…both the GOP and Obama. And she does it like nobody else.
Some dummy, right?
Comments
In Wisconsin, Palin takes on… — 54 Comments
Yeahhhh…that’s what I’m talkin’ about.
She did not have to say she is running for President. She is running for President. I suspect she will make a deal and announce her VP PRIOR to the Republican convention. The two of them then will give speeches that stun.
Spent the last hour looking at the left wing blog-commenters try to pin stupidity on her and offering differing estimations of the crowd on it. Oh, and they don’t like her voice. They do not comment on what she says – just the voice and what they imagine is true of her brain.
I like her, but her voice is shrieking when she tries to be aggressive. This is a serious problem, and I don’t know if she can amend it.
Part of her appeal is that she is confident and feminine at the same time. Thatcher was less feminine, her voice was more masculine and not very appealing to me either.
Can/should feminine women engage in aggressive politics? I would certainly hope so, because I like feminine women. But I doubt it.
Perhaps Sarah is an exception, she has a formidable natural energy, but if so, she still has a long way to go.
MT – ditto what you said.
Her single greatest deficiency is her voice. It may be the female voice in general. Not sure.
I do not think it is insurmountable. She was speaking through high winds and cold yesterday.
In any case, perhaps this merits a reflection on sound vs. content and heart. Obama “sounds” great. He could literally be in broadcasting. He is a disaster on the content level. Let’s hope that counts. If it does, she’ll be the next President and I’d vote for her in a nano-heartbeat.
There are only even a few close contenders, but I’d put them more in the category of they might be able to help or advise her; but none in the category of better or tougher than her.
That is just the hand we have now. That is the way it is. She is a better person and a better American than Obama. She has more experience than he ever dreamed of.
All he has is a voice.
The question for 2012 is very simple. It might be the only question: How shallow are we Americans, really? Are we or are we not what a lot of people have been saying about us in the past few decades. If we are, Obama will be re-elected since America is over anyway.
If we aren’t….It’s rocket fuel moon launch time again we only don’t realize it yet.
I absolutely love her, but fear that her biggest problem with the GOP “leadership” is that she is not a clone of the democrats.
To them, that is an unforgivable sin. 🙁
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A good vocal coach can teach her how to speak (as if) from her diaphragm. It is all about breathing and controlling the breath. It would be awesome (and I never use that word) to see it happen.
From a substance standpoint, the fact PAlin was derieded as a lightweight, even as a sitting governor, in favor of a community organizer indicates where the real battle lies.
Obama is just as unqualified today as he was four years ago. Unfortunately, the media has imbued onto Obama a false sense of intellectual brilliance, administrative competence, and charismatic mojo.
As an orator, I’d give Obama a B- for style. JFK, Clinton, and Reagan were sound A’s to A+’s. I thought that when I heard the media gush over his 2004 speech.
But Obama is stage managed to within an inch of his life, while Palin is not. I’m disappointed she has not used the past 2 years to position herself as the President who will revive the ecomony by establishing America’s energy independence using oil, wind, electric, etc.
Campaign slogan: “You want 9% unemployment and $5.00/gal. gas? Vote for Obama”. You want to create jobs in this country and have cheaper gas/energy policies? vote for Palin”.
Considering how the GOP establishment stood by while the Left savaged her, while still getting chumped by Obama means there is more house cleaning on the “Right” is in order.
Unfortunately, she was having to yell to get over the sounds of the thug protestors’ cowbells.
You’re right, though, she can probably make more ‘noise’ by speaking calmly.
I hope she runs – and I think this speech clearly shows she is – But if she doesn’t – remember this – we have all the exciting, dedicated, fresh new faces, new blood, fire-in-the-belly candidates. All the left has are Clinton retreads and dishonest death-warmed-over partisan hacks like Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.
We have the new ideas, the new energy – and ANY of our candidates are vastly preferable to Obama.
Let’s not devolve into a circular firing squad, let’s bolster our candidates, and not send them on to the final battle weary and bloodied by friendly fire.
Well, as someone somewhere said, if people would stop voting for people they think might win (especially in the primaries) and start voting for people they think should win, we’ll have candidates who will really lead the charge in the fight for our principles. (There was a good thread on this subject in Breitbart’s “Big Government” site.)
I think she’s great. I also know that if the Left will make photo composites of monkeys defecating on their darling, John McCain’s, head, they will defecate on anyone we select.
As an old advisor of mine once told me, “If you’re going to be in the doghouse no matter what you do, why not do what you want?”
Bit of a tangent: great article from the now-defunct New York Sun (RIP) on the maddening, puzzling, blazing Ayn Rand:
[The NY Sun tried to find an upscale conservative/libertarian audience, but they debuted too late, I think, when newspapers were already starting to lose altitude. This article gives you a taste of what we lost.]
1. O God! O God! How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seems to be all this useless politics! Fie on’t! O fie! ’tis an unweeded garden, that grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature possess it merely. That it should come to this!
We need a dea ex machina who will descend from above the fray and put all to rights.
2. Some dummy, right?
I never perceived Palin as a dummy. I oppose her because a gifted person who overreaches with her talents is more dangerous than a presumptuous nonentity.
I wouldn’t wish to add or subtract anything from her speech or her delivery. A real person saying what needs to be said.
Most of you giving negative comments about Palin are doing what sincere (yet very naive) liberals do…over thinking the issues.
I still say that what she believes in, the likelihood of her doing it, her common sense, and courage more than make up for silly things like her voice.
