am 134. Aether:Slaughter later = slaughter more.
Any reason Palin couldn’t hold both the VP and Sec Defense portfolio’s?
Duncan Hunter has a good background to be Secretary of Defense.
eff it… Bring back Rumsfeld!
Sep 4, 2008 - 9:06 am 135. Don:Wrong Thompson. Tommy Thompson served in W’s cabinet. I believe Aether wants Fred Thompson to served as SecDef.
Sep 4, 2008 - 9:16 am 136. Storm-Rider:“We are going to win, because they love life and we love death,” Hassan Nasrallah
“All they that hate Me love death.” Proverbs
Sep 4, 2008 - 9:33 am 137. Storm-Rider:“I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king….and I am not afraid of anything.” Queen Elizabeth I
Sep 4, 2008 - 9:37 am 138. Triton'sPolarTiger:Rush is calling Sen McCain “Senator John McBrilliant”.
NEVER thought I’d see that… but I must agree – that building was SO full of energy last night, and it had everything to do with his choice of a running mate.
I didn’t get settled in until about a third of the way through Rudy’s speech… what a lovely night it was… I think my popcorn even tasted better.
Sep 4, 2008 - 9:44 am 139. David M:The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the – Web Reconnaissance for 09/04/2008 A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day…so check back often.
Sep 4, 2008 - 9:50 am 140. cjm:ohhh. fred t. is a different kettle of fish altogether. thanks for the clarification.
Sep 4, 2008 - 10:00 am 141. Benj:“To use the metaphor of the Battle of the Denmark Straits, it was almost as if the British, expecting the Bismarck and Prince Eugen to emerge from the mists, found that the Bismarck and the Tirpitz had showed up instead…” -Wretchard
Wretch’s military metaphors reminded me of the objections made here by those pointed out the (morally) problematic quality of Mac’s apologists making his case for Palin on strategic grounds (rather than her being the most qualified for the gig). Can’t pretend I’m shocked that Clubbers are attracted to the mili-language re “destroying” Obama/Biden etc. But perhaps some might consider this graph of caution from a conservative who enjoyed last night and thought “Palin did a splendid job making the most of her executive experience and properly pointing out that next to her, Barack Obama’s qualifications for leadership pale.”…
“After watching Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin last night, I am definitely enthused. Yet, I do have a concern about what I heard last night. I understand conventions like this are effective forums to point out the weaknesses and inadequacies of opposing candidates, but I don’t think a biting, mocking tone is the best way to win over wavering voters. There is plenty to point out when it comes to Obama’s startlingly thin resume and unabashedly uber-liberal voting record. I just hope the GOP will better refrain from the kind of hard-edged humor that may turn off those who are still deciding for whom to vote. ”
Clubbers want that edge. But I’m hoping Americans want more than snark. Watching Rudy Giu play that crowd, pretending he was one of them – not some New York sophisticate made me feel low-down about America. Precisely because it was so effective.
The writer George Trow – our deepest analyst of America’s celebrity culture – noted that once upon a time “we were intent on showing, angrily, that there was not Virtue at the Top, we segued (really through Donahue), into a period during which (enter Jerry Springer) we were (have been) able to prove that there is no Virtue at the bottom either.”
Ms. Palin’s persona seems to flow with both of these tendencies in America’s bassline culture. And that’s one reason why she’s suddenly a powerful presence. Another reason is that she is, as the conservative above avers, a “woman of fortitude.” Trow once pointed out that in our celeb-culture you “enter with daring.” Or you don’t enter at all…Palin dares to be proudly…provincial in front of millions. The New Frontier?
Sep 4, 2008 - 10:16 am 142. Peter Boston:I finally got around to the Spengler article. He makes good points. My favorits is that Governor Palin is Obama’s Midway. He also alludes that Michelle Obama vetoed any chance of Hilary getting the VP nod. I hope that’s true. The ONE will look at her with vile for her narcissistic selfishness that might have cost him the election – and he will look at himself as the weak kneed, get along wimp that he knows he is. A win-win for the good guys.
Sep 4, 2008 - 10:20 am 143. RWE:Lotsa good lines in the speech, but perhaps the best was:
“Obama and Biden say how they have fought for the American people. There’s only one man in this election that has fought for you.”
Now, I wonder how the jihad fascists look at this? First we elect and re-elect Bush, a fighter interceptor pilot who learned how to intercept threats. And he went on offense.
Then, if we elect an attack pilot who learned how to go take out threats on the ground before they can get to you…. Even more offense?
Sep 4, 2008 - 10:29 am 144. NahnCee:Could Petreaus be SecDef?
Sep 4, 2008 - 11:12 am 145. jeffr:Why was Palin’s speech so effective? “Above all else, the Devil cannot stand to be mocked.” — C.S.Lewis.
Sep 4, 2008 - 11:14 am 146. Eggplant:cjm said:
“did you notice she didn’t refer to obama by name (except once i think at the end)? subtle and effective; obama shrunk a little each time she refered to him this way.”
Propaganda-101: Never refer to your opponent by name.
McCain’s people showed brilliance in selecting Sarah Palin as VP. With Sarah Palin, we see both Margaret Thatcher and Davy Crocket.
The MSM is white with fear. They’re pissing themselves. Palin and McCain will be a catastrophe for both the MSM and the moonbats.
B. Hussein is a clear and present danger. Maybe just maybe, the United States will dodge another bullet.
Sep 4, 2008 - 11:14 am 147. Fletcher Christian:I’d like to ask a question, about a question that should be asked of both candidates for President and VP – in the VP case particularly, for obvious reasons, the Republican VP candidate. Biden is probably irrelevant; it is rather unlikely that he will assume the highest office. Palin is not, because there is a good chance she will.
The question is this; what will they each do when Talibanesque loonies take over Pakistan, give Al Qaeda a nuke or two and they get used? Note that I said “when” – unfortunately, I consider it now to be inevitable. Note also that the most likely target is somewhere in the USA.
And a related question; if asked “what will you do in those circumstances”, what will each of them say?
Sep 4, 2008 - 11:15 am 148. fedya:Just watched Rudi Giuliani’s speech after having read umpteen-zillions of comments about him laughing at his own jokes. Whoa! How wrong can how many pundits be?
I guess people don’t understand the “perspective” created by microphones. At an event, you mic the speaker, and you make sure to drop the “amibient” sound levels down enough so as to hear the speaker clearly.
What we saw and only indirectly heard, was an overwhelming explosion of genuine enthusiasm from the crowd, and Rudi Giuliani — not himself — enjoying, really ENJOYING THE CROWD! This is one speach in which the speaker didn’t have to “work the crowd”. No, the crowd was working the speaker!
I seem to have misplaced my conservative gloom shroud. If you happen to see it, send it to yer local Democrat Central Committee, they might could use it themselves.
Sep 4, 2008 - 11:18 am 149. PeterD:When Sarah Palin walked on that stage last night after all she’s been put thru it reminded me of that scene in HBO’s Band of Brothers where LT Speers is sent into the battle at Foi(?) to replace the paralyzed Lt. Dike. Particularly that part where Speers runs back and forth across the kill zone and thru the German defenders to connect with Charlie company. What an amazing rallying point for conservatives last night! May God bless and protect her. There’s nothing more powerful than that well used feminity!!
Sep 4, 2008 - 11:22 am 150. Storm-Rider:“The Devil, the proud spirit, cannot endure to be mocked.” – Thomas More, 16th Century
Sep 4, 2008 - 11:25 am 151. Aristide:If you want to checkout what the PUMAs are saying, see this link…
http://www.hillaryclintonforum.net/discussion/forumdisplay.php?f=108
There are dozens of different topics and everything I’ve seen has been almost unanimously favorable toward Governor Palin.
Sep 4, 2008 - 11:27 am 152. cjm:why do you think pakistan still has its nukes?
Sep 4, 2008 - 11:29 am 153. Peterike:Community Organizer? I just came across this devastating article explaining just what exactly the Big O did as a “community organizer.” Something to send to anyone who asks. A must read.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/01/obamas_alinsky_jujitsu.html
Sep 4, 2008 - 11:30 am 154. M. Simon:Benj,
The speech went over very big with PUMAs – disaffected Clinton voters.
