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Sarah Palin must define herself or be defined

Submitted by Jon Henke on Tue, 09/30/2008 - 22:06
in

Fred Thompson points out the essential inequality in coverage of the verbal slips of each Vice Presidential candidate...

Governor Palin’s every comment was scrutinized... [...] Never mind that her counterpart, the 30-year-Washington-veteran Joe Biden, apparently is unaware that America relies upon coal for a lot of it’s electricity or that he recently referred to a top level U.S. official’s visit to Iran that never happened. That’s just Joe being Joe – protected by the sheer number of his gaffes and the fact that he is Barack Obama’s running mate.

Thompson is correct.  Unknowns are at a disadvantage, because their flaws are shiny and new - and those flaws are often their introduction to the vast majority of Americans.  But who is to blame for this? 

  • The campaigns, which spend their time pushing trivia and cliches.
  • The media, which spend their time covering the puerility, rather than policy.
  • The public, which consistently rewards campaigns and media for this behavior.

I suspect this is a chicken/egg problem.

Sen. Thompson says Gov. Palin compares well when it comes to "courage and political will".  I think that remains to be seen, as both Rob Bluey and I have discussed in the past.  I hope she will demonstrate a national governing philosophy and priorities that justify his estimation.  I'm afraid we haven't seen that, yet.  

As long as Sarah Palin remains a largely unknown political quantity, she will be unable to rise above the trivialities on which the media, the campaigns and the public will focus.  Sarah Palin (and the McCain campaign) can change that, but it will require a bold campaign of self-definition - a core issue (ethics, rather than energy, I suspect) and a substantial, sophisticated, yet clear, reform agenda.

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Well considering that Gwen Ifill

Submitted by Big Ben 4 liberty on Tue, 09/30/2008 - 23:01.

the moderator of this upcoming VP debate has a pro-Obama book coming out in January, I'd she has her work cut out for her. 

"Media bias, what media bias?" say the liberal trolls.

Unknown Unknowns

Submitted by carltonyates on Tue, 09/30/2008 - 23:30.

Biden is a known unknown. Palin is a unknown unknown. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unknown_unknown There really is a deep abyss between the questions and her answers.

 

Palin triumphed

Submitted by Freedoms Truth on Thu, 10/02/2008 - 22:47.

Post-VP debate, she's a known quantity now.

She actually corrected Biden on Biden's false talking point on Afghanistan and how the General says the surge strategy wouldnt work (he didnt say it that way), called out Obama redistribution plan (giving people who dont pay taxes a check is a WELFARE PAYMENT not a tax cut! Obama's plan is Marx not Reagan!), mentioned McCain reform attempt on Fannie Mae that Democrats blocked, and had time to be down-to-earth and give a shout out to 3rd grade class ... oh, and mention how her family are schoolteachers and support for education is important.

America's moose-hunting hockey-Mom Governing Alaska sweetheart is ready to be a great Vice President to President John McCain.

 

 

 

Trivialities?

Submitted by MoBama on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 01:14.

The MSM expects to vet Palin’s experience and knowledge of core economic and foreign policy issues. I would not consider the following items trivialities, since they attempt to define Palin’s core experience:

1. Claiming (and continuing to defend) proximity to Russia as foreign policy experience.

2. Using the false "Bridge to Nowhere" claim over 30 times in stump speeches and interviews to bolster the campaign’s “Maverick” label.

3. Stumbling when it came to explaining her understanding of the Bush Doctrine.

4. Inability to list journals or sources of news she uses to make decisions.

5. Inability to articulate solutions the the current economic crisis (Couric).

Palin passed the smell test at the RNCC, and she really just needed to show a firm grasp of current events and McCain's own future presidential policy.  Her answers during the Couric and Gibson interview haven't shown that, and this perceived lack of understanding has provided the MSM with a field day of headlines.

bogus liberal talking point debunked

Submitted by Freedoms Truth on Thu, 10/02/2008 - 22:55.

"3. Stumbling when it came to explaining her understanding of the Bush Doctrine."

That BS again? Krauthammer schooled Gibson on his false premise. Check CK's column.