I’ll remind you that Clinton who was a bad president but certainly no weak one and who wasn’t criticized for lack of experience was governor of a small, southern state prior to being elected president. He had zip experience running a business. Sarah Palin has.
Next thing, you’ll be faulting her for not graduating from an Ivy League university just like Truman (no college degree) and Reagan (Eureka College)n didn’t.
GS, I have followed your Palinophobic posts with interest thinking at some point you would be able to clarify your position with a modicum of logic, and maybe even argue against her convincingly. I suppose hope is not dead, but your statement above reeks of pomposity and elitism.
A gifted person who overreached her talents? I very much doubt if you are qualified to quantify her talents. The left sure as hell isn’t.
Yeah, we get it. You don’t like her for reasons you don’t understand or can’t convey convincingly. So what’s new?
Yeah, we get it. You don’t like her and it doesn’t have to make sense. Who do you like and why.
Palin is a smart politician, and is an asset to the conservatives. She probably is not as electable as a Christie, Pawlenty, or even a Cain. Mitt and Newt are probably in the unelectable column along with Johnson, Huckabee and “the Donald”. Presence and presentation matter a great deal in today’s media sound bite world. Palin commands the quick turn of a phrase that resonates wide appeal, but she does not come to the stage as a heavy weight in experience, or demeanor. While Pawlenty is certainly not a world class orator, he has experience and equally good ideas.
Stark:
If Sarah Palin is not a heavyweight on the American political stage, I don’t know who is.
How many candidates are in office today because of her?
Note how difficult it is for the media NOT to follow her every move (and attempt to ridicule it). Whether they intend to or not, whether they can help it or not, THEY are treating her as a heavyweight.
Sarah Palin is not lacking in ideas, nor in eloquence. (And forget about vocal coaching. We put up with George W. Bush’s nucularisms… because he was a damn sight better than Gore or Kerry. If Gov. Palin can turn this country around, then as far as I’m concerned, she can drop as many Gs as she wants.)
For my money, she’s a heck of a lot smarter than most of the people remarking on how stupid she is. (Sarah Palin’s Alaska was a brilliant PR move, among other things.) She’s also been through hell that most of her critics could not withstand for a day.
Hillary Clinton said that Barack Obama was not ready to answer the phone at 3AM, and she was right. (Heck, he’s not ready for a 3PM phone call either.) I doubt we will ever see ANYBODY more ready for the 3AM phone call than Sarah Palin. She’s proved herself, and then some.
Do we want a Republican candidate we think the Democrats will support? Or do we want someone who will do what America needs? Think about style vs. substance, and answer carefully.
respectfully,
Daniel in Brookline
Daniel in Brookline Says: How many candidates are in office today because of her?
How many candidates were not elected despite her endorsement and support?
How many candidates won (or lost) because Palin made the difference?
I’ve seen various partisan posts that discussed how Palin’s endorsements worked out, but not anything I’d describe as an in-depth objective assessment. My thanks if anyone can point me to such an analysis.
(I agree that Palin is a political heavyweight. I’m trying to rank her within the heavyweight class.)
“”Think about style vs. substance, and answer carefully.””
Daniel
The real world is full of people of substance. We can thank television for making Americans think they are all refelxively beautiful and articulate people as well.
I could give Palin speaking lessons, but nobody would ask me to. ;^) I’m not sure that would be useful at this point, to tell you the truth. People know what she sounds like. While speaking from her diaphragm would save her voice and give her resonance it’s not going to change how people perceive her. She will never sound like Margaret Thatcher and the people who don’t like her as a candidate will continue to do so.
On the other hand, Obama has a mellifluous speaking voice. Some people, unfortunately, confuse having such a voice as having gravitas and sincerity. That is simply not true. I know that from many years of doing theatre and knowing men whose voices you could fall in love with, but who were shallow, narcissistic and mean spirited. Barack Obama has a lot in common with them, but then he plays at being a President.
I give her tremendous credit for entering the lion’s den and facing down the union thugs. F*^k them and their fascist ‘solidarity’. Go to Gateway Pundit if you want to witness their snarling, hateful antics. It’s rather amusing to witness their impotent rage and fury but also enraging to see them get away with so much that we’d probably be ripped for on the MSM. I can see Sarah Palin, one day, taking a portable mic and camera and heading towards the Brownshirts and recording their full foaming hatred for the entire country to see. I think she’s and perhaps, Trump, are the only two who can spotlight the idiots in a way it can’t be ignored.
Well said Daniel in Brookline. Palin’s record matches her rhetoric. The fact that she took on the GOP while governor of Alaska speaks well of her. If she runs she will be part of the GOP so she won’t split the vote. The fact that she has transcended the irrational hatred of the left and MSM makes her the perfect reform candidate. I hope she runs for our country’s sake.
She is certainly a breath of fresh air after all the nannies telling us to go sit in the corner and do as we are told. She speaks to the can do spirit of the country, which we sorely need to get us over the financial mess. I am still not sure about her depth on the foreign policy front, but I am keeping an open mind. One thing I really liked was the bit about supporting those who do the right thing. There are so many conservatives who latch onto the next big thing in candidates, while forgetting that just a while ago they believed today’s RINO would be our salvation. Palin can certainly help keep this group focussed on priority issues.