Read “Orange Revolution” by clicking on my name and scrolling down. There are 18 million voters up for grabs. Get 1/2 of them and the election is over.
The whole Convention was designed to attract them. Read the article to find out how.
Sep 4, 2008 - 11:32 am 155. Mark:Did you notice that Sarah had some glitches in her otherwise very polished performance? And did you notice that she was referring to her notes and not using the teleprompter? This puzzled me as I was watching. (And did you notice that every republican speaker was presented regularly via back cameras that clearly revealed teleprompters, while no democrats, that I saw anyway, were videoed this way?)
Here is the astounding, assuming it’s true, answer to my observations, via Powerline via Red State:
“UPDATE: RedState is reporting that the teleprompter broke half way through Palin’s speech. This explains why, as I noted last night, she started deviating from the prepared text. She apparently delivered the remainder of the speech from memory. She also had the text of the speech on paper at the podium–a useful backup any time you’re using a teleprompter!–and she might have consulted it a time or two during applause breaks, but she certainly didn’t read from it. So what could have been a disaster instead appears to be more evidence of Palin’s steady nerve.”
That is . . . astounding!
Sep 4, 2008 - 11:35 am 156. fedya:@Fletcher Christian:
I would hope they’d hold their cards close, making the most general statements of principle possible. No point in boxing yourself in when the situation is extremely fluid.
I’d trust McCain-Palin to balance strategy and tactics well. But I think it is very likely that President Bush is doing it very well, too. Compared to FDR in WWII, or JFK vis a vis Khruschev, President Bush’s missteps/fumblings may be relatively minor and his success major, so far.
Sep 4, 2008 - 11:36 am 157. Lifeofthemind:@Aether,
The short answer is No.
The Vice President is President of the Senate and as such is not eligible to hold permanent supervisory positions in the Executive branch. Originally John Adams thought the VP was a functioning member of the Senate but over time the rules have progressively limited the VP’s role. They no longer can take part in debate or most other business. In recent decades they have been assigned by the POTUS to chair task forces or boards of inquiry and they sit ex offcio on the boards of various government bodies. For example the VP and the Chief Justice sit on the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian. Until recent decades the Veep did not even attend cabinet meetings. More on the dismal history of the office is in the wiki.
Arguably the Confederate Constitution had a more innovative, if not certainly a better, approach to the relation of the Executive and Legislative branches. Provision was made for Executive officers to participate in questioning and debate in the Legislature as well as for giving the Executive the power of a line item veto.
“You die, we fly” George H.W. Bush
Sep 4, 2008 - 11:46 am 158. Ricardo:Benj:
Americans have always been “provincial”. From the beginning of the republic, even some of the savviest and erudite (Ben Franklin, for one) played up their provincialism. I saw it on TV.
“No virtue at the bottom either”… Benj, Benj, yes I know how highly you esteem virtue, and how little of it, alas, you and a few other deep analysts see. Perhaps it is because i am not as deep a thinker as you, or because I am meaner than most, that I see more virtue than you do.
There are great numbers of families out there, both spouses holding jobs, going to church, struggling to raise a family. Some of their kids turn out alright, some don’t. They may not exemplify virtue at the highest level, but they are trying hard.
As for “entering with daring”, what did you expect of a USA VP candidate, to meekly shuffle into the podium whispering “Aw shucks, I’m just a country girl guv’ner an’ I sho’ do hope y’all like me?”
The gnashing of teeth I hear coming from liberals like you is indignant sputtering at the audacious effrontery of those brutish rubes who daringly enter your scene, parading their awkward outfits, and shamelessly, yes, proudly, proclaim their confused ignorance as wisdom as they boorishly mock your loftiest ideals and most cherished beliefs. LOL, you better put some ice on that, baby!
Sep 4, 2008 - 12:28 pm 159. Benj:M. Simon – You’re probably right re a portion PUMAs – but I’ll admit I was pushing toward a larger point about whether American politics would be defined – as it has been in recent past – by our resentments…
BTW – I was pretty down when I came to work – Feeling lousy at the idea that folks like Wade and Buddy were so far gone in their enthusiasm for Palin…- Ran into a woman on the elevator – Irish Catholic, married w/ children from Queens – whom I’ve tried to steer clear of in recent months because I guessed she was a diehard Hillary supporter…Turned out I had that right – but she kept me away from my desk for 10 minutes talking about how she (and her husband) had been put off by Palin’s tone/delivery…My co-worker is not an Obama fan. But there’s no she would vote for Mac now.
Have to say, though, that ain’t lifted my spirits. I think Mac took the low road – Hate to see folks I respect roll right past the fact Palin is – despite smarts and daring – not ready for the world…
Sep 4, 2008 - 12:28 pm 160. Ricardo:“American politics would be defined – as it has been in recent past – by our resentments…”
Sep 4, 2008 - 12:49 pm 161. Doug:I’m sure Benj is referring to Bush Derangement Syndrome.
Roger Simon, MSM “Blogger”
Sep 4, 2008 - 1:09 pm 162. Doug:Day before, on Miller’s show, he was orgamic over the prospect of McCain having to throw her overboard.
“I’ll admit I was pushing toward a larger point about whether American politics would be defined – as it has been in recent past – by our resentments… ”
Sep 4, 2008 - 1:12 pm 163. cjm:—
Like,
GOD DAMN AMERICA! ?
i like dennis and his heart is in the right place, but he just doesn’t have the equipment for dealing with people like simon. i was listening to the latter’s appearance and all i heard was this strange slithering sound; turned to a different station within 60 seconds.
Sep 4, 2008 - 1:24 pm 164. Peterike:Benj: Ran into a woman on the elevator – Irish Catholic, married w/ children from Queens – …but she kept me away from my desk for 10 minutes talking about how she (and her husband) had been put off by Palin’s tone/delivery…
New Yorkers don’t count. They are as ignorant a pack of self-important nincompoops as you will ever meet. I know, born and raised there. Palin’s accent alone will put off half of New York, because the self-righteous sneer is their mother’s milk. They think they know everything, yet if you scratch the surface they are stuffed full of Lefty talking points and don’t have a clue about how the world works (like Nancy Pelosi, I’m sure many New Yorkers don’t know natural gas is a fossil fuel).
They continually vote for people who are Socialist rot like Obama, until the point when things get so bad that the wolves are at the door (i.e. the Dinkins administration) and then they go begging for a Rethuglican to save them (Rudi), and he DOES save them and they thank him by calling him Adolph Giuliani.
Voters in the major urban centers are also way more influenced by the social aspects of voting: I’m voting for Obama because that’s what’s cool.
Sep 4, 2008 - 1:25 pm 165. Benj:Ric – Thanks for feeling my pain and I know you and your candidate will always put country first.
BTW – No problem with daring – As per Trow – that’s the only way to go in our celeb terrarium. But, after Ms. P. called attention to her “authentic” self and fam and community – what else was there on display beside her will-to-power. Did you get a sense of what drove Sarah into politics, beyond personal ambition? The pub speechwriters tended to stay away from her efforts to pursue her cultural politics in the course of her mayoralty. Not a lot of talk about her attempt to censor the local library and fire the librarian who resisted her. Pub operatives know all about how to pump up their pols’ provincial poses but I’m guessing her history of censoriousness seemed a bit too backward to bring up. Better to play up the corruption-fighter as Palin herself has. (Though that pesky bridge to nowhere flip-flop may come back to haunt…) My guess is that Ms. Palin is a canny politician whose “core” is close to the social conservatives’ agenda. I’d also guess – on the basis of her speech – that she hasn’t thought too long and deeply about too many aspects of national policy, much less foreign policy. Maybe I’m wrong. But hard to see why anyone who cares passionately about political ideas would care passionately about Ms. P. Personal (“People/Us”) trumps political? Well that’s the ticket, according to Mac’s manager.
