The Palin effect

[Jenny]

> acemotel: It’s ludicrous to compare Palin (I can see Russia) to Obama.

Please read the full transcript of the interview – the transcript that includes the parts that they cut out of her interview. It’s available on the ABC site, but Mark Levin has helpfully bolded the parts that they cut out of the TV interview:

http://marklevinshow.com/gibson-interview/

See especially this part:

GIBSON: You believe [the invasion of Georgia was] unprovoked.

PALIN: I do believe unprovoked and we have got to keep our eyes on Russia, under the leadership there. I think it was unfortunate. That manifestation that we saw with that invasion of Georgia shows us some steps backwards that Russia has recently taken away from the race toward a more democratic nation with democratic ideals. That’s why we have to keep an eye on Russia.

And, Charlie, you’re in Alaska. We have that very narrow maritime border between the United States, and the 49th state, Alaska, and Russia. They are our next door neighbors.We need to have a good relationship with them. They’re very, very important to us and they are our next door neighbor.

GIBSON: What insight into Russian actions, particularly in the last couple of weeks, does the proximity of the state give you?

PALIN: They’re our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.

GIBSON: What insight does that give you into what they’re doing in Georgia?

PALIN: Well, I’m giving you that perspective of how small our world is and how important it is that we work with our allies to keep good relation with all of these countries, especially Russia. We will not repeat a Cold War. We must have good relationship with our allies, pressuring, also, helping us to remind Russia that it’s in their benefit, also, a mutually beneficial relationship for us all to be getting along.

Sure she’s light on experience with foreign diplomacy. But she shows a level-headed attitude about Russia – one that’s more informed & substantial than the single “you can see Russia from here” quote that they left in the video implies.

There are other snippets in the transcript as well that show her to be more savvy than the video itself portrays.

OK you WS liberals, I want to know: Why do you think ABC cropped out those specific parts of what Sarah Palin said? And do you think they redeemed themselves by including them in the full transcript, or is that like when a biased newspaper prints an inflammatory statement on page 1 and then later prints a small retraction on B-17 as a figleaf?

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[mellaw6565]

Jenny – What about Georgia’s steps away from democracy by bombing a part of its’ population that wants its’ independence? And Palin wants them to join NATO?

C’mon – you seem like you’re smarter than that. It has nothing to do with who is maintaining democracies. It has everything to do with how close we can get to Russia’s border to spy on them – the same as they have tried to do south of our border in Cuba, etc…. That’s the cold war mentality that they want to perpetuate.

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[mellaw6565]

You also show Palin saying that the invasion of Georgia was unprovoked, when most foreign policy experts, even Jimmy Carter, stated that Georgia had been provoking the issue. So it sounds like she’s playing with false information – hmmm…..

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[JanS]

NR…believe what you want…I don’t think I ever asked for your help? Why would I need your help?Are you saying I’m beyond help? Well, some people might think that – lol. But…you believe what you believe is right for you…and I believe what is right for me. Barack Obama has beliefs that are closer to mine than John McCain. I think I’ve explained that to you, if you recall. I stated an opinion in my above comment…and I’m stickin’ to it.

Have a great Sunday.

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[JanS]

JT…. thanks for those links. I do believe the “guilt by association” thing that the Repubs have piled on Obama will come back to haunt them…hypiocrisy, oh, my yes…

Ace… Tina Fay was incredible as Palin. Hope they bring her back again and again :)

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[acemotel]

ABC was doing Palin a favor to clip those parts of gobbledegook. It’s clear she doesn’t understand Russia’s history, even if she *can* see it on a clear day. No mention of the role of South Ossetia and Abkhazia vis a vis Russia and Georgia. Sanctions on Russia? what a foolish woman. Maybe we could just sell a few billion dollars of missile interceptors to our “ally” Georgia.

And by the way, would someone please ask her who all out “allies” are? I’m sure she has no idea we are the laughing stock of the developed world. Can she spell imperialism? I doubt it.

YOO HOO where is social worker in motion!!! Will you please tell Ms. Alaska that the Cold War is over? Fabricated crises notwithstanding.

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[mellaw6565]

Ace – it’s not over until the fat babushka woman sings!