There have been *FOUR* or more definitions of "The Bush Doctrine" and in light of that, Gibson's question that assumed there was one showed GIBSON WAS IGNORANT and was trying to trap/bait Palin when he wouldn't give her a definition after she asked "in what context"? Palin answered correctly based on the Bush doctrine as articulated by Bush in his important Sept 20,2001 speech. Gibson's definition is no different than a long-standing right of pro-active self-defense.

In short, Palin answered that gotcha question exactly right.

The rest of the talking points are similarly bogus.

A measuring stick...

Submitted by Timothy on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 01:25.

I often try to self-examine the ways in which my partisanship is clouding my vision; it matters to me that I can see issues as clearly as possible, and I recognize that I often fall short.

Sarah Palin is a measuring stick. If you can't see the clear problems with her as the VP candidate, and the obvious ways in which she is being used and is not prepared for this office, then your own partisanship is clouding your vision.

The faults of Gov. Palin are not a left-wing media conspiracy. She's not being picked on by mean liberals. She's running for the 2nd highest office in our country, on the ticket with the oldest Candidate for president in history; she damn well better be scrutinized.

Simply put, she falls way, way short. Can't see that? Then examine your own issues before you go calling anyone else out.

Please enumerate John Edwards's superior talents

Submitted by Ironman on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 06:38.

Evidently slickness and glibness are the only ones I can identify.

Edwards was put on the 2004 Kerry ticket in spite of zero foreign policy or executive experience.  

The Obama measuring stick

Submitted by Freedoms Truth on Thu, 10/02/2008 - 22:59.

B arack Obama is a measuring stick. If you can't see the clear problems with him as the Presidential candidate, and the obvious ways in which he is using voters and is not prepared for this office, then your own partisanship is clouding your vision.

The faults of Sen Obama  are not a VRWC conspiracy. He's not being picked on by mean Republicans. He's running for the highest office in our country, he damn well better be scrutinized.

BUT HE ISN'T.

Honest liberals would admit that he is the least prepared Presidential candidate since Wendell Wilkie. Honest liberals would admit that he doesn't have a record of executive experience.

You can tell their lack of honesty /self-knowledge when they fail to admit it.

Palin

Submitted by Rick on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 02:09.

I can't figure her out. She seems about half as smart as the cleaning lady and not nearly as well spoken .... and yet she's the Governor of a State! - She has high aproval ratings - aparently she gets things done....

she seems way out of her depth on the political stage  - but the whole thing with  her I think  - is that lots of common people identify with her somehow - she's the unpolitician and to a degree that seems to work.

The press and the political world don't know what to do with her - the whole thing is very entertaining

God, I love the delusions of leftists

Submitted by Big Ben 4 liberty on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 08:42.

You must truly suffer from a mental disease.  Only someone incpabale of seeing reality would say something so stupid.  Palin is great speaker, a hell of a lot than Obama without his, uh, er um, uh telprompter or gaffe machine Biden (stand up chuck).

In rwality the elitist ress and the corrupt politcal world hate her because she represents the kind of change that puts their sorry asses out of business.

A "great speaker"?

Submitted by Wulf on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 08:59.

When she speaks, she doesn't really say anything.  Granted, that doesn't make her unique among politicians.  The trick of most good politicians is to say as little as possible when they talk, and to have people feel good about them anyway.  But right now, she's only managing to pull that off with the choir, as far as I can tell.

Jon is right.  So far she has been defined by her style, not by any principles or ideas.  And McCain isn't winning the swing states with that definition.  If her debate performance cannot redefine her popular image with something more substantive, then she can go ahead and cancel the moving vans, because she's simply not moving to Number One Observatory Circle.

In her phone interview w/Hewitt...

Submitted by Darvin Dowdy on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 02:30.

...I believe it was, she laughed off the loss of $20k in her husbands 401K plan as a result of the stock mkt drop.  I personally saw that as an endorsement of the Repub's who opposed the bailout.   Clear support of their stance.  Standing by principle over money.  It was a subtle, positive message to  me which I received loud and clear.  I'll wager millions of others received it that way as well.