He mentions Boehner’s getting GAO assessments on several aspects of Obamacare and wanting clarifications of the exemptions. If he sacrificed some cuts in the CR battle, maybe it was to obtain ammo for the attack on Obamacare. Maybe he will have hard evidence to confront Obama’s lies about the elderly and the autistic. I would love to think we have Palin the popular fighter along with Ryan the number-crunching nice young man and Boehner the sneaky strategist all pulling in the same direction. Add to that Christie, Daniels, Pawlenty, Walker, West, Cain and Rubio and you have a formidable team to reverse decades of phony, unaffordable feel good policies.
Cubz_Fan says, “From a substance standpoint, the fact PAlin was derieded as a lightweight, even as a sitting governor, in favor of a community organizer indicates where the real battle lies.”
I agree in spades. This is the issue everyone on the right should be thinking about.
Cubz_Fan goes on to say, “Obama is just as unqualified today as he was four years ago. Unfortunately, the media has imbued onto Obama a false sense of intellectual brilliance, administrative competence, and charismatic mojo.”
Sigh, this is what the candidate, whoever it may be, must reiterate ad nauseam. Obama has no real experience and by 2012 he will still have no experience. AND, his past must be regurgitated repeatedly. AND, his actual record as president must be hammered. AND, the sycophantic MSM must be attacked relentlessly.
The GOP establishment is afraid of the MSM. What they need to do is grow a pair.
I just wanted to share this tidbit. Ayn Rand versus the smarmy, hair-sprayed Phil Donohue on the subject of the Arabs versus the Israelis.
I saw on Breitbart that the Union Square theater in NYC was packed for a weekend showing of Atlas Shrugged; also for a showing in Boulder, Colorado, where the audience applauded at the end. The critics, of course, loathed it, but I’m going to judge for myself.
I love Sarah.
But I wish she hadn’t said the Tea Party exists because of Obama. He is but one malady.
The Tea Party may have gotten its name shortly after his inauguration (thank you, Rick Santtelli), but it’s current incarnation made its effect in the 2006 election when we sent those Democrat spending Republicans home … and doubled the debt before Obama took the oath.
The Tea Party is bigger than Obama, and Sarah diminishes it by crediting BO with it’s existence.
gs
I’ve seen various partisan posts that discussed how Palin’s endorsements worked out, but not anything I’d describe as an in-depth objective assessment. My thanks if anyone can point me to such an analysis.
The WaPo Palin Tracker is not in-depth, but it gives a good overall summary of how her endorsements fared
She supported 64 candidates. Of those, 54 got nominated.
Of those 54, 33 won, 21 lost. The governor’s race in Minnesota was undecided at the time of the WaPo article.
Which reminds me of Palin-supported Sharon Angle, who lost in Nevada to Harry Reid.
A Democratic Party friend of mine was telling me in the fall how someone like Angle ,who had spoken negatively of prostitution, could never win in Nevada. Several months after Harry Reid wins, what does he do? Proposes making prostitution illegal in certain rural areas of Nevada.
That gal, what a dame. She reminds me of those Barbara Stanwyck types. Go Sarah! You got my vote!
texexec says, “Next thing, you’ll be faulting her for not graduating from an Ivy League university just like Truman (no college degree) and Reagan (Eureka College)n didn’t.”
I rarely am in favor of amending the Constitution, but wholeheartedly support an amendment barring all graduates from an Ivy League institution from holding any office higher than mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.
“I’d rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.” — WFB, Jr.
“How shallow are we Americans, really? Are we or are we not what a lot of people have been saying about us in the past few decades. If we are, Obama will be re-elected since America is over anyway.”
That is the great debate. Come 2012 we will step into the crucible and be grounded into dust or we will arise and begin to take back the ideals that are the foundation of individual liberty. As Sarah Barracuda says, “Game on.”
I’ve been thinking about the 2nd civil war for several decades. IMO, if the ship of state does not begin to turn by 2013, its time to dissolve the union. We west of the Mississippi and east of the Snake & the Colorado will do fine on our own. Let us be free.
In terms of shrewdness Palin is an outstanding study. Positioning herself in front of a grass roots mass movement, letting the media give her 24/7 publicity, helping them along with books and TV shows, using her looks to counter Obama’s use of the same. All on her own from outside the Republican establishment. In Nevada and Delaware she displayed an ability to harm her own side if she chooses, making a bigger power broker than she otherwise would have been. She is the most certainly unique politician of my time. I hope she does not run for president in 2012, but as an American Machiavelli ( a nice Machiavelli) I respect her in that sense and can see were she may eventually make a good President someday, but not in 2013.
I agree with Parker, in Nov. 2012 we’ll find out if America is a Shining City on a Hill, or a historical fluke, an ideal or a coincidence.
Parker:
I’ve been thinking about the 2nd civil war for several decades. IMO, if the ship of state does not begin to turn by 2013, its time to dissolve the union. We west of the Mississippi and east of the Snake & the Colorado will do fine on our own. Let us be free.
Wait! Don’t leave me here!
Seriously, if it comes to that, this time the country is not going to fracture along simple geographical boundaries. It’s going to be a whole lot messier. Patriots and Communists are intermingled all over the country. Some of us in the Northeastern suburbs will find ourselves on the front lines.
I mentioned Atlas Shrugged in an earlier thread. It’s excellent. Go see it.
I’ve posted a longer review in a few places, including here.
Here’s a great short video from FreedomWorks. They were listed in the credits. I think they may have provided financial support or something.
She’s not an angry or bitter woman. She does it all with a smile on her face.
“she does not come to the stage as a heavy weight in experience, or demeanor.”
Here’s a red hot news flash – she’s not running against George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. SHe’s running against Obama, whose substantive accomplishments prior to his election as POTUS totaled zip dot squat, and a Republican field so feckless it is now being dominated by Donald Trump. I say stop condescending to her and give her a fair chance.