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[acemotel]

I hope Ms. Babushka sings soon, because her poor countrymen and women have been through hell and back.

Is McCain making a move for the elderly vote, appealing to symbolism and mythology of the Cold War era, or just living out his unfinished business? McCain has 10 (plus or minus) somewhat-productive years left, if he’s lucky, and he’s got damn well nothing to lose by dragging the rest of us backwards.

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[mellaw6565]

My father is a WWII Vet (86 y/o – not many of them left) and he thinks McCain is great and is absolutely in love with Palin. His generation still believes that we must be ever vigilant against our 20th century enemies and that military might is the only way. There wasn’t a hell of a lot of diplomacy done from WWII forward with the advent of the Cold War.

It must also be considered that the AARP is the biggest contributor to the RNC, even though the Repub’s have decimated Social Security and prescription coverage.

Last but not least, I think the idea of a black man as President is still somewhat of a foreign concept to his generation. Not that it’s bad – just not comfortable for those that grew up in a white male-dominated society.

My father, who is bright, able bodied and stubborn, gets very offended when I say that McCain is too old for office. It reminds him of his own mortality and how much society has changed in the last century.

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[acemotel]

My father would have been 93 this year, were he still alive, and he was cut from the same cloth. He commanded army troops in a European country, and defected them to the USA. His country was occupied by the Russians and he never went home again. Of course fighting the Communists was the focus of his life and career until the day he died. I certainly wonder what he would think about this election. OTOH, his brother, who is 87 and a citizen of Switzerland thinks Obama is the only hope for America.

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[JoB]

where does one start?

NewResident… it’s pretty hard to be pursuing a smear campaign when all you are doing is uncovering the truth…

smearing is when you tell lies. like John McCain is currently doing in his ads.

Calling Sarah Palin a centerist because she didn’t pursue a right wing agenda she knew would prevent her from passing other legislation is a bit like calling USAToday an extremely liberal news source… and both are like calling Sarah Palin a feminist because she hunts moose.

So, if she doesn’t pursue a strictly right wing agenda, she’s a centerist?

if a news source isn’t far right.. it’s extremely liberal?

If she is pursuing activities the lower 48 think aren’t traditionally female (dressing a moose and hunting are common female skills in Alaska) she’s a feminist?

if she can see Russia on a clear day from Alaska.. but only if she is on the tip of the Aleutian islands… she has a better perspective on the threat they pose?

if she can see the northern lights … she can from her home town… does that mean she has an intimate understanding of space?

if she lives near the polar ice cap.. does that mean she should have a better understanding of global warming?

if her husband relies on fishing for part of his income… does that mean she should understand that oil pollution threatens Alaska’s prime fishing grounds and that it might be a poor idea to drill in Alaska’s most prolific bay?

We could play this scenario out for hours.. at it will still play out the same way… and get far more serious as we dig deeper… just as the hypocrisy of Sarah Palin is revealed daily as America learns more about her.

Sarah Palin is woefully ignorant of the the issues pertaining to her own state. She grew up in that state… and could care less what happens to it’s wildlife as long as she can fill her tag on legal hunts.. and her family can poach to add to the larder. Her dad participated in the illegal moose hunt they tried to hang Wooten with. Her husband has taken much of his living from the sea, yet she thinks drilling in the bay where the majority of that living has been made is a good risk for Alaska’s fishing industry. She lives close enough to the ice cap to see that as it dwindles, the animals that depend upon it and the surrounding area are moving south into habitat they have not traditionally inhabited, but she doesn’t think global warming is an issue.

Sarah Palin is not even much of a housewife.. because a good housewife manages her resources better than that.

This is the woman you think would make a good potential president?

I can see why it is easier to pervert language than sell her on her merits.

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[k]

http://womenagainstpalin.com/

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[JoB]

thanks k..

following a link at the bottom, i found a headline about the Obama camp criticizing the distortion of Palin’s record.

I followed the link.

the body of the article was about the distortions of Palin’s international travel record in general and one of those probable distortions in particular… a supposed visit by Palin over the border into Iraq…. in direct violation of the premissin granted her if it occurred.