The passages I lifted from Trow above come from a prophetic piece he wrote – “Is Dan Mad?” – about Dan Rather. Predicted a couple years before Rather’s flameout that Dano would trash America’s faith in any “authoritative news voice.” For Trow – Rather stood for journalism as will-to-power – the Cultivation of A-List Adrenalin. Rather’s gone but not forgotten when I see Sarah Barricuda
http://www.firstofthemonth.org/archives/1999/02/is_dan_mad.html
Sep 4, 2008 - 1:40 pm 166. Benj:Ric & Doug – Read Obama’s charming account of his first encounter with George Bush in “Audacity”, then see if you can pretend to yourself that O suffers from that syndrome. Doug – And Obama IS Wright? And Benj IS Coyotle…You’re a proud exemplar of the politics of resentment, though I think Whiskey could drink you under the table!
Sep 4, 2008 - 1:48 pm 167. programmer:Benj says:
Hate to see folks I respect roll right past the fact Palin is – despite smarts and daring – not ready for the world…
First, the obvious. If she is not ready for the world, then neither is Senator Obama.
Secondly, she has shown steady progress from local government, state government, now national goverment at the executive level. But you know all that. There is probably nothing that Governor Palin could bring to the table that would persuade you to vote for her ticket. She is not your choice. Okay, that is fine. However, her qualifications and character is exactly what others, such as myself, are comfortable with. There only a few people alive who have experience being one of the two highest ranking executives in the United States. As a practical matter, unless a sitting president is running for reelection, all candidates for president and vice president do not have experience at this leadership level. But you know this. She is still not your choice. Exercise your vote and we will exercise ours. We will all live with the results for some time. Choose wisely.
Sep 4, 2008 - 1:52 pm 168. Storm-Rider:Benj said: “But, after Ms. P. called attention to her “authentic” self and fam and community – what else was there on display beside her will-to-power.”
Friedrich Nietzsche got it wrong when he wrote that the basic instinct of man is a “will to power.” Prior to his so-called philosophy, there was a rough consensus that the basic instinct of man was a “will to live.” Our founding fathers got right what Nietzsche got wrong, and they pushed the envelope: Our basic instinct is a will to Life, a will to Liberty and a will to Purse Happiness; and these are also our God-given human rights.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” Thomas Jefferson
Nietzsche also got another thing wrong when he said “God is dead.” But what do you expect from a man who couldn’t get it right on our essential human instincts and our essential human rights.
Sara Palin does not have a will to power; she has a will to lead us, as our founders of old, to Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness. American Marxists/Socialist/Leftists have a will to power – raw power – government power without the consent of the governed – and God is not in their mix. They will most certainly cling to their all-powerful Socialist State, i.e.: their god, and their state-controlled guns.
Sep 4, 2008 - 1:55 pm 169. Alaska Paul:I listened to the Palin acceptance speech last night as I drove home out of Anchorage. The highways were rockin’! People were honking their horns and waving. Alaskans were proud of their favorite daughter.
Alaska is a unique place. It is big country, small town. 650,000 or so in the whole state. Half the population resides in Anchorage and the Mat-Su in south central Alaska. The weather and the sometimes malicious and deadly actions of nature govern us. We get occasional tsunamis, lots of earthquakes, avalanches, volcanoes going off.
We have accidents. People get killed in the great outdoors. My two closest friends were killed in separate air crashes.
Because of the small population, motivated people can make a difference. My wife works at Mat-Su schools. Many of her colleagues know Sarah Palin personally. Sarah is the real deal—a mom, a friend. She has a strong sense of what is right. She will take on the powers that be and win, being driven by principle.
Her speeches are calculated. She starts folksy, gets mainstream America to identify with her. She compliments Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton. She is gracious, she is calculating and Machiavellian, but she is honest and genuine.
She attacks the Obama camp on substance, backed by her vision. She does not do personal attacks on their families. She and her family do not have to put themselves through the sewage lagoon of the MSM. But they have chose to do so for a greater cause and vision of the future of the USA.
In Alaska, we have our share of bullsh*t artists, but we weed them out pretty fast. We can be rough, and we can be crude. But we will stake our lives on each other if we need to. What you see is what you get. Same applies to Sarah Palin, VP candidate.
Sep 4, 2008 - 2:05 pm 170. NahnCee:Fletcher Christian says, “The question is this; what will they each do when Talibanesque loonies take over Pakistan, give Al Qaeda a nuke or two and they get used? Note that I said “when” – unfortunately, I consider it now to be inevitable. Note also that the most likely target is somewhere in the USA.”
Disagree that the most likely target is somewhere in the U.S. simply because we’ve got a really big moat between us and them, and for the last 3 or 4 years, Muslim terrorists have been focusing their activities on the soft underbelly of the West, also known as England and the rest of Europe.
Therefore, if you happen to be a trouble-maker from a fair isle sticking your nose in someone else’s politics, chances are your trouble-making will come home to roost in your own backyard faster than it will be able to swim across said big old moat.
So the question then becomes, “what are England the the EU going to do not only about left-over alleged Paki nukes but whatever Putin and the Russians have left in *their* arsenals?” My guess is that none of the NATO allies will belly up to the bar to defend themselves, but will roll over, play possum and offer up lots and lots of appeasement money while burning the kitchen table for heat this winter.
Sep 4, 2008 - 2:28 pm 171. Ricardo:Benj:
I never said Obama has BDS. He is unlike most of his supporters, and I do take him at his word that he wants to heal the US. I just think he is confused as to what is going to take to heal us and what his ability to do so is.
As to a will to power, I am so glad you pointed out to me that Sarah has a will to power. Perhaps the rest of the world needs to know right now that politicians have a will to power , before it’s too late.
As to “Ric – Thanks for feeling my pain and I know you and your candidate will always put country first.” I know you do, because you know that McCain put his country first in Vietnam, and then he put country in front of family because his son is in Iraq. I regret to inform you that I did not put country first when I got a high lottery number in the draft, but then again, I’m not running for office, and I don’t pretend to know better about service to the country than McCain.
As for Palin, she cunningly burnished her credentials as a neocon by sending a son to Iraq, but we all know she can spare him because she had four other kids, including the Down syndrome one (bonus pity points for that one!), as a great front to get elected. Naked unabashed Will to Power for 20 years, leading to this moment. Yeah, great theory Benj.
Barack’s use of self designed presidential seals, voting “present” xxxxxx times, not bucking the Chicago machine, publishing 2 autobiographies without passing a single piece of legislation, use of greek columns to echo the Lincoln memorial, using a stadium for his address, etc. all indicate, without question, the purest selflessness and humility in modern day politics. I am sure that despite not having reached across the partisan aisle to any significant degree up to now, once voted in he will heal the rift between republican and democrat thus ushering in the new world we have all been hoping for.
Sep 4, 2008 - 2:50 pm 172. buddy larsen:In his dreams…
hey that was good, Alaska Paul –i could see the scenery, reading it.
benj, you’re missing something huge with your ‘’she’s unqualified” –she has an array of qualifications that are just not visible unless you glom the gestalt, begin the beguin, direct yo feet to the sunny side o the street, and…here it is…give her your affection, loyalty, trust, allegiance. Doing so then creates a ‘follower’, and followers create leaders, in reciprocal action.
it’s really that simple –if you don’t like her positions, or the change she has made in the campaign, then you won’t want to follow her; if you don’t want to follow her, then for you she is in fact “unqualified”. After all, the first qualification for office is that the voters want you in it.
Sep 4, 2008 - 2:53 pm 173. CPT. Charles:Something for everyone’s amusement:
http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD204108
Sometimes you can’t make this stuff up.
Sep 4, 2008 - 3:08 pm 174. bobal:Theodore Roethke said the basic drive in man is a drive towards God, though many don’t know it. Don’t know the first heaven of knowing.
Sep 4, 2008 - 3:08 pm 175. Doug:“hey that was good, Alaska Paul –i could see the scenery, reading it.”
—
Agreed.
Most of the country may have gone soft, but not many of those are Alaskans.
‘Rat mentioned her parents “Trumanesque” look.