Andrew Breitbart’s introduction of Sarah in Madison is a two minute gem in itself. Go to hell Trumpka!
I’m Palin’s longstanding admirer, but this speech didn’t grab me as it seems to have grabbed other commenters. I’ll stay out on my limb and continue to assert that Palin will not be a candidate for President anytime soon. She wants influence more than power.
People do not care about what is fair, they care about power. To be specific, they care to be dominated and told what to do by a Supreme Being.
The implication that Sarah Palin lacks experience, is simply that people need somebody else with more experience to tell them what to do, when to go to the bathroom, and where to get a job. Things like that.
Btw, GS doesn’t have a horse to stand upon until he produces what is called credibility with the positions he took on 9/11, OAE, and OIf during 2003-4 and during 2004-2006, as well as post 2006 Petraeus surge.
Without a solid base to judge GS’s judgment on world events, it’s foolishness to trust in one person’s judgment of Sarah Palin. And that person isn’t even yourself to boot.
Sounds like you have it nailed Ymar.
It is what it is.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste – but it is a wasted when it comes to the Palin topic for GS.
baklava Says: A mind is a terrible thing to waste – but it is a wasted when it comes to the Palin topic for GS.
Tsk, baklava, didn’t you get the memo?
Sarah appreciates your enthusiasm and commitment. However, if her supporters offend her conservative/libertarian opponents too much, said opponents are unlikely to become future supporters, volunteers, contributors, and voters.
The new tactic is to demand that Sarah’s opponents justify their skepticism. Put the burden of proof on them! Make them work! If they produce arguments and evidence, demand more!
That way, you wear down your opponents without turning them into enemies, and you seem reasonable to onlookers.
Don’t worry, Sarah is very aware of who supported her early and who supports her late. Meanwhile, get with the program!
Gringo, thanks for the WaPo link.
I too did a double take when the story about Reid & prostitution came out. Presumably Reid is trying to settle some intrastate scores.
Sarah became somebody much more than a politician, so it is plainly wrong to apply to her usual yardsticks for assessment of politicians. A symbolic, charismatic leader of a movement which is essentially more moral and spiritual than simply political. This may be not evident to the members of this movement, but for a stranger observing it from afar almost religious fervor of her enthusiasts is a hallmark of something bigger than effort to win election and support some specific policies. It is about forging a new national identity – moral, philosophical and ethical. This movement will grow and transform the very fabric of US society in many ways irrespecting of its immediate political success or failure.
Ymarsakar Says:
April 18th, 2011 at 9:23 am
That was such a totally bizarre post that I won’t even comment on it anymore than just to say that.
“He’s willing to future our own children’s future for his own.”
I loved that one!
Sarah has a political genius.
Excuse me:
“He’s (meaning Obama) is willing to MORTGAGE our own children’s future for his own.”
Sergey, you are so right on! It’s not just about winning in 2012. The fight is never over. Never has been.
America has always been fighting and in this age when so much transformation is presenting, it’s hard to know exactly what is right. The fight is to establish for the next generation how to judge, and, in fact, that it is okay to judge.
As many entrepreneurs know, sometimes too much business is as fatal as not enough. We might face that in 2012 if we win the Presidency and the Senate. We should start thinking about that contingency and how to establish a focus and priority and not waste the opportunity. I think Sarah has that focus.
rickl says, “Wait! Don’t leave me here!
Seriously, if it comes to that, this time the country is not going to fracture along simple geographical boundaries. It’s going to be a whole lot messier. Patriots and Communists are intermingled all over the country. Some of us in the Northeastern suburbs will find ourselves on the front lines.”
IF it comes to that, you are right about it being a whole lot messier in many areas, particularly the NE on through to the midwest east of the Big Muddy, and of course the Pacific coast.
rickl, IF it comes to that…. think about a line of retreat. I’ve been to Maine a couple of times and there are not big crowds its up near Quebec or better yet paddle to an island and put some lobster trap in the water. 😉
Seriously, take a look at Iowa, Nebraska, ND, SD, and the wonderful folks in WYO. Except for often bitter winters, we’re all great places to start up a business or if you’re ready to retire check us out. And, we produce plenty of the commodities everyone needs: grains and energy resources. Ahh, the joys of living in fly over country. 🙂
We all have our opinions about Palin. I have mine and I’m sticking to them. 😉 I understand why some feel she can not win a national election and why others believe she can. As with anything in life much can happen along the way, and much can fall on Obama between now and 11/12. Timing and circumstances are important.
rickl,
Saw Atlas Shrugged yesterday and, though the theatre was only half full, (1230 matinee) there was applause at the end. (Amazing here in ultra- liberal Puget Sound.) I thoroughly enjoyed the story telling and the message. However, being Colorado born and raised, I really enjoyed all the gorgeous photography of the Colorado mountains. I wish we didn’t have to wait a year for part II.
I’ve always liked her, but I think she’ll need to shift from being a happy gadfly to being a gritty leader. The times are right for some “blood, sweat and tears” talk. That’s not so easy to pull off, particularly in this attention-deficient country, which is why we’re floundering about for a candidate to fall in love with. But the lady has guts and I like that.
Just like to point out that if it comes to that I will not be the one retreating. In true Palin fashion, I won’t be retreating… you fill in the rest.
I do get reminded of how Southerners still hold grudges over X, Y, and Z happening to their great, great, grandparents.