The last two paragraphs mentioned that the Obama campaign had written a memo to the “press” protesting the fact that the distortions don’t get equal emphasis.

I wonder if the reporter who wrote that story and the editor who captioned it realized they were in fact proving the memo’s point?

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[soclwrkrinmotn]

Just some more to read…

http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com

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[soclwrkrinmotn]

And for you, acemotel…

Ms. Palin (aka racist, anti-feminist nutjob), the Cold War is over…and the city of Wasilla is missing their idiot. Please go home.

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[soclwrkrinmotn]

And while I am on the subject of Ms. Racist Nut-job…

http://electronicvillage.blogspot.com/2008/09/sarah-palin-and-african-americans-in.html

Contrary to what folks think, Alaska is fairly diverse. There is a large and active Native community, Anchorage and Fairbanks have large Latino and African American communities, Barrow has a large Asian-American community.

Strangely enough, Juneau is pretty non-diverse.

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[Anonymous]

Beginning with Obama’s 2004 campaign speech, many people thought he should be the one running for president. From that moment, every aspect of his life has been picked apart. From pictures supposedly proving him a Muslim, to interviewing relatives he’s never even known or met. Four years of intense scrutiny.

Sarah Palin has been on the national seen for 2 weeks. No, she isn’t running for president, however, the entire constitutional purpose for a VP is to be prepared at any moment to assume the role. Of course we’re going to scrutinize the hell out of her.

What do we hear from republicans? The same people calling Obama an anti-American, muslim-terrorist sympathizer, flag pin hating, enemy appeaser. We hear a constant stream of “you’re being a big sexist meany running a smear campaign”.

Whatever.

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[acemotel]

Thank you, Social!

In the history of this country, has there EVER been a candidate subjected to this volume and type of vitriol & vomitus? At Costco yesterday, I even saw a fearmongering book about “(the Abomination of)Obama Nation.” We all know where this is coming from. A rose by any other name……….. disgusting!(which is far too kind)

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[soclwrkrinmotn]

Truth enough.

I have to say, between my unholy fear/hatred of Palin and the drugs I am on to get my asthma/pneumonia under control, I really cannot communicate logically. However, I am grateful

that others are contributing well thought arguments about the unholy McCain/Palin platform.

JT, you are apt as always. “A big sexist meany” is the jist the defense of republicans defending their village idiot(s).

However, I am happy to contribute the oddments I find, and provide the comic relief.

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[charlabob]

“Obama Nation” is written by the fact-averse person who wrote “Unfit for Command,” the Kerry swiftboating book in 2004. He has actually said, in interviews, that it isn’t necessary to stick to facts when you have a political point of view to pressent.

Even Karl Rove, once in a while, knows better than that:

On Faux News Sunday, Rove said advertisements on both sides had “gone one step too far” — in McCain’s case, by “attributing to Obama things that are … beyond the 100 percent truth test.” I think those would be called LIES, Karl :-)

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[Jenny]

> soclwrkrinmotn: Ms. Palin (aka racist, anti-feminist nutjob), the Cold War is over…and the city of Wasilla is missing their idiot. Please go home.

ad hominem: Debate tactic of winners!

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[soclwrkrinmotn]

You know, Jenny? I have argued on this blog many times, and made many posts arguing legitimate points. I will say what she is: racist, classist, bigoted…and I have posted many links to point that out.

I also have worked in Alaska state government. She is all those things and more.

Perhaps you may wish to do some fact checking about your lovely candidate. She is a scary person.

As for my debate tactics…you’ve ignored all but my most tongue-in-cheek (with a bit of anger) post. You wish to debate me? I offer to you the same I have offered to theHouse: meet me in person, and I will do so.

TheHouse: if you are lurking about, I must say I rather miss your presence on this blog. Even if I disagreed with you (and I usually did) you at least made me laugh.

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[Jenny]

> soclwrkrinmotn: You know, Jenny? I have argued on this blog many times, and made many posts arguing legitimate points. I will say what she is: racist, classist, bigoted…and I have posted many links to point that out.

> As for my debate tactics…you’ve ignored all but my most tongue-in-cheek (with a bit of anger) post.

