There seems to be a lot of chatter about Sarah Palin. Whatever she does, she seems to attract a lot of negative attention. And really, I don't know much about her. I know she is pro-gun. She is suppose to be a fiscal conservative. Both ideas, I can get behind. On TV, she seems like a bit of an airhead, but beyond that, I'm not sure why people (i.e. the left) like to rag on her as much as they do. If she's as dumb as the media makes her out to be, she's no threat to become president, so I am guessing it's really her positions on various issues they view as much of the threat. So why do people dislike Sarah Palin? Is it because of her politics, or is it because of her personality?
Yes, and it's boring from both sides. In my ideal world, she'd've been waved away like a gnat, and we move on to important business as a species. If you go by the media,...there doesn't seem to be that sort of business on the agenda... But, that can't be, the 9/11 clock was ticking while they were obsessed with Gary Condit, and sharks....
Because even saddled with John McCain and his baggage, running as the #2 for the Party of Dubya, for a brief moment it looked like she would steal the election away from the Democrats. After losing in 2000 and again in 2004, that was too much for their already fragile minds.
She's a woman who doesn't conform to the liberal agenda. The only way it could be any better was if she was Condi Rice running for president. Just look what happened to her for her relatively minor support of GWB, after all.
She already had a career and had made lots of money. She already had a PhD. She'd already written a book. She was nearly a concert musician but decided to pursue academics as a university administrator instead. All that before she ever met GWB. It was only after she was asked to serve a conservative administration that she really aroused the ire of the feminists and liberals. So, no. She has continued to make money but she was already extremely successful before ever entering politics. You know... the conservative pattern of public service.
Part of Palin's problem is that she's got a big mouth, and you can hear that screeching voice of hers for miles! The other part of the problem is that it's hard to take her seriously when half the time SHE doesn't seem to take herself seriously. Instead, she basks in her newfound celebrity glow rather than seriously working to help fix this country's problems.
When has that mattered around here? Besides, the true face of evil is probably someone like Ryan Seacrest.
As I see it, there are basically 4 kinds of people as it relates to Palin: Those who find her views and her positions loathsome and who genuinely feel that she is a threat, if not to be president herself then to rally enough voters who share her views to elect an unacceptable candidate. These are almost entirely left wing people, and generally the more politically aware and active. There's probably a healthy portion of these who don't like her style and presentation either but that's not the reason they oppose her. These, by the way, are the same folks who created and pushed the mythology that GWB was a moron - it worked for them so well they are all too happy to use it against Palin, since her style lends itself so well to being considered shallow. Those, also mostly on the left, who are not entirely aware of what Palin actually thinks, but are sheep enough to buy the "she's SO dumb" mantra flowing from the first group. These are pretty much just thinking what they are told to think - but Palin's "golly gee whiz" presentation makes it easy to believe. Of course, this is the same bunch all to willing to lap up the nonsense that GWB was stupid as well. The third group are the center to center-right people who would share a lot of her positions, but are sympathetic to the idea that she's not really sharp (in the sense that you'd want a president to be at least) and a BIG part of this group just cant stand her accent or the gee-whiz presentation or both. They don't really hate her, and the recognize that most of the stuff coming from the left is bullshit - but they don't like her enough to defend her and certainly not to support her either. Finally, you have the folks that LOVE her and think she's virtually the second coming of Reagan. Having said all that, I don't fit neatly into any of those but I'm closest to the third group.I think she's smarter by far than they say but she is largely "unschooled" - that is, there are, or were at least, big gaps in her knowledge base (in terms of comparing what a governor needs to know to what a president needs to know) That gap is present for any governor until that person sets there mind to be president and begins to school themselves to remedy the gaps. Palin had no opportunity to do that in 2008, and I'm uncertain whether or not she's attempted to do so since. On the other hand, I do find her presentation irritating. Not the accent or the bubbly personality (though I understand why others do) but the fact that the way she phrases things seem to be very high on filler and low on content. This tends to reinforce the idea that she's out of her depth on the issue she's discussing. She comes across much better in writing than she does on-air. Of course, this might lead someone to suspect that she's a figurehead who's putting a pretty face out to the public for others who are giving her her ideas - but no one has ever demonstrated any hint that this is the case.
True this. I kinda shudder at her as a diplomat. I dunno if any of you are familiar with hockey moms, but they're a breed prone to violent outbursts. They will kill you over a 6 year old's crosschecking another just for being within reach and laughing.
It's not what she says or even her delivery of it. It's just her. The left in this country is terrified of her, plain and simple. Somebody above got it right. They are afraid she's going to rally enough people to take up arms at the voting booth and send even more liberals packing in 2012; she did a great job propping up the Tea Party movement this time around. Who knows? Maybe the Republicans will eventually get back to being truly conservative instead of Liberal-Lite (drink responsibly). Let's face it, she could be asked by a journalist about what she had for breakfast and reply "eggs and some good ol' Alaskin' bacon," and the news story that would come out would read: "Sarah Palin Disses Jews: Blatantly Flaunts Her Eating of Pork!"
Several reasons. For social liberals (and this includes most liberal women who hold office) she is against abortion. A woman who is against abortion is considered MUCH MUCH more threatening to the legal abortion status quo than a man who opposes abortion. Especially Sarah Palin who can make a perfect claim to practicing what she preaches in this regard. Every politician knows that a female candidate is always considered to be more compassionate and sympathetic than a male candidate (regardless of their policy positions) so Palins anti abortion position has a lot of traction. From a strictly political standpoint, if the Republicans nominated Palin, Democrats are terrified that the GOP "novelty candidate" would beat their onw "novelty candidate" (President Obama). I've talked to people who conduct polls, and they will tell you that a huge number of American voters (as many as 3-4 million) voted for Barack Obama BECAUSE he was black. That is, even if they knew nothing about him or even opposed his policies, they wanted the chance to be "part of history" when they voted. This "who cares about experience, abilities, policies, or even personalities, I want to make history!!!" dynamic scares the hell out of Democrats for this next election. While they have nothing but disdain for P alin, they fear that a fair share of voters will "give this moment in history to the Republicans (first woman president) since the gave the last moment in history to the Democrats (first black president".
I don't care what side of the political spectrum you're on -- left-wing, right-wing, middle-wing or just a plain wingnut -- every time Sarah Palin opens her mouth she simply proves that a 2x4 has more intelligence than her. That being said, I'd still hit it. So long as she kept stupid mouth shut.
The only problem with Sarah Palin is that she is a woman and not a liberal. This woman is a fucking Einstein compared to the likes of Pelosi which they all love. She is pretty and the liberal women resent her looks, because otherwise the liberals are doing to her what the glass ceiling has been doing to lots of women through the ages.
Pretty much. If Palin does have good ideas, they take second priority to the way she comes off--namely, as retarded as Bush, but with better hair.
What's wrong with Sarah Palin? I'll tell you what's wrong with her. It's wrong that she went to school in Alaska which caused her to intern at an Alaska teevee station. It's wrong that she didn't go to school in Texas where she could've interned at a station where I was working. Had she done so, I would've hooked up with and eventually married her. And, unlike her Alaskan husband, I would've been able to disuade her from ever going into politics.
Palin doesn't seem to be treated much differently than Condi was. The biggest difference in think is that Palin likes to stay in the spotlight more.