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Yeahhhh…that’s what I’m talkin’ about.
She did not have to say she is running for President. She is running for President. I suspect she will make a deal and announce her VP PRIOR to the Republican convention. The two of them then will give speeches that stun.
Spent the last hour looking at the left wing blog-commenters try to pin stupidity on her and offering differing estimations of the crowd on it. Oh, and they don’t like her voice. They do not comment on what she says – just the voice and what they imagine is true of her brain.
I like her, but her voice is shrieking when she tries to be aggressive. This is a serious problem, and I don’t know if she can amend it.
Part of her appeal is that she is confident and feminine at the same time. Thatcher was less feminine, her voice was more masculine and not very appealing to me either.
Can/should feminine women engage in aggressive politics? I would certainly hope so, because I like feminine women. But I doubt it.
Perhaps Sarah is an exception, she has a formidable natural energy, but if so, she still has a long way to go.
MT – ditto what you said.
Her single greatest deficiency is her voice. It may be the female voice in general. Not sure.
I do not think it is insurmountable. She was speaking through high winds and cold yesterday.
In any case, perhaps this merits a reflection on sound vs. content and heart. Obama “sounds” great. He could literally be in broadcasting. He is a disaster on the content level. Let’s hope that counts. If it does, she’ll be the next President and I’d vote for her in a nano-heartbeat.
There are only even a few close contenders, but I’d put them more in the category of they might be able to help or advise her; but none in the category of better or tougher than her.
That is just the hand we have now. That is the way it is. She is a better person and a better American than Obama. She has more experience than he ever dreamed of.
All he has is a voice.
The question for 2012 is very simple. It might be the only question: How shallow are we Americans, really? Are we or are we not what a lot of people have been saying about us in the past few decades. If we are, Obama will be re-elected since America is over anyway.
If we aren’t….It’s rocket fuel moon launch time again we only don’t realize it yet.
I absolutely love her, but fear that her biggest problem with the GOP “leadership” is that she is not a clone of the democrats.
To them, that is an unforgivable sin. 🙁
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A good vocal coach can teach her how to speak (as if) from her diaphragm. It is all about breathing and controlling the breath. It would be awesome (and I never use that word) to see it happen.
From a substance standpoint, the fact PAlin was derieded as a lightweight, even as a sitting governor, in favor of a community organizer indicates where the real battle lies.
Obama is just as unqualified today as he was four years ago. Unfortunately, the media has imbued onto Obama a false sense of intellectual brilliance, administrative competence, and charismatic mojo.
As an orator, I’d give Obama a B- for style. JFK, Clinton, and Reagan were sound A’s to A+’s. I thought that when I heard the media gush over his 2004 speech.
But Obama is stage managed to within an inch of his life, while Palin is not. I’m disappointed she has not used the past 2 years to position herself as the President who will revive the ecomony by establishing America’s energy independence using oil, wind, electric, etc.
Campaign slogan: “You want 9% unemployment and $5.00/gal. gas? Vote for Obama”. You want to create jobs in this country and have cheaper gas/energy policies? vote for Palin”.
Considering how the GOP establishment stood by while the Left savaged her, while still getting chumped by Obama means there is more house cleaning on the “Right” is in order.
Unfortunately, she was having to yell to get over the sounds of the thug protestors’ cowbells.
You’re right, though, she can probably make more ‘noise’ by speaking calmly.
I hope she runs – and I think this speech clearly shows she is – But if she doesn’t – remember this – we have all the exciting, dedicated, fresh new faces, new blood, fire-in-the-belly candidates. All the left has are Clinton retreads and dishonest death-warmed-over partisan hacks like Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.
We have the new ideas, the new energy – and ANY of our candidates are vastly preferable to Obama.
Let’s not devolve into a circular firing squad, let’s bolster our candidates, and not send them on to the final battle weary and bloodied by friendly fire.
Well, as someone somewhere said, if people would stop voting for people they think might win (especially in the primaries) and start voting for people they think should win, we’ll have candidates who will really lead the charge in the fight for our principles. (There was a good thread on this subject in Breitbart’s “Big Government” site.)
I think she’s great. I also know that if the Left will make photo composites of monkeys defecating on their darling, John McCain’s, head, they will defecate on anyone we select.
As an old advisor of mine once told me, “If you’re going to be in the doghouse no matter what you do, why not do what you want?”
Bit of a tangent: great article from the now-defunct New York Sun (RIP) on the maddening, puzzling, blazing Ayn Rand:
http://www.nysun.com/arts/strangely-important-figure/8235/
[The NY Sun tried to find an upscale conservative/libertarian audience, but they debuted too late, I think, when newspapers were already starting to lose altitude. This article gives you a taste of what we lost.]
1. O God! O God! How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seems to be all this useless politics! Fie on’t! O fie! ’tis an unweeded garden, that grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature possess it merely. That it should come to this!
We need a dea ex machina who will descend from above the fray and put all to rights.
2. Some dummy, right?
I never perceived Palin as a dummy. I oppose her because a gifted person who overreaches with her talents is more dangerous than a presumptuous nonentity.
I wouldn’t wish to add or subtract anything from her speech or her delivery. A real person saying what needs to be said.
Most of you giving negative comments about Palin are doing what sincere (yet very naive) liberals do…over thinking the issues.
I still say that what she believes in, the likelihood of her doing it, her common sense, and courage more than make up for silly things like her voice.
I’ll remind you that Clinton who was a bad president but certainly no weak one and who wasn’t criticized for lack of experience was governor of a small, southern state prior to being elected president. He had zip experience running a business. Sarah Palin has.