But Sarah is going to have to step out of the box that the McCain handlers have put her in and its going to cause some consternation within the camp.  But she's going to have to do it if they're to win.  She'll be able to use her charm to smooth things over.  And when the numbers start to go up, she'll be forgiven.  Darvin Dowdy

You can take all the supposed

Submitted by Rohan on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 06:48.

You can take all the supposed experience and intelligence of our current leaders and shove it.  Thier experience and smarts have gotten us in a world of hurt.  Give me someone who has lived a real life and has a solid set of core beliefs any day of the week.  

Sarah Palin, warts and all, is a far better choice than Obama, Biden or McCain.  You can always find stuff to criticize on anyone.  (Would anyone writing here like to get the inspection Sarah Palin and her family is getting?)  But from what I've read of her she is an intelligent, thoughtful person.

 

Intelligent, thoughtful

Submitted by tdawg11870 on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 12:19.

that may be so, but a lot of people (myself included) are looking for one instance (just one) where she answers a question in a way that shows that she's thought about an issue.  She did give a great speech at the convention, but every time she has to speak from the top of her head, all that comes out is nonsense.  One wonders how she'd do on the Red Phone.

Being a "regular person" who comes from outside Washington may be preferable, but it isn't sufficient in and of itself.

She's already defined, it's probably too late

Submitted by jptrenn on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 08:39.

She's also got a couple of disadvantages.

1) She's a VP nominee, not at the top of the ticket.  Meaning she has to carry McCain's water and can't necessarily speak her mind.  It's about her carrying out his policies, not the other way around.

2) She's going to be dealing she knows little to nothing about.  She lacks foreign policy experience - as do most governors.  And she knows nothing about this financial mess - no one does.

So, overall, she can't come off as an expert on anything.  So she has to go on personality.  And, with personality, she's already defined.

Sarah Palin Surprises

Submitted by Jim Dandy to th... on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 11:25.

This may be the one and only time I agree with Ben: she is an excellent debater.

I saw her first on a couple of Wall Street shows as the Chair of the National Governors Association Natural Resource Commission, and then I caught a live video interview with C-SPAN and later on with Larry Kudlow which I watched.  She is an excellent communicator, and she has shown flashes of brilliance.  I learned respect for her.

I believe this past month has been all about lowering expectations, and I expect the true Sarah Palin to show up tomorrow night:  A skilled debater, a person well schooled in facts and specifics, and an on-message, on-point politician who will set Joe Biden back on his heels with a stiff jab and then pound him with hard right hooks to the head and body.  Biden will be lucky to to avoid a knockdown, and then to land enough shots himself to pull out a draw.

I have very little expectation of the disaster and meltdown and train wreck everyone else seems to be predicting.

 

What, what, what, what, what????

Submitted by Big Ben 4 liberty on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 15:16.

Is that hell feezing over?  No seriously, I am glad that you have noticed that.  She has been grossly underestimed by the media.

she's doing a great job of

Submitted by Rick on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 15:25.

she's doing a great job of lowering expectations if that's what it's all about.

Hey Sarah - try this for the debate - get rid of the glasses, change the hair and put on a miniskirt and lets see if you can eat Joe alive. Lets see superwoman sarahcuda for a change.

Leftists hijacking The Next Right?

Submitted by Sterling on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 14:02.

You guys need to police your site or it will be useless.

Back to the point, Palin's experience, intelligence and integrity exceed Obama's.  And we'll all get to see that tomorrow night.  

"police your site or it will be useless?"

Submitted by lagomorph on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 15:00.

I'm absolutely stunned that anyone who considers themselves a conservative would even suggest this - haven't we just seen the "Truth Squads" of Barack Obama's campaign align with the District Attorney and Sheriff's Department of Missouri, for godssakes?  Do we want to take even one step down that road?  I'm with Missouri Governor Matt Blunt on this one, although I'd change the text to read:

I can think of nothing more offensive to
Jefferson’s thinking than using the power of The Next Right to deprive Americans of their civil rights.