—
Your anti-Trumanesque quote of the day
According to the New York Times’ Jesse McKinley the Berkeley City Council will be reversing its decision to ban the Marines from running a three-person recruitment center in the downtown.
Now I could fill up this blog city council inanities, and I don’t, so why focus on this one? Because of the following quote:
You have to stand back and admire, in a truly perverse way, a politician who embodies the polar opposite of Harry Truman’s sentiment of ‘the buck stops here’. Don’t blame me, blame the staff!!
Sep 4, 2008 - 3:13 pm 176. Storm-Rider:“Theodore Roethke said the basic drive in man is a drive towards God, though many don’t know it. Don’t know the first heaven of knowing.”
Yes, and the instinct and right to drive toward life, liberty and creative pursuit of happines is part of that drive to God – so said Thomas Jefferson.
Sep 4, 2008 - 3:17 pm 177. bobal:Well said by Jefferson.
Sep 4, 2008 - 3:35 pm 178. fedya:@wretchard:
Sep 4, 2008 - 4:05 pm 179. wretchard:Am I hallucinating, or did a long post by you (after this one) and thread just totally disappear?
No it didn’t disappear. I checked. BTW, the Roger Simon of Politico is not the same as the Roger L. Simon of Pajamas Media. Just check out their pictures and you’ll see they are different men.
Sep 4, 2008 - 4:10 pm 180. cjm:i wonder if mccain will announce a comprehensive energy plan tonight, that includes rebating part of the profits (from new oil production) directly to citizens. just like they do in alaska.
Sep 4, 2008 - 4:21 pm 181. OldSalt:“You’re a proud exemplar of the politics of resentment” – Benj
Benj suffers from same virus plaguing many of the Democrat political left: Thou doth project too much.
The Democrats project the vile within themselves upon their political adversaries. They can’t identify with conservatives, who are generally honest, patriotic, truthful, giving, caring, and subscribe to a set of absolute values they did not create. So, the left imagines us to be as they are, and ascribe the motives to us that drive themselves. They believe Bush is “Hitler”. They believe he’s a rube. Or, they believe he’s a danger to the Constitution, because they would do the things they ascribe to him if they were in office. They believe Palin is all the things they describe. They go after her kids, try to destroy her and her family in the public eye, lie and misrepresent, because “this election is just so damn important”, and because they would do the same thing. They project, and Benj is doing the same thing here on this BLOG.
That’s why no one here is really trying to reason with Benj. His world view, his moral character, who he is, will likely never change. He personifies a person from the left wing of American politics. Regardless of facts or the costs of leftist policies upon people of the world, they believe, thus it must be so.
Sep 4, 2008 - 4:23 pm 182. fedya:@wretchard:
I’m still confused. Is this the latest post?
September 3rd, 2008 4:46 pm
Stranger in a strange land
It is the latest I see now at:
pajamasmedia[dot]com/richardfernandez/
I’m in the West Coast version of The Bay Area. Perhaps there is some DNS-distributed server goofiness going on redirecting to outdated versions of the page. Last time I saw today’s post was 2-ish, Pacific DTime.
Also, I’m not sure if Roger Simon comment is directed toward me. I have enjoyed reading, I think, both persons but haven’t commented to or about either one.
Sep 4, 2008 - 4:26 pm 183. Tony:Sarah Palin will appeal to all those other people like herself, y’know the majority of Americans, and that is a ghastly nightmare for the progressives.
Drudge agrees: “PALIN RAISES MONEY — FOR OBAMA! **Exclusive** Obama scores $8 million since Palin’s speech from over 130,000 donors – on pace to hit $10 million by the time John McCain hits stage, campaign says… Developing… ”
That’s the sad thing about liberals these days – everything makes them feel bad – they need a command-and-control society to impose liberalism as an occupying force. When that happens, liberals will regain their sense of humor. They’ll be funnier than Beijing before long.
Sep 4, 2008 - 4:35 pm 184. fedya:Just checked on Roger Simon of the Politico and can find no trace of an article that would have pleased me to read. My bad.
“Mr. Fedora”, however, gets many thumbses up.
Sep 4, 2008 - 4:44 pm 185. RWE:Old Salt: Yes, I have observed the Left’s “projection” for some time. For example, take a look at all of the bad things Reagan Adminstration was supposed to have done – but did not – and which were done by the Clinton Admin. It’s quite remrkable.
But there is another group that has always done the same thing. The Soviets. Prior to each invasion of some small country they have insisted that it was necessary because NATO or someone was going to do it first so they preempted them. The KGB spread mischief all over the world in wholesale lots, but if anything happened it was because of the CIA. Today the Russians follow that same principle – invading Georgia because of the threat of Genocide.
The Left all use the same old playbook.
Sep 4, 2008 - 5:29 pm 186. Anti-Elitist:That anti-elitist speech was written by Elitists with Psychology or Advertising degrees, and likely polished by Elitists with an Administrative Law background.
Straight from the heart? Or straight from the heartless?
Sarah Palin was prepped for 3 days for that whiny lament. How cynical! How desperate! The Dems had to dump Senator Eagleton in 1972. I will give Palin 2 weeks.
Sep 4, 2008 - 6:40 pm 187. cjm:i will give you $0.02 — you’re an idiot.
Sep 4, 2008 - 7:01 pm 188. 2x4:Anti-Elitist, Jane Roberts’ Seth said that we create our own reality, but I think you utterly misunderstood the way it works. Please reread the whole Seth series.
You’ll find out that being stupid is not particularly useful. You don’t have to take my word for it, just start reading… go on, I’ve known cases where it was curable.
Sep 4, 2008 - 7:30 pm 189. trangbang68:Call me provincial. I lived in Alabama for a long time, grew up in the rust belt, have friends all over the Midwest.There is something about the heartland of America that is so enduring while the fads and fashions of the coasts come and go to little regret.
I remember stopping at a Fourth of July celebration in Guntersville, Alabama one year on my way to a family picnic. I stood on the fringe while real salt of the earth people sang hymns to America. My eyes teared up at the sentiment.
Smooth cats like Benjie will never understand that emotion of being moved by a grand idea of a wonderful land full of hope
Only in America
Can a guy from anywhere
Go to sleep a pauper and wake up a millionaire
Only in America
Can a kid without a cent
Get a break and maybe grow up to be President
Only in America
Land of opportunity, yeah
Would a classy girl like you fall for a poor boy like me
Only in America
Can a kid who’s washin’ cars
Take a giant step and reach right up and touch the stars
Only in America
Could a dream like this come true
Could a guy like me start with nothing and end up with you
—— instrumental break ——
Only in America
Land of opportunity, yeah
Would a classy girl like you fall for a poor boy like me
Only in America (poor boy like me)
Only in America (only in America)
Only in America (only in America)
Only in America (only in America)
Only in America (only in America)
Only in America
-Jay and the Americans
Sep 4, 2008 - 8:05 pm 190. buddy larsen:Yep, proud moment in Dem history –offer pore old Tom Eagleton a place on the world stage, get the spotlight focused on his smiling face, and then kick him in the teeth over an ancient bout of illness. Great example of how to humiliate the vulnerable! Bravo! What a show! Yer all heart!
Sep 4, 2008 - 8:08 pm 191. Bob Murphy:Nice thread, guys.
But a quibble on word usage. I think we have been had on political terms by the left media.
A liberal is defined as (among other things) “favourable to or in accord with the policy of leaving the individual as unrestricted as possible in the opportunities for self-expression or self-fulfillment”.
Sep 4, 2008 - 8:26 pm 192. Bob Murphy:Another definition of liberal in the MacQuarie Dictionary (the one on my desk)is “free from prejudice or bigotry, tolerant” and that obviously can’t be with their politically correct thang and unconscionable deportment and partiality.
There are other definitions. But my point is that the term liberal has many positive connotations that the political left does not deserve.
I think we should be referring to them as lefties, or the Left, or if the context is relevant, socialists.
Don’t let them steal our language.
One more coming up
Otherwise we are crediting them for something they aren’t and don’t deserve.