Next thing, you’ll be faulting her for not graduating from an Ivy League university just like Truman (no college degree) and Reagan (Eureka College)n didn’t.
GS, I have followed your Palinophobic posts with interest thinking at some point you would be able to clarify your position with a modicum of logic, and maybe even argue against her convincingly. I suppose hope is not dead, but your statement above reeks of pomposity and elitism.
A gifted person who overreached her talents? I very much doubt if you are qualified to quantify her talents. The left sure as hell isn’t.
Yeah, we get it. You don’t like her for reasons you don’t understand or can’t convey convincingly. So what’s new?
Yeah, we get it. You don’t like her and it doesn’t have to make sense. Who do you like and why.
Palin is a smart politician, and is an asset to the conservatives. She probably is not as electable as a Christie, Pawlenty, or even a Cain. Mitt and Newt are probably in the unelectable column along with Johnson, Huckabee and “the Donald”. Presence and presentation matter a great deal in today’s media sound bite world. Palin commands the quick turn of a phrase that resonates wide appeal, but she does not come to the stage as a heavy weight in experience, or demeanor. While Pawlenty is certainly not a world class orator, he has experience and equally good ideas.
Stark:
If Sarah Palin is not a heavyweight on the American political stage, I don’t know who is.
How many candidates are in office today because of her?
Note how difficult it is for the media NOT to follow her every move (and attempt to ridicule it). Whether they intend to or not, whether they can help it or not, THEY are treating her as a heavyweight.
Sarah Palin is not lacking in ideas, nor in eloquence. (And forget about vocal coaching. We put up with George W. Bush’s nucularisms… because he was a damn sight better than Gore or Kerry. If Gov. Palin can turn this country around, then as far as I’m concerned, she can drop as many Gs as she wants.)
For my money, she’s a heck of a lot smarter than most of the people remarking on how stupid she is. (Sarah Palin’s Alaska was a brilliant PR move, among other things.) She’s also been through hell that most of her critics could not withstand for a day.
Hillary Clinton said that Barack Obama was not ready to answer the phone at 3AM, and she was right. (Heck, he’s not ready for a 3PM phone call either.) I doubt we will ever see ANYBODY more ready for the 3AM phone call than Sarah Palin. She’s proved herself, and then some.
Do we want a Republican candidate we think the Democrats will support? Or do we want someone who will do what America needs? Think about style vs. substance, and answer carefully.
respectfully,
Daniel in Brookline
Daniel in Brookline Says: How many candidates are in office today because of her?
How many candidates were not elected despite her endorsement and support?
How many candidates won (or lost) because Palin made the difference?
I’ve seen various partisan posts that discussed how Palin’s endorsements worked out, but not anything I’d describe as an in-depth objective assessment. My thanks if anyone can point me to such an analysis.
(I agree that Palin is a political heavyweight. I’m trying to rank her within the heavyweight class.)
“”Think about style vs. substance, and answer carefully.””
Daniel
The real world is full of people of substance. We can thank television for making Americans think they are all refelxively beautiful and articulate people as well.
I could give Palin speaking lessons, but nobody would ask me to. ;^) I’m not sure that would be useful at this point, to tell you the truth. People know what she sounds like. While speaking from her diaphragm would save her voice and give her resonance it’s not going to change how people perceive her. She will never sound like Margaret Thatcher and the people who don’t like her as a candidate will continue to do so.
On the other hand, Obama has a mellifluous speaking voice. Some people, unfortunately, confuse having such a voice as having gravitas and sincerity. That is simply not true. I know that from many years of doing theatre and knowing men whose voices you could fall in love with, but who were shallow, narcissistic and mean spirited. Barack Obama has a lot in common with them, but then he plays at being a President.
I give her tremendous credit for entering the lion’s den and facing down the union thugs. F*^k them and their fascist ‘solidarity’. Go to Gateway Pundit if you want to witness their snarling, hateful antics. It’s rather amusing to witness their impotent rage and fury but also enraging to see them get away with so much that we’d probably be ripped for on the MSM. I can see Sarah Palin, one day, taking a portable mic and camera and heading towards the Brownshirts and recording their full foaming hatred for the entire country to see. I think she’s and perhaps, Trump, are the only two who can spotlight the idiots in a way it can’t be ignored.
Well said Daniel in Brookline. Palin’s record matches her rhetoric. The fact that she took on the GOP while governor of Alaska speaks well of her. If she runs she will be part of the GOP so she won’t split the vote. The fact that she has transcended the irrational hatred of the left and MSM makes her the perfect reform candidate. I hope she runs for our country’s sake.
She is certainly a breath of fresh air after all the nannies telling us to go sit in the corner and do as we are told. She speaks to the can do spirit of the country, which we sorely need to get us over the financial mess. I am still not sure about her depth on the foreign policy front, but I am keeping an open mind. One thing I really liked was the bit about supporting those who do the right thing. There are so many conservatives who latch onto the next big thing in candidates, while forgetting that just a while ago they believed today’s RINO would be our salvation. Palin can certainly help keep this group focussed on priority issues.
I read this Michael Barone piece today.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/2011/04/president-whatever-finds-things-not-going-his-way
He mentions Boehner’s getting GAO assessments on several aspects of Obamacare and wanting clarifications of the exemptions. If he sacrificed some cuts in the CR battle, maybe it was to obtain ammo for the attack on Obamacare. Maybe he will have hard evidence to confront Obama’s lies about the elderly and the autistic. I would love to think we have Palin the popular fighter along with Ryan the number-crunching nice young man and Boehner the sneaky strategist all pulling in the same direction. Add to that Christie, Daniels, Pawlenty, Walker, West, Cain and Rubio and you have a formidable team to reverse decades of phony, unaffordable feel good policies.