It's one thing to flag and/or moderate offensive or ad hominem attacks, it's another matter altogether to seriously request that this site be "policed".  To me, that would be far more representative of a tactic of the Leftists hijacking The Next Right than allowing reasonably civil Leftists to speak their minds.  In fact, several of us find it quite entertaining, amusing and instructive for them to do so.  Heh.

So far, it's still a free country and I respect the fact that this site encourages free speech as long as it's expressed respectfully.  "Cleansing" this site or "gagging oppositional speech" is absolutely not what I consider a conservative value.  I do, however, consider it a frequently employed Leftist tactic.

Thank you

Submitted by Jim Dandy to th... on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 15:57.

for your fundamentally American respect for our right to freedom of speech.

 But no, it is not a "frequently employed Leftist tactic", lol.  Leftists tend to wear their hair long, they like to accept all kinds of people, they like to link arms and sing Kum-ba-ya, remember?

AS to "Obama Truth Squads", first, the whole thing was started in St. Louis, and it was started by Jefferson County MO PUBLIC SERVANTS, not the Obama campaign.

Second, what they said was that they had heard that the McCain campaign already had a truth squad, and they were forming one to protect the truth.

I have no problem with anyone enforcing anybody's campaign claims and making sure no lies are told.  But they have no offcial authority to arrest under any law, they have never claimed any link to the Obama campaign, they have no power to do anything other than file complaints of slander.

 

http://www.kmov.com/localnews/stories/kmov_election_092808_truthsquad.be...

(On Sept. 29, I interviewed Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer.) "I reviewed your interview with both prosecutors, and I didn't see anywhere where any of them stated that they were going to arrest anybody or try to intimidate anybody," Boyer said. "For anyone to insinuate that is pure political spin for political purposes.

 

Oh, horse manure....

Submitted by section9 on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 19:52.

 There was no McCain "Truth Squad", and Missouri Public Servants had no business attempting to stifle free speech on State Time.

Quit rationalizing stupidity and dime store fascism. Your post reads like Andrew Sullivan, who has yet to condemn the video of the Obamajugend singing the praises of their Fuhrer.

 

You know with as many liberal Jews supporting Obama

Submitted by Big Ben 4 liberty on Thu, 10/02/2008 - 09:51.

you would think they would be a little disturbed by this new Obama Youth movement.  I guess it just goes to prove my view about them.  They are self-hating Jews, unlike the majority of Israeli Jews who support McCain (while the so-called "Palestinian" Arabs naturally support their hero Obama) and as far I am concerned their is no greater anti-Semite than a left-wing self-hating Jew.

You Schmuck!!

Submitted by Pogue_Mahone on Thu, 10/02/2008 - 16:24.

I think my Jewish wife would find it humorous that "Big Ben 4 liberty" thinks that if she supports Obama, she must hate herself.

 

And after "Sterling" writes that The Next Right should police itself otherwise it would become useless, that makes it funnier than shit.

Yeah, it's not schmucks like Big Ben, it's the dissenters from the Left that make this site useless.

 

"Self-hating Jews", this is the "Next Right"?

Heckuvajob, Henke.  Your vision of a venue where conservatives can come together and exchange new ideas is flowering nicely.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Cheers.

For those of us who know what Schmuck means

Submitted by lagomorph on Thu, 10/02/2008 - 19:26.

it would appear you're living up to the Irish interpretation of your name which is loosely translated as "Kiss My Arse".   Rather than being a step up from the offensive term "self-hating Jew", the term "Schmuck" puts you right into the toilet bowl with the person toward whom you claim self-righteous indignation.  And then you feign contempt toward the site's host?  Please. 

Let's have a little personal responsibility, shall we?  Or, lacking that, at least let's have a little more imagination. If we're going to be profound adolescents posing as political hacks and amateur pundits out here (take your pick - I'm with the amateur B team), at least let's aspire to produce something a little more profound, amusing, stimulating or timely than the past several snarktard comments in this thread. This is almost as boring and gratuitously ugly as some of the scenes in the last few episodes of Fringe. 

Everyone who eff'd up, and you all know who you are, please feel free to avail yourselves of the "edit" button at your convenience.  Of course you can always choose to look silly for all posterity, also.  It's a free country. 