We are all using the term elites to describe influential types of the Left. I don’t think we should concede that or we fall into their trap.
Sep 4, 2008 - 8:30 pm 193. bobal:Elitist is much better. Elitist sounds like a wannabe that thinks he or she is better than the proverbial “reasonable man” (sorry Nahncee, you’re obviously in) who is supposed to be the foundation of democracy (or preferrably a republic).
They use our language against us and it’s all a conditioning exercise.
I heard liberal was a medical term for a mental disease.
Sep 4, 2008 - 8:31 pm 194. bobal:It’s certainly true they try to steal the language. That commie party in Berkeley was “The Peace and Freedom Party” for instance. North Korea has the word “People’s” in it somewhere I’d bet, while the people are slaves and eat grass. Eastern Europe was all People’s This and That, but given the choice went back to being Poland, Romania, Latvia, etc etc etc.
Sep 4, 2008 - 8:38 pm 195. 3Case:From the Wiki entry on Geo. Trow:
Trow was also socially ambitious: throughout his life, he was “striving to be part of the ‘10 percent of people at Harvard who wear tuxedos to their own little events in their own little buildings and you can see them out on their balconies with their tuxedos and their often very beautiful girls who are also similarly there from the Vanderbilts and the Astors.’”
Sep 4, 2008 - 8:41 pm 196. 3Case:Let’s drink to the hard working people
Let’s drink to the lowly of birth
Raise your glass to the good and the evil
Let’s drink to the salt of the earth
Say a prayer for the common foot soldier
Spare a thought for his back breaking work
Say a prayer for his wife and his children
Who burn the fires and who still till the earth
And when I search a faceless crowd
A swirling mass of gray and
Black and white
They don’t look real to me
In fact, they look so strange
Raise your glass to the hard working people
Let’s drink to the uncounted heads
Let’s think of the wavering millions
Who need leading but get gamblers instead
Spare a thought for the stay-at-home voter
Empty eyes gaze at strange beauty shows
And a parade of the gray suited grafters
A choice of cancer or polio
And when I look in the faceless crowd
A swirling mass of grays and
Black and white
They don’t look real to me
Or don’t they look so strange
Let’s drink to the hard working people
Let’s think of the lowly of birth
Spare a thought for the rag taggy people
Let’s drink to the salt of the earth
Let’s drink to the hard working people
Let’s drink to the salt of the earth
Let’s drink to the two thousand million
Let’s think of the humble of birth
-M. Jagger/K. Richards
Sep 4, 2008 - 8:45 pm 197. Alexis:No matter who gets elected to the Presidency, the citizens of the United States should hold our elected officials accountable for their actions. If Obama is elected, he must be held accountable. If McCain is elected, he must be held accountable.
Is the “Change” of the Obama campaign merely about getting Obama elected to the Presidency, or is it about more than that? If Obama loses the presidential election, his supporters should not act as though hope has gone from our land; the Obama revolution shook up the Democratic Party and the Democratic Party needed getting shaken up. The Obama campaign has already achieved much, and while an election defeat would be a disappointment for Obama supporters, there is much that the Obama revolution can be proud of.
If the cause of Barack Obama is about improving the lives of people who had hitherto not been listened to in the political process, there are few places that need fixing more than Chicago. If the call goes out for Barack Obama to run for Mayor of Chicago, will he be fired up? If the call goes out for Barack Obama to run for Mayor of Chicago, will he be ready to go? If the call goes out for Barack Obama to clean up the Augean Stables of Chicago politics, will he be there to heed the call?
If Barack Obama can show his character by cleaning up Chicago politics, if he can show his leadership by improving Chicago schools, if he can show his competence by running Chicago smoothly, if he can show his economic prowess by promoting good jobs in Chicago, and he can apply his skills at advertising to promote Chicago tourism, Barack Obama would have a solid record of accomplishment his can bring to a future run for the Presidency perhaps eight years from now.
One can be opposed to Barack Obama’s campaign for the Presidency while wishing him well and wanting him to find a role that lets him express his patriotism in the most socially useful manner. Barack Obama has many skills that can help America’s future.
No matter who gets elected this fall, there is much work to be done.
Sep 4, 2008 - 9:14 pm 198. Bob Murphy:Alexis, I am not aware of any reforming zeal on the part of Obama at all, least of all towards his political mates and mentors in Chicago.
Sep 4, 2008 - 9:21 pm 199. Alexis:I’ve got a sneaking feeling that if he doesn’t make it this time he is going to have to stand in line for another shot at the Presidency behind two very tough women.
This whole identity politics schtick is just cracking me up. I think I shoulda stayed in PR. What a hoot!
There are two factions among Hillary Clinton’s supporters. There are those who genuinely support Hillary Clinton for President; the vast majority of these voters will vote for Barack Obama and many of them will feel offended by Sarah Palin, her policies, and her rhetoric. Some hardcore leftist feminists may vote for McCain and Palin, but not many. Then, there are about half of Hillary Clinton’s supporters who used the Clinton campaign as a flag of convenience to oppose Barack Obama in the Democratic primaries. This demographic segment is split fairly evenly between John McCain and Barack Obama. Picking Sarah Palin probably helped with this demographic. Sarah Palin’s biography and her values strongly appeal to Scots-Irish temperament; she will boost turnout in solidly Republican regions. While Presidents do get elected by the Electoral College, the popular vote is still important. And given the legitimacy the popular vote gives to an elected president, I think the McCain-Palin ticket will seek to run up the scores in states they will win simply to ensure that the Obama-Biden ticket doesn’t win the popular vote.
Sep 4, 2008 - 9:29 pm 200. Alexis:Bob Murphy:
I agree with you. There is a difference between a man serving a cause and a cause serving a man. I am well aware of the chasm between Barack Obama’s rhetoric and Chicago’s culture of corruption. If Barack Obama were truly serious about his rhetoric of CHANGE, though, he ought to run for Mayor of Chicago. Interestingly enough, it was originally David Axelrod’s recommendation to Barack Obama that he should run for Mayor of Chicago instead of running for US Senate or the Presidency.
If Barack Obama becomes Mayor of Chicago, I fully expect him to sink into the mire of Chicago political corruption with the effect of keeping him from running for President ever again. And yet, if he really is a man who lives up to his hype, he would have a record of reforming Chicago’s culture of corruption, and that record of accomplishment would help him for his future ambitions.
Sep 4, 2008 - 9:45 pm 201. Lifeofthemind:@Alexis,
Sep 4, 2008 - 10:19 pm 202. bobal:Partly I think that Obama got sent to Washington to get him out of Chicago. Both Mayor Daley’s and Jesse Jackson’s et al old line black power interests were served. Very few of them would want to see him try for City Hall. Obama might be induced to run for the Governorship in Springfield. That would be a landmine for him. Almost all the downside of the Presidency and few of the benefits. True the State House does not come with much risk of nuclear war but Obama’s ego is so big he doesn’t consider that. After one governor got brought down by associating with the same corrupt crowd Obama represents it would be a hard sell. Any job that is a real job is hard to see him in. Obama would be a natural for UN Secretary General.
McCain Haters For McCain
Sep 4, 2008 - 10:22 pm 203. Nine-of-Diamonds:Interesting, isn’t it, that Palin’s “not ready for the world”, whereas a certain poster’s hopeychangey Magic Negro mediocrity is. Blowing through a cool $50 mil to “educate” Chicago’s youth on Maoist and Stalinist principles is, I suppose, a sort of preparation.
Watching O’s rise helped me for the first time fully understand the truth behind Socialist “failures”. Benj & Co. more or less consciously realize that such failures are a “feature”, not a “bug”. If your average Chicago gangbanger was in school learning “white” subjects and preparing himself for a meaningful career, where would that leave Rev. Goddam America? If he had an opportunity to own a home and escape blighted areas – what of Obama’s “community organizers” and slumlords? Much has already been written about Black Liberation Theology’s conscious trashing of the black middle class. Recall how several months ago a certain commenter dutifully ridiculed blacks who chose to move out of urban areas w/high concentrations of minorities and seek a better life in the suburbs. IIRC he contrasted this “betrayal” with some idealized, noble savage-esque praise of the authentic blackness to be found in predominantly African states like Haiti. Sounds marvelous, especially when you consider things like infant mortality and GDP. Again, I am NOT being entirely sarcastic here – one must always remember that for O. and the leftist establishment, mediocrity & privation are the pillars of their political strength. Their vision for America’s future is one great big happy Port-au-Prince from sea to shining sea.