Cubz_Fan says, “From a substance standpoint, the fact PAlin was derieded as a lightweight, even as a sitting governor, in favor of a community organizer indicates where the real battle lies.”
I agree in spades. This is the issue everyone on the right should be thinking about.
Cubz_Fan goes on to say, “Obama is just as unqualified today as he was four years ago. Unfortunately, the media has imbued onto Obama a false sense of intellectual brilliance, administrative competence, and charismatic mojo.”
Sigh, this is what the candidate, whoever it may be, must reiterate ad nauseam. Obama has no real experience and by 2012 he will still have no experience. AND, his past must be regurgitated repeatedly. AND, his actual record as president must be hammered. AND, the sycophantic MSM must be attacked relentlessly.
The GOP establishment is afraid of the MSM. What they need to do is grow a pair.
I just wanted to share this tidbit. Ayn Rand versus the smarmy, hair-sprayed Phil Donohue on the subject of the Arabs versus the Israelis.
I think she’d like Palin’s style.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uHSv1asFvU&feature=related
I saw on Breitbart that the Union Square theater in NYC was packed for a weekend showing of Atlas Shrugged; also for a showing in Boulder, Colorado, where the audience applauded at the end. The critics, of course, loathed it, but I’m going to judge for myself.
I love Sarah.
But I wish she hadn’t said the Tea Party exists because of Obama. He is but one malady.
The Tea Party may have gotten its name shortly after his inauguration (thank you, Rick Santtelli), but it’s current incarnation made its effect in the 2006 election when we sent those Democrat spending Republicans home … and doubled the debt before Obama took the oath.
The Tea Party is bigger than Obama, and Sarah diminishes it by crediting BO with it’s existence.
gs
The WaPo Palin Tracker is not in-depth, but it gives a good overall summary of how her endorsements fared
She supported 64 candidates. Of those, 54 got nominated.
Of those 54, 33 won, 21 lost. The governor’s race in Minnesota was undecided at the time of the WaPo article.
Which reminds me of Palin-supported Sharon Angle, who lost in Nevada to Harry Reid.
A Democratic Party friend of mine was telling me in the fall how someone like Angle ,who had spoken negatively of prostitution, could never win in Nevada. Several months after Harry Reid wins, what does he do? Proposes making prostitution illegal in certain rural areas of Nevada.
beverly,
You may enjoy this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTf6NK0wsiA&feature=related
That gal, what a dame. She reminds me of those Barbara Stanwyck types. Go Sarah! You got my vote!
texexec says, “Next thing, you’ll be faulting her for not graduating from an Ivy League university just like Truman (no college degree) and Reagan (Eureka College)n didn’t.”
I rarely am in favor of amending the Constitution, but wholeheartedly support an amendment barring all graduates from an Ivy League institution from holding any office higher than mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.
“I’d rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.” — WFB, Jr.
“How shallow are we Americans, really? Are we or are we not what a lot of people have been saying about us in the past few decades. If we are, Obama will be re-elected since America is over anyway.”
That is the great debate. Come 2012 we will step into the crucible and be grounded into dust or we will arise and begin to take back the ideals that are the foundation of individual liberty. As Sarah Barracuda says, “Game on.”
I’ve been thinking about the 2nd civil war for several decades. IMO, if the ship of state does not begin to turn by 2013, its time to dissolve the union. We west of the Mississippi and east of the Snake & the Colorado will do fine on our own. Let us be free.
In terms of shrewdness Palin is an outstanding study. Positioning herself in front of a grass roots mass movement, letting the media give her 24/7 publicity, helping them along with books and TV shows, using her looks to counter Obama’s use of the same. All on her own from outside the Republican establishment. In Nevada and Delaware she displayed an ability to harm her own side if she chooses, making a bigger power broker than she otherwise would have been. She is the most certainly unique politician of my time. I hope she does not run for president in 2012, but as an American Machiavelli ( a nice Machiavelli) I respect her in that sense and can see were she may eventually make a good President someday, but not in 2013.
I agree with Parker, in Nov. 2012 we’ll find out if America is a Shining City on a Hill, or a historical fluke, an ideal or a coincidence.
Parker:
Wait! Don’t leave me here!
Seriously, if it comes to that, this time the country is not going to fracture along simple geographical boundaries. It’s going to be a whole lot messier. Patriots and Communists are intermingled all over the country. Some of us in the Northeastern suburbs will find ourselves on the front lines.
I mentioned Atlas Shrugged in an earlier thread. It’s excellent. Go see it.
I’ve posted a longer review in a few places, including here.
Here’s a great short video from FreedomWorks. They were listed in the credits. I think they may have provided financial support or something.
Here is an audience video of Sarah’s speech in Madison. She starts at around 5:30.
She’s not an angry or bitter woman. She does it all with a smile on her face.
“she does not come to the stage as a heavy weight in experience, or demeanor.”
Here’s a red hot news flash – she’s not running against George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. SHe’s running against Obama, whose substantive accomplishments prior to his election as POTUS totaled zip dot squat, and a Republican field so feckless it is now being dominated by Donald Trump. I say stop condescending to her and give her a fair chance.