This is not the Obama you know

Submitted by Freedoms Truth on Thu, 10/02/2008 - 23:17.

"I think my Jewish wife would find it humorous that "Big Ben 4 liberty" thinks that if she supports Obama, she must hate herself."

Obama has broken bread with Edward Said, who throw stones at Jews in Israel to show solidarity with violent palestinian leaders. Obama at the leftist foundation that he was on the board with terrorist Bill Ayers, gave money to front groups for Hamas.

Obama joined noted anti-semetic leader Louis Farrakhan for that million man march. His wife was on a panel with the wives of Rev Farrakhan and Rev Wright and Rev Meeks. There is a common theme and trend. All spout racialist identity garbage that is suspicious of Jews, Jew power, and Israel. Wright's "God D*mn America" speech had even harsher words to say about Israel. Look it up.

Obama has the endorsement of Hamas leaders  - "We like Mr. Obama, and we hope that he will win the elections," Ahmed Yousuf, Hamas' top political adviser in the Gaza Strip, said. - and has gotten suspicious foreign money from Palestinian sources and elsewhere. Hanging out with bundler Jodie Evans of Code Pink, who in turn supported Iraqi Al-Qaeda terrorists and insurgents, declaring their fight just.

Obama IS a threat to our first amendment rights. The fairness doctrine. Threats against media outlets that criticize Obama; brownshirt-style intimidation, and DAs threating to charge people who 'libel' Obama.

Meanwhile, there was egergious anti-semitic conspiracy theories shared on Obama's own website (that got taken down only after Little Green Footballs exposed it and publicized the outrage in June).

Obama's record:  hanging with anti-semites, supporting violent opponents of Israel, showing a disdain for the 1st amendment ...  and FOOLING you with a dishonest plagiarized campaign that will say and do anything to get elected....

The real Obama is not the Obama you know. No, its not self-hate. Just delusion. Throw him under the bus.

buíochas a ghabháil le lagomorph

Submitted by Pogue_Mahone on Thu, 10/02/2008 - 21:44.

it would appear you're living up to the Irish interpretation of your name which is loosely translated as "Kiss My Arse".

 

As I always do.

Agus fagaimid siud mar ata se

 

Rather than being a step up from the offensive term "self-hating Jew", the term "Schmuck" puts you right into the toilet bowl with the person toward whom you claim self-righteous indignation

 

So calling a dick a dick, puts me in the same toilet bowl?

 

Agus fagaimid siud mar ata se

 

And then you feign contempt toward the site's host?  Please.

 

Who's feigning?  Besides, he likes it.

I actually like Jon, he's one of the most honest and principled blogger I read, and I was hopeful that the Next Right would be a step above the rest.  Instead, it's no different than your average liberal bashing right wing site, at least in the comments section.

 

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Sláinte.

 

Póg ma thoin

 

Damn you, you had me at Agus fagaimid siud mar ata se

Submitted by lagomorph on Fri, 10/03/2008 - 13:56.

Buíochas a ghabháil le Pogue, for reminding me of a great, great song.  Now I am completely disarmed, de-fanged, de-clawed, and I'm in a trance listening to The Pogues.

Hey if you and Jon want to affectionately kick each other under the table, that's none o' my business.  Oddly, I'm often impressed with how elevated the dialogue usually is out here compared to most other sites where conservatives, liberals, indies and libertarians all play in the same sandbox.  But yes, I thought the self-hating Jew comment was way out of line also.

In response to your question:  "So calling a dick a dick, puts me in the same toilet bowl?"  Jefferson might've said "mehhhh....maybe so."  All I'm sayin' is, if we want The Next Right to be a sandbox instead of a litterbox, we have a responsibility to keep our own poop scooped. 

There's a version of Limerick Rake by the Gobshites that's a bit more punk than the Pogues that you might really like - it's a bit of a predecessor to What Would Brian Boitano Do?  Fight!  Skate!  Fight!  Skate!  NO, Brian, those chicken wings are really spicy, don't eat those!!

Shana tova umetekah:  may you and your dear wife have a good and sweet year. 

Sláinte mhór, bráthair