Consuming resources for no results. Degrading the culture with strident celebrity-oriented politics. Playing on ethnic hatreds while claiming to be post racial. Running the economy into the ground before “saving” it w/ham-handed statism. Mistakes, or simply the same deliberate social regression used time and time again in Soviet Satellite States and leftist ex-colonies during the postwar period? Perhaps nobody can know for sure, but I have my opinions. For a candidate promising “change” and “a new direction” Obama should be commended for knowing a good old-fashioned tactic when he sees one.
Sep 4, 2008 - 10:24 pm 204. Mad Fiddler:To Anti-Elitist,
You make the idle accusation that McCain’s staff spent three days coaching an otherwise unprepared but malleable Palin to deliver a speech of surpassing depth, humor, detail, structure, and stylistic consistency.
This is patently absurd. If the McCain team could so magically conjure this sort of confidence and authenticity in someone who did not have it already, they’ve already won the election, and we can all go home.
There are some frequent posters in Belmont comment streams whose remarks might be given a little more consideration if they took the time to self-edit. Consider whether your rambling stories and provocative assertions will persuade readers without providing citations, references or links. Consider whether your casual use of cutesy nicknames will even be intelligible to other readers. Try having someone other than your mom read your posts first, to make sure they make sense.
Sep 4, 2008 - 10:33 pm 205. cjm:obama will be as successful as marion barry and david dinkins and kwame and deval, should he agree to let the people of illinois give him the govenorship or mayorship.
Sep 4, 2008 - 10:38 pm 206. Nine-of-Diamonds:“They continually vote for people who are Socialist rot like Obama, until the point when things get so bad that the wolves are at the door (i.e. the Dinkins administration) and then they go begging for a Rethuglican to save them (Rudi), and he DOES save them and they thank him by calling him Adolph Giuliani.”
@peterike: Several years ago, Giuliani pointedly emphasized to a group of journalists that police-involved shootings had actually declined under his leadership. Coincidentally, electing a White Republican led to saturation coverage of the smaller number of abuses that DID occur. As time goes on I’ve become more convinced that many minorities (and quite a few White leftists) are perfectly content with violence and a lower standard of living, so long as those in positions of authority are wearing the right skin color.
And Mad Fiddler, if you were referring to my 10:24 post, “Magic Negro” is not intended to be just a cute nickname; it is a reference to the cultural phenomenon David Ehrenstein identified In short, guilt-stricken whites project quasi-supernatural attributes on a benevolent, non-threatening minority:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-ehrenstein19mar19,0,5335087.story?coll=la-opinion-center
Sep 4, 2008 - 11:21 pm 207. JMH:In retrospect, Obama may have miscalculated by selecting Biden.
I wonder if Obama didn’t repeat the same mistake as Hillary, thinking the election was in the bag. He certainly didn’t seem to put a whole lot of thought into his VP choice, or make a choice that took any particular effort on his part. I wonder if he was just crusing along, figuring any old stiff would do, and then woke up to headlines about Russian troops stomping around on someone else’s soil. And lacking a proper plan, he reacted by picking a Senator with years of experience yaking about foreign policy, thinking that would somehow convince the congregation that he was qualified to face down Putin.
Sep 4, 2008 - 11:37 pm 208. Benj:3 Case – you quoted a sentence from the Wiki entry on George Trow. Bit of a traduction. So I thought I’d cut and paste a few other graphs from Wiki on his work at the bottom of his post…
You followed up with the lyrics from “Salt of the Earth.” That’s a complicated song – Listen close and you’ll tell that Jagger is all irony all the time. Despite the rad pose in tune with the times – the song is from 1968 – there’s no i.d. with the “proles” he’s half-celebrating…It’s a pretty
Republican song actually. (Though Hillary hit a few notes like that when she was in Scranton.)
Storm – just to be clear on my end – I’m not with Nietz – Better Angels boy myself. Though every big pol has has got Go. Question is – As the lady said in “Women in Love” – Where does his/her go go? No opinions re Ms. Palin’s familial life – But what’s the motorvation behind her politics? Check her record on the earmarks/bridge/budget etc. What it is? You tell me. She clearly isn’t somebody with a defined set of national/international concerns. (Alaska is a very particular place.) Someone earlier in this thread gave Ms. P. CREDIT for being “Machiavellian.” Think on that one for a moment…and maybe you’ll rethink your invocations of Jefferson. I think he’d roll over in his grave at the spectre of Ms. Palin’s sudden rise.
Bobal – “Well said by Jefferson” – Go out on a limb man!!!!!
Bud/Prog – Hear you…Appreciate your call for a certain measure of tact on my part so I apologize (in advance). But – demos depends on candor. Anti-Elitist is wrong re Palin’s future – she’s a star now. But is that all that matters to you guys? As you know – there are Mac backers – Neolex, Frum, Noonan etc. who don’t believe Palin is worldly enough to reach the C in C threshold…Come back at me with O’s lack of executive experience – I’ll take your point – and then ask you to think about O’s range of personal experience and intellectual achievements. The books (and Harvard Law Review Editorship) are not nothing. No illusions mind trumps all. But I think we all shouldv’e learned after W the uses for a President of consecutive thought, curiosity and worldliness…
One more thing on that front – I was struck by Mac’s formulation of our End in Iraq during his speech tonight. He said the point was to establish “stability” in the Middle East…A term that suggests he’ll carry on with Bush’s ongoing failure to make the case for establishing a democratic state that protects minorities in the M.E. You don’t have to be a neo-con to know that “stability” was/is a problem in the reactionary M.E. Mac was right about the Surge – but one important job of a president is to be able to make an unobvious argument and bring the American people along. I don’t believe Mac is a Mind for our time. Let’s stop diminishing (or overpraising the “oratory’ of O’s speeches. What matters when he speaks now is that he models a Man Thinking through the moment…
Alexis – you’re right of course that it would have been better for O to wait – get more of a record. Ax certainly didn’t expect O would go for it this time. But – what can you do – I saw one of the crowds gathered at O’s book signings for the re-issue of Dreams in 05 – People were hungry for someone who would call out to their better angels…Country First.
HERE’s the Wiki stuff on George Trow…
Throughout his career, Trow analyzed mainstream American cultural institutions to understand how the culture had changed from the newspaper-reading, eastern Establishment-dominated world of his childhood in the 1940s and early ’50s, to the ahistorical, tabloid sensibility born in the Jazz Age and spread by television.
Trow’s reputation rests on his long nonfiction. These works have received mostly positive reviews. Highly literate readers, as well as reviewers in newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post, have been thrilled by Trow’s brilliant and prophetic insights; wide-ranging references to serious and pop culture; and aphoristic, sometimes post-modern literary style. But the appeal and value of Trow’s work can be difficult to communicate, because the style “in its very essence resists summary. Summary, of course, flees from detail, whereas for Trow the details are the notes without which there is no song.” [3] Other critics have found these works impenetrable and elitist; some argue that Trow’s nostalgia for the pre-television era was misplaced, because the subsequent civil rights movements had made American culture more democratic.[4]
Trow’s only novel, The City in the Mist, (1984) did not impress critics. They were put off by its usually minimalist style, and its lack of plot, narrative momentum or involving characters. The book, which moves trom the mid-19th century to the present, tracks the energy in three intertwined families, from the masculine vitality of a thuggish Irish immigrant to the weak flame of his elderly bachelor grandson, who lives on his income in two rooms in New York City, and spends his time socializing and caring for his clothes. The central concerns of the novel, the decline of masculine energy and the replacement of masculine social authority by feminine social authority, are later addressed explicitly in My Pilgrim’s Progress.