Andrew Breitbart’s introduction of Sarah in Madison is a two minute gem in itself. Go to hell Trumpka!
http://biggovernment.com/jhoft/2011/04/16/andrew-breitbart-confronts-the-angry-trumka-obama-leftist-mob-you-can-go-to-hell-go-to-hell-video/
I’m Palin’s longstanding admirer, but this speech didn’t grab me as it seems to have grabbed other commenters. I’ll stay out on my limb and continue to assert that Palin will not be a candidate for President anytime soon. She wants influence more than power.
People do not care about what is fair, they care about power. To be specific, they care to be dominated and told what to do by a Supreme Being.
The implication that Sarah Palin lacks experience, is simply that people need somebody else with more experience to tell them what to do, when to go to the bathroom, and where to get a job. Things like that.
Btw, GS doesn’t have a horse to stand upon until he produces what is called credibility with the positions he took on 9/11, OAE, and OIf during 2003-4 and during 2004-2006, as well as post 2006 Petraeus surge.
Without a solid base to judge GS’s judgment on world events, it’s foolishness to trust in one person’s judgment of Sarah Palin. And that person isn’t even yourself to boot.
Sounds like you have it nailed Ymar.
It is what it is.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste – but it is a wasted when it comes to the Palin topic for GS.
baklava Says: A mind is a terrible thing to waste – but it is a wasted when it comes to the Palin topic for GS.
Tsk, baklava, didn’t you get the memo?
Sarah appreciates your enthusiasm and commitment. However, if her supporters offend her conservative/libertarian opponents too much, said opponents are unlikely to become future supporters, volunteers, contributors, and voters.
The new tactic is to demand that Sarah’s opponents justify their skepticism. Put the burden of proof on them! Make them work! If they produce arguments and evidence, demand more!
That way, you wear down your opponents without turning them into enemies, and you seem reasonable to onlookers.
Don’t worry, Sarah is very aware of who supported her early and who supports her late. Meanwhile, get with the program!
Gringo, thanks for the WaPo link.
I too did a double take when the story about Reid & prostitution came out. Presumably Reid is trying to settle some intrastate scores.
Sarah became somebody much more than a politician, so it is plainly wrong to apply to her usual yardsticks for assessment of politicians. A symbolic, charismatic leader of a movement which is essentially more moral and spiritual than simply political. This may be not evident to the members of this movement, but for a stranger observing it from afar almost religious fervor of her enthusiasts is a hallmark of something bigger than effort to win election and support some specific policies. It is about forging a new national identity – moral, philosophical and ethical. This movement will grow and transform the very fabric of US society in many ways irrespecting of its immediate political success or failure.
Ymarsakar Says:
April 18th, 2011 at 9:23 am
That was such a totally bizarre post that I won’t even comment on it anymore than just to say that.
“He’s willing to future our own children’s future for his own.”
I loved that one!
Sarah has a political genius.
Excuse me:
“He’s (meaning Obama) is willing to MORTGAGE our own children’s future for his own.”
Sergey, you are so right on! It’s not just about winning in 2012. The fight is never over. Never has been.
America has always been fighting and in this age when so much transformation is presenting, it’s hard to know exactly what is right. The fight is to establish for the next generation how to judge, and, in fact, that it is okay to judge.
As many entrepreneurs know, sometimes too much business is as fatal as not enough. We might face that in 2012 if we win the Presidency and the Senate. We should start thinking about that contingency and how to establish a focus and priority and not waste the opportunity. I think Sarah has that focus.
rickl says, “Wait! Don’t leave me here!
Seriously, if it comes to that, this time the country is not going to fracture along simple geographical boundaries. It’s going to be a whole lot messier. Patriots and Communists are intermingled all over the country. Some of us in the Northeastern suburbs will find ourselves on the front lines.”
IF it comes to that, you are right about it being a whole lot messier in many areas, particularly the NE on through to the midwest east of the Big Muddy, and of course the Pacific coast.
rickl, IF it comes to that…. think about a line of retreat. I’ve been to Maine a couple of times and there are not big crowds its up near Quebec or better yet paddle to an island and put some lobster trap in the water. 😉
Seriously, take a look at Iowa, Nebraska, ND, SD, and the wonderful folks in WYO. Except for often bitter winters, we’re all great places to start up a business or if you’re ready to retire check us out. And, we produce plenty of the commodities everyone needs: grains and energy resources. Ahh, the joys of living in fly over country. 🙂
We all have our opinions about Palin. I have mine and I’m sticking to them. 😉 I understand why some feel she can not win a national election and why others believe she can. As with anything in life much can happen along the way, and much can fall on Obama between now and 11/12. Timing and circumstances are important.
BTW, this is interesting:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sp-cuts-us-rating-outlook-to-negative-2011-04-18?dist=afterbell
And so is this:
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=184472
rickl,
Saw Atlas Shrugged yesterday and, though the theatre was only half full, (1230 matinee) there was applause at the end. (Amazing here in ultra- liberal Puget Sound.) I thoroughly enjoyed the story telling and the message. However, being Colorado born and raised, I really enjoyed all the gorgeous photography of the Colorado mountains. I wish we didn’t have to wait a year for part II.
I’ve always liked her, but I think she’ll need to shift from being a happy gadfly to being a gritty leader. The times are right for some “blood, sweat and tears” talk. That’s not so easy to pull off, particularly in this attention-deficient country, which is why we’re floundering about for a candidate to fall in love with. But the lady has guts and I like that.
I do get reminded of how Southerners still hold grudges over X, Y, and Z happening to their great, great, grandparents.