Interesting juxtaposition of claims there, soc. Anyway, all I see backing up your claim that she’s racist is her not attending a Juneteenth celebration like her predecessors did.

To SOME people calling a conservative “racist” is equivalent to calling them “conservative”, or saying “like” or “um” in the middle of a lot of sentences. But for others calling someone a “racist” is a serious charge – and downright fighting words if you don’t have anything to back it up.

Dittos for “classist” & “bigoted”, though those of course aren’t nearly the incendiary charges that “racist” is.

Is the Juneteenth thing the only thing you have to back up your charge that Sarah Palin is a racist? (BTW, your own invective doesn’t count as a primary source.)

> I also have worked in Alaska state government. She is all those things and more.

That’s nice. But right now you’re not demonstrating any glimmer of objectivity to me.

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[soclwrkrinmotn]

No, Jenny, it isn’t. READ the threads.

http://alaskareal.blogspot.com/2008/09/alaskan-village-facing-winter-with-no.html

http://www.andrys.com/palin-kilkenny.html

http://www.laprogressive.com/2008/09/05/alaskans-speak-in-a-frightened-whisper-palin-is-“racist-sexist-vindictive-and-mean”/

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/05/mccain-campaign-plans-to-keep-palin-away-from-the-press/

But hey, why would any Alaskan speak out about her wonderfulness?

And no feminist?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jacob-alperinsheriff/sarah-palin-instituted-ra_b_125833.html

http://www.feministsforlife.org/

Want more?

http://alaskareal.blogspot.com/2008/09/alaskan-village-facing-winter-with-no.html

There’s her concern with taking on the oil companies. Cut off the rural villages.

I don’t claim I am objective…I openly say that the McCain/Palin platform horrifies and disgusts me.

You most certainly are no paragon of objectivity.

EDIT:

And an issue close to my heart: tribal sovereignty.

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-80921

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[Jenny]

> No, Jenny, it isn’t. READ the threads.

> http://alaskareal.blogspot.com/2008/09/alaskan-village-facing-winter-with-no.html

> http://www.andrys.com/palin-kilkenny.html

Nothing here about her being racist.

> http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/05/mccain-campaign-plans-to-keep-palin-away-from-the-press/

Irrelevant.

> http://www.laprogressive.com/2008/09/05/alaskans-speak-in-a-frightened-whisper-palin-is-“racist-sexist-vindictive-and-mean”/

This is the one article that claims she’s a racist. Or more precisely it claims she’s casually made racist remarks. Now, apparently the guy is or was a real reporter, but unfortunately the overheated progressive sniping tone that suffocates the article (it reads like something some of y’all would write on these threads) makes the article’s actual claims of fact rather suspect.

Maybe “Lucille” the waitress really did hear Palin say “So Sambo beat the bitch”, and not even caring if others in the restaurant heard her. Maybe he really did talk to a lot of “people who know her” who’ve heard her call natives “Arctic Arabs”, “mukluks”, and “f**king Eskimo’s”. But then you read the comments, and he gets taken to task by both sides for throwing such explosive claims out without naming any sources.

One fellow lefty Alaskan blogger also takes him to task:

Since I wrote this comment I’ve made contact with some other Valley friends. Realize, some of these folks have had close connections to either Sarah or her kids for many years. (Yes, he got that part right, they are scared…I wrote about that HERE and for Firedoglake.) The information I get from them is that NO ONE has EVER heard Sarah use racial epithets or anything like that. As much as they might like to see Sarah lose her VP nomination, they (like me) won’t support lies which tarnish the whole Progressive movement.

http://divasblueoasis.blogspot.com/2008/09/progressive-curmudgeon-may-have.html

BTW, at the end of the “racist” article we have this interesting claim from one of his more trusted sources:

“Juneau is a small town, everybody knows everyone else,” he adds. “These stories about what she calls blacks and Eskimos, well, anyone not white and good looking actually, were around long before she became a glint in John McCain’s rheumy eyes. Why do I know they’re true? Because everyone who isn’t aboriginal or Indian in Alaska talks that way.”

So now every white person in Alaska is a racist, huh? Real objectivity there, guys. Y’all are going to need a LOT better sourcing for these claims before they have any chance of helping y’all sink McP.

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