Within the Context of No Context, which was edited by New Yorker editor William Shawn, was published in book form in 1981 accompanied by Trow’s profile of music mogul Ahmet Ertegün. In 1997, “No Context” was reprinted with a new introductory essay, Collapsing Dominant.
In “No Context,” Trow lamented the destruction by television of American public culture and sense of history. “Middle-distance” institutions that had long given Americans’ lives real contexts (such as fraternal organizations, bowling leagues, and women’s clubs), had been abandoned when people stayed home to watch television. Television shows were false contexts designed to be just attractive enough to keep people watching. Without the middle-distance institutions, what remained as real options for people to live in were “the grid of two hundred million” (the U.S. population at the time) and “the grid of intimacy” (the immediate family). Only celebrities, who had a real life in both grids, were now perceived to be complete. People became lonely and, in order to feel complete, wanted to be on television in order to become celebrities themselves.[5]
Because television sells products by pleasing demographically defined groups, viewers learned to think of themselves demographically. In consequence, demography had replaced history as the context for understanding the world. People understood themselves as members of lateral demographic groups rather than as part of a linear flow of people from the past into the future. Things were now valued not on an absolute scale, but by discovering if one was in tune with one’s group. Trow illustrates this point with a reference to Family Feud, where a contestant was asked to guess “what a poll of a hundred people had guessed would be the height of the average American woman. Guess what they guessed. Guess what they guessed the average is.”[6]
“No Context” ends with a narrative memoir of Trow’s experiences working two summers as a guide at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. His take on the Fair: “At the Fair, one could see the world of television impersonating the world of history.”[7]
“No Context” remains a touchstone for many intellectuals, and is taught in university media studies classes. In an obituary for Trow, the novelist and screenwriter Michael Tolkin is quoted as saying that “No Context” is no longer fashionable because “It’s not a polemic for change. It’s just a cold description of where things are going. There aren’t many books that are unafraid to be that negative.”[8]
In his essay The Harvard Black Rock Forest, Trow criticizes another mainstream American institution, Harvard University (which he had attended). The Black Rock Forest, 50 miles north of New York City along the Hudson River, had been donated to Harvard as a nature preserve for scientific studies. Trow writes about the Harvard administration’s indifference to the property except as a profit opportunity, and its eventual rescue and dedication to educational nature studies.
A memoir and a sort of prequel to “No Context,” My Pilgrim’s Progress: Media Studies, 1950-1998 is focused on the cultural world of the Fifties. It is written in a conversational style, sometimes transcribed from audiotapes. Trow “swirls” between pop and mainstream cultural icons, such as Doris Day, Alfred Hitchcock, Elvis Presley, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. The book cover has a photograph of President Eisenhower, whom Trow admired as “the guy of guys”. A major concern of the book is the models of masculine authority that American culture presents to boys. For Trow’s Boomer generation, the models of masculine authority presented to them by mass culture were so unattainable or irrelevant that television (ironic attitude to self) was the only possible option.
Reviewers of Progress have generally found it insightful and worth reading, although a lesser literary achievement than “No Context.” Some reviewers have been put off by what they see as haughtiness or elitism in Trow’s repeated statement of authority, “You’ll have to trust me on that one.”[9]
According to a close friend, Trow was “extremely upset” by the critical reception of Progress.[8] After that, he only published one known article, a critique of television news anchor Dan Rather.[10]
Sep 5, 2008 - 12:01 am 209. 2x4:WTF, Benj? WTF? Can’t you make a concise comment? It’s almost a criminal waste of bandwidth.
Sep 5, 2008 - 12:29 am 210. Bob Murphy:Benj must think he is standing on a soapbox at Speakers Corner in Hyde Park.
Sep 5, 2008 - 12:54 am 211. outa my league:Sadly, it is too late for Obama to run for Mayor of Chicago. But if he were to dump his candidacy before the inevitable landslide destined against him in November, he might just have a shot at grabbing the MayorShip of Detroit.
Run O Bamma to yo Mamma.
Sep 5, 2008 - 1:33 am 212. M. Simon:Benj,
You missed “a servant’s heart” or what used to be called noblesse oblige.
So the question is does O! have a servant’s heart? Count up the bodies under the bus and tell me.
Sep 5, 2008 - 2:20 am 213. Brian H:Biden, as an an opponent to Sarah, has a HUGE vulnerability. He’s a prepaid, in-the-Tank shill for the Iranian mullahs. Which explains, by the by, why he was so keen to have Iraq dissected.
Sep 5, 2008 - 2:29 am 214. Brian H:Lifeofthemind;
Sep 5, 2008 - 3:02 am 215. Brian H:I was going to say I didn’t disagree with one word, but that would be a lie. It’s “sheer”, not “shear”.
M. Simon;
Sep 5, 2008 - 3:04 am 216. 2x4:Yes, he has millions. In pickling jars.
Welcome back, dad
Sep 5, 2008 - 5:23 am 217. Nine-of-Diamonds:What was the point of that screed? Quit posting novel-length Wikipedia entries. We are all competent enough to use Wiki ourselves (although to be fair, insulting people’s intelligence comes naturally to many of the Magic Negro’s supporters).
If I were you I would stop trumpeting O’s lawschool “accomplishments”. Whereas the average journal writer jumps at the chance to be published, we have had no confirmation that O produced anything other than one collection of unpublished “notes” (which are often 5-6 pages long, as opposed to the 40-page length of many full-fledged articles). O knew that he didn’t have to exert himself as editor: his half-black skin and white guilt exerted themselves on the usual left-wing suspects. I know firsthand about the write-on process, and it’s an open secret that minority candidates are held to a lower standard. Several months ago I watched a hapless 2L advisor at my school explain our Affirmative Action policies to an audience of 1L’s. The derision from many students was palpable, and you could tell she was mortified by the whole thing. This was DESPITE the fact that our campus is extremely “progressive”, with support for “O” at perhaps 90-95%.
I’ve been examining how O’s experience as a “Legal Expert” has affected his candidacy. Obama at one point stated that once elected, he and his attorney general would overturn Bush’s “illegal” laws-a shocking gaffe that mischaracterizes the executive branch’s powers. In his defense of the Boumediene travesty, O also said that Kennedy ruled in accordance with the precedent established at Nuremberg because the Nazis had been granted Habeas Corpus (problem is, they WEREN’T).
Acqaintances from his teaching days remember a distant man who was rarely willing (or able?) to engage in the vibrant teacher’s-lounge discussions characteristic of legal faculty. His classroom style revealed a fixation on “hot button” identity politics issues at the expense of less “exciting” areas of the law. Should the Magic Negro get himself elected, this intellectual underdevelopment will have an interesting effect, what with a bad economy and hotspots flaring up from Tblisi to Tehran. Just remember that he’s a Hah-vahd man, and that therefore we MUST be in good hands.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/09/obamas_ignorance_of_the_law.html
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/08/barack_obama_legal_scholar.html
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/3591
Sep 5, 2008 - 8:07 am 218. NahnCee:Gee, I wonder if there was a kernal of new thought in Benj’s screed. Too bad it’s too long to read to find out.
Sep 5, 2008 - 9:00 am 219. cjm:i wonder if he keeps a bucket handy when he’s spewing into the keyboard. clearly benj has psychological issues, but alas i am not equipped to help him.
Sep 5, 2008 - 9:42 am 220. buddy larsen:2×4, for sure, the same shine. What the heck IS that, anyway? No one is ever able to say what it is, but to those who see it, it is unmistakeable.
