"Sarah Palin is a fucking retard."
-- Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report last night
As much as I hate to shirk my responsibility to you nice folks, I really don't have a damned thing of interest to add to the Schadenfreudian giggle-fest that's followed the revelation that Palin needed to jot down the most basic talking points on her left hand so she'd remember them during her Tea Bagger convention appearance over the weekend. The bottom line is that by now you've heard it all before and, kind of like my point about James O'Keefe last week, Palin is such a polarizing figure that there isn't a thing I could say that would change anyone's mind about her. You either love the entirely for-profit brand known as Sarah Palin or you hate her (although only one of these opinions comes with the caveat that you've got an IQ larger than your shoe size).
Probably the only thing worth pointing out is that it was entertaining to see the big-three networks' news departments finally dip their toes in waters that for the most part have been left to cable and the partisan carnival barkers up until now. To their credit, the nightly news reports have treated Palin like she's radioactive -- the underlying implication being that until she makes actual news, she's just one particularly noxious element in a political climate that's pure poison; Palin does stupid shit so often, and in doing so incurs the wrath and mockery of her political enemies, that it's just dog-bites-man at this point. But even Brian Williams had to chuckle a little at just how fucking ridiculous the notion of Palin writing notes on her hand was -- and although dingbat provocateurs like Andrew Breitbart will tout this as proof of the great liberal media conspiracy, the fact is that Williams is a thoroughly balanced journalist, which means that if he can't avoid acknowledging the absurdity of a news item, you know he figures a good portion of America feels the same way.
Once again, though, the people who love Palin are immune to criticism of her. They'll make excuses up and down as to why someone might be attacking their immortal beloved without ever conceding that maybe there's something there to criticize. Believe me, I know; I've gotten into conversations with some of them and it's almost unbelievable the level of disconnect with logic and reason.
Which brings me back to my original question from last week: What the hell do you do when there's just no getting through to either side of the political debate anymore?
I'd like to think that this little debacle will be the tipping point that opens the eyes of Palin's rabid fan base -- that her acolytes will finally realize that their idol is a buffoonish joke -- but I know better than to get my hopes up.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Quote of the Day
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16 comments:
And you know, it looked to me like she wrote "Budget Cuts" only to realize that she made a mistake, crossed out "Budget" and put "Tax".... How much of a moron are you when you don't even know your own agenda!
They've already started doing their best to spin it - the talking point is that she was doing it on purpose to make fun of Obama and the teleprompter. They have yet to explain (A) why she didn't let her audience in on this hilarious joke, or (B) why she kept having to look at this just-for-funsies prop.
Hey, at least she didn't have to remind herself to wear clothing. Or to breathe.
The guys Palin beat for mayor of Wasilla and governor of Alaska must wake up every morning thinking, "I lost to THAT?"
Oh yeah, Michael. Rich Lowry, predictably, was just about coming in his pants on Fox when he talked about how terrific she was.
and here I thought I had lost hope. You have me beat.
Anonymous ntx said...
The guys Palin beat for mayor of Wasilla and governor of Alaska must wake up every morning thinking, "I lost to THAT?"
Ha! No kidding...their heads must spin on a daily basis.
Maybe I'm just a gloom and doom person, but I think it's a mistake to underestimate what and who Palin REPRESENTS. She is helping to mobilize a sizeable segment of the population that feels disenfranchised, unheard, powerless, etc., etc., and with the right timing and manipulation, that could swing a lot in her favour. I think she's a lightweight myself and don't take her seriously. But I do take seriously how much power she seems to have over so many people. After all, lots of Germans didn't take Hitler very seriously, calling him a buffoon and a fool, but he sure knew how to tap into the psyche of Germans at a time when they needed to feel good about things (not enough space here to expand on that, sorry)...I think there are lots of similarities here. And, and it also doesn't do to forget that fascism in America has existed for a long time and continues to do so. There are strains of that, imo, in Palin's supporters. I fear she is doing a lot of damage to what is good about America and I don't think mocking her is enough to counteract what she is doing and could potentially do. Fuck, and I'm not even American!
PS: Which is to say, I don't worry about Palin so much as I worry about the people who support her and what they are looking for. Even the people who don't expressly support her, but sure as heck hate Obama and who openly (and to me shockingly) hate him and say such terrible things...I mean, I thought the Bush years were ugly, but the ugliness in American discourse, the public sphere, media, etc., is really awful now. I can't believe some of what I see and read, and I can't believe what some people openly say and do and think they're right. The sheer awfulness of it all is mind-boggling to me. I can't believe they get away with it and are not ashamed of themselves. Anyway, I think Palin is a great opportunity for these people and that shouldn't be discounted. She may be an idiot but there are enough people around with enough money and power and influence to use her as their route to power, elected or not. Dangerous, dangerous times in America, you guys. There's a particular psychological thing going on in Americans as a nation that people need to pay attention to.
Personally, unlike Anon@1.06, I don't fear Palin's rabid fan-base.
There are so many people on both sides of the isles that abhor the idea of Palin actually running, never mind acheiving an office of executive power again that the biggest way for the Republican party to guarentee loss in 2012 is to run Palin.
I've known plenty of conservatives that have pledged vote Democrat if she is even near a ballot again.
Opinion:
The late Dr. Bob Cook explained how this works, posthumously on his radio show as a predictable reaction
http://www.walkwiththeking.org
Raising controversy can give you an advantage over your opponent, when you make a prediction about their next move (reaction) and then bluff about it.
Playing dumb is an a bluff that enhances this technique. During your opponent's predictable reaction to your bluff, you have a window of opportunity to carry out your true intentions. For example: To convert your opponent to Christianity, or further a political agenda.
littlebitoffiesty, you are exactly right.
She knew she was going to be asked in the Q&A, "what are the three biggest priorities for a Republican Congress?" or somesuch. Her crib note answers: energy policy, tax cuts, and "lift American spirits".
So, she wrote these things on her hand, which is juvenile and unprofessional enough.
But then she made a *mistake* while writing them on her hand. She wrote "budget cuts", immediately realized that was wrong, crossed out "budget" and put "tax" underneath it.
So not only is she incompetent at remembering the Republican top three priorities when asked about them in a Q&A, she's incompetent at writing six words without making a mistake on one of them.
The headline from TMZ, and probably future porn:
Sarah Palin's Hand Gets Job Done
SARAH Palin? I thought we were talking about MICHAEL Palin! Oh well, it's a silly bunt either way.
I abhor her and I'm most certainly not defending her. But I'm a bit in the dark--what exactly is the difference between her "crib notes" and anyone else using a teleprompter or handwritten notes?
Speaking of fantasies, Democrats should stop fantasizing that she will be the 2012 GOP nominee. Further, I'm not even convinced she will run. She will keep toying with it, but the bad polling numbers in a head to head with Obama will ultimately keep her out. If you can't demonstrate winnability, you can't raise serious money, and if you can't raise serious money you can't compete. There is only so much money she can get from the crazies - eventually, she would have to prove that she is a serious, viable mainstream candidate, and she won't be able to do it.
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