Sep 5, 2008 - 9:43 am 221. Benj:Damn Bud – First you make me blush and then you diss…Such a tease! Apologize for making you/me look bad by quoting that whole Wiki thingy – Meant to paste just the following graphs but I was rushing off to bed and made a mistake…
“Trow lamented the destruction by television of American public culture and sense of history. “Middle-distance” institutions that had long given Americans’ lives real contexts (such as fraternal organizations, bowling leagues, and women’s clubs), had been abandoned when people stayed home to watch television. Television shows were false contexts designed to be just attractive enough to keep people watching. Without the middle-distance institutions, what remained as real options for people to live in were “the grid of two hundred million” (the U.S. population at the time) and “the grid of intimacy” (the immediate family). Only celebrities, who had a real life in both grids, were now perceived to be complete. People became lonely and, in order to feel complete, wanted to be on television in order to become celebrities themselves.[5]
Because television sells products by pleasing demographically defined groups, viewers learned to think of themselves demographically. In consequence, demography had replaced history as the context for understanding the world. People understood themselves as members of lateral demographic groups rather than as part of a linear flow of people from the past into the future. Things were now valued not on an absolute scale, but by discovering if one was in tune with one’s group. Trow illustrates this point with a reference to Family Feud, where a contestant was asked to guess “what a poll of a hundred people had guessed would be the height of the average American woman. Guess what they guessed. Guess what they guessed the average is.”[6]…”
McCain’s VP choice suggests he’s thinking demographically. Obama is the one with an historical imagination.
Sep 5, 2008 - 10:14 am 222. buddy larsen:benj, i don’t get the ref in your first line above –do u got me mixed up wit someone else? I fyou meant the Geo Washington comments, observing that there’s little record of freedmen jining up the redcoats is hardly a diss, on this side of the pond at any rate.
The tv ruminations are excellent –what you’ve quoted is referred to elsewhere i think as the ”flattening” effect characteristic of so-called ‘post-modernism’. Concentrating on tv as the engine is helpful –rings true –as otherwise it has
Sep 5, 2008 - 10:59 am 223. buddy larsen:benj, i don’t get the ref in your first line above –do u got me mixed up wit someone else? I fyou meant the Geo Washington comments, observing that there’s little record of freedmen jining up the redcoats is hardly a diss, on this side of the pond at any rate.
The tv ruminations are excellent –what you’ve quoted is referred to elsewhere i think as the ”flattening” effect characteristic of so-called ‘post-modernism’. Concentrating on tv as the engine is helpful –rings true –as otherwise it has to be ascribed to ‘poor education’ or the even easier ‘fashion’. Tv images for sure change brains –the biology of image-routing vs symbolic thought, alone must give pause to any notion of mere superficial effect of tv on the formative.
Obama a wave in the river of time flowing past a cutoff silted-in ox-bow lake McCain would make nice lite verse as it so perfectly fits the young man/old man theme, but real poetry, epochal becuz of the Prize, would have to see Obama as the cheshire cat, PoMo Futureman hovering above the horizontal plane, gazing with bemusement down upon the faraway McCain, clinging bitterly to mortal combat, back to the river, wounded, but until Gabriel blows his horn, holding off the armies of chaos.
Sep 5, 2008 - 11:26 am 224. Storm-Rider:Benj said: “Because television sells products by pleasing demographically defined groups, viewers learned to think of themselves demographically. In consequence, demography had replaced history as the context for understanding the world. People understood themselves as members of lateral demographic groups rather than as part of a linear flow of people from the past into the future. Things were now valued not on an absolute scale, but by discovering if one was in tune with one’s group.”
Group, group, group, group. This is still Marxist ideology which does not recognize the unique and sacred individuality of each man, woman and child. Marxist ideology and even Godless Capitalist ideology (same thing really), view people as things, as “molecules,” and their worth and identity is measured in their ability to produce or consume, i.e.: to perform an economic transaction. Grouping people by race, sex, age, etc., etc., is useful in Marxist ideology, because these economic transactions can be further quantitated and categorized. The group becomes more important than the individual; the individual is minimized; but the religious understanding is that the individual is still supreme – made in the image of God – with an eternal soul. Grouping may be helpful in any study of economics, but it should never demote the value of any individual, and this is something that our founders recognized when they stated that our essential human rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness are individual God-given rights – not group rights.
“Finally, “scientific socialism” proclaims that the historical process is controlled by immanent laws which are independent of human will. An understanding of these laws makes history predictable. This conception was formed under the obvious influence of the advances of natural science in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, above all, the success of astronomy in predicting the discovery of planets, the return of comets, etc. Fourier asserts that mankind is ruled by the laws of “attraction of the passions,” which are in his view precisely analogous to Newton’s law of gravitation, whereby “the unity of the physical and the spiritual worlds is manifest.” In terms of this analogy, individuals correspond to the elemental particles of matter, which must be identical (at least, from the standpoint of properties essential to the phenomenon under consideration–that is, history). As for Marxism, one thinks of an analogy with another physical theory. This is the kinetic theory of gases, according to which a gas is the aggregate of molecules that come into collision, with the result of each collision determined by the laws of mechanics. A very great number of molecules transform the statistical laws of their collision into the general laws of the physics of gases. The only form of social contact of the producers of goods in capitalist society is exchange (just as for gas molecules the only form of interaction is collision). The interaction of a great number of producers engenders that “social production” which, in its turn, determines their political, legal and religious notions, and the “social, political and spiritual processes of life in general.” Igor Shafarevich
“We have arrived at this view of socialism in attempting to account for the contradictions evident in the phenomenon at first glance. And now, looking back, we feel confident that our approach indeed accounts for many of socialism’s peculiarities. Understanding socialism as one of the manifestations of the allure of death explains its hostility toward individuality, its desire to destroy those forces which support and strengthen human personality: religion, culture, family, individual property. It is consistent with the tendency to reduce man to the level of a cog in the state mechanism, as well as with the attempt to prove that man exists only as a manifestation of non-individual features, such as production or class interest.” Igor Shafarevich
http://www.robertlstephens.com/essays/shafarevich/001SocialistPhenomenon.html
Sep 5, 2008 - 1:04 pm 225. Storm-Rider:“In every war there is one decisive battle.”
“On one side are the Traditionalists. We believe that church and State should be separate, but that religion should remain at the center of life. We are a Judeo-Christian culture, which means we consider those ten things on a tablet to be commandments, not suggestions. We believe that individuals are more important than groups, that families are more important than governments, that children should be raised by their parents rather than by a village, and that marriage is a sacred relationship between a man and a woman.”
“On the other side of this culture war are the Left-Wing Liberals. They are uncomfortable with our traditions, with the inevitable inequalities of our free-market economy, and with our military power. They dislike our values, our morality, and our unabashed displays of patriotism. At first — back in the 1960s — they were content merely to develop and pursue their own radical culture within ours. They tuned out, turned to drugs, and pushed the level of sexual license to a point our country had never known. They were so distressed by our imperfections that they refused to recognize or celebrate our achievements.”
“Then they tuned in, and developed a political agenda whose logical outcome would be the overthrow of the American Revolution itself. While we believe that power flows from God to the people, they believe the supreme power is the State, which decides what rights, if any, should be allowed to the people. And because there is no God above the State, there also is no truth; no such thing as right or wrong, good or evil. Since they are working to do good — by their definition of the word — whatever crimes they commit along the way don’t matter.”
“So great is this gulf between the Traditionalists and the Left-Wing Liberals — and so irreconcilable are the differences — that our decades-long political struggle has amounted to a kind of second Civil War. And for several years now, it’s been a stalemate. This is why so many elections are so close, why so many Supreme Court decisions are split 5-4, and why we’ve been unable to act decisively on any of the issues that confront us – the war, the economy, energy, healthcare, border control, immigration, and all the rest. One way or the other, the Culture War’s stalemate is about to be broken.”
“By choosing Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate — and by staking his own claim to the presidency on “Country First” more than on any specific policy initiative — John McCain has thrown the switch and put us Traditionalists onto the offense. By doing so he has unleashed the energy and the will to victory among Traditionalists that have been dormant for so long the Left-Wing Liberals mistakenly assumed we’d lost. And by taking the over-confident Left-Wing Liberals so completely by surprise, McCain has stunned them into revealing themselves for the vicious phonies that they are.”
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/09/the_culture_wars_decisive_batt_1.html
The money quote: “Then they tuned in, and developed a political agenda whose logical outcome would be the overthrow of the American Revolution itself.”
Sep 8, 2008 - 7:25 am