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Questions About Sarah Palin's Intelligence
Is Sarah Palin intelligent? If so, then why do people--even some Republicans--question it? Because she took 5 years to graduate from a small college (Univ of Idaho), after having attended 4-5 other schools? Because of her grades? (I have no idea what they were!) Because of her IQ? (Also don't know.) Because she was a beauty queen? Because she's "a jock"? Because she resigned from being Governor? Maybe all of the above, and more. So what's the result of this opinion, that she lacks intelligence? I see it all the time in people's comments about her. "She can't read or write." "She didn't write her book (or Facebook Notes, or op-ed pieces)." "Her writing now doesn't come close to the "incoherent, rambling, trailer trash" manner of her previous speech during the VP campaign, or when she announced her resignation." "She's dumb, a dunce, an airhead." OH????? I have an older sister who took over 10 years to graduate from Arizona State. She went on to become a leading executive at McDonnell-Douglas, rated highly nationwide. She birthed and raised my 3 nieces during her "college years", while working in less demanding jobs. Sarah is a college graduate in communications and journalism. She worked as a newspaper intern and as a TV sportscaster. She apparently has kept an extensive journal. (Though I don't know when it began.) While Mayor of Wasilla for 6 years, and while Governor of Alaska, she drafted lots of bills to send to the Council or Legislature for voting. Did someone help write these bills? Of course! No high-level Executive writes their own legislation. BUT they DO express their ideas and facts and sources to the writers, who then put THEIR (the Governor/Mayor, etc) words into the bill. Another BUT! BUT there is NO PROOF that Sarah Palin did not write every word of her op-ed pieces and her FB Notes. But, you say, then why do these WRITTEN pieces sound so DIFFERENT than the REAL Sarah Palin, the one parodied so well by Tina Fey? Let's take the most (in-)famous Fey line, "I can see Russia from my house!". Sarah did NOT say that! Sarah said "You can see Russia from land here in Alaska." TRUE!
There are 2 islands in the sea that divides Russia from the United States (Alaska)--Big and Little Diamedes. Big D is Russian, Little D is US (Alaskan). On a clear day, you CAN see Russia from Alaska!! Sarah told the truth!! Her resignation speech July 3 was "rambling, incoherent". HUH?? Yes, it covered more than one topic. Yes, it used sports references. Yes, I admit she spoke too fast, and the sound of ducks on Lake Lucille perhaps took away from the serious intent of her words. But look at those words on paper. They make a LOT of sense. Better yet was her farewell speech on July 26, again highly criticized. Read THOSE words. Read her China speech transcript, at least the excerpt provided on her FB page. Search out the COMPLETE UNEDITED transcript of her interview with Charles Gibson during the campaign. You know, the one where she was questioned about Bush's Doctrine. The editing was biased to make her APPEAR DUMB!!! Can she speak without a teleprompter? YES!! Listen to her post-election interview (in her office) with Greta Van Susteren, when she explains the FACTS behind the wardrobe controversy, and whether she knew Africa was a continent, or which nations were part of NAFTA. Watch the lengthy press conference in Alaska where she talks of legislation, her cabinet, and other subjects, all extemporaneously. Watch her interviews with Sean Hannity, Matt Lauer, and especially Wolf Blitzer, all in June 2009, when she speaks lucidly of energy independence, the economy, and the Letterman controversy, each time without notes or a teleprompter in sight!! The one complaint about Sarah Palin that irks and infuriates me the most is the one (actually, they're quite numerous!!) that says she lacks intelligence, or the basic ability to write her own book, FB Notes, or op-eds. BULL!!!!! I've been a writer for nearly 44 years. Published? A little. Known? NO! Wealthy because of it? You gotta be kidding!!!! BUT, as a writer, I know there is very often a long divide between the manner one writes words on paper (or computer) and the manner one speaks in person during a typical conversation. Truman Capote criticized Jack Kerouac's prose, specifically his "On the Road", saying "That's not writing, that's typing!" Listen to, and watch, Sarah's speech in Evansville IN last April at the Vandenburgh Right to Life affair. She speaks from notes, yes, but she speaks from the HEART! I'm a 65 year old man who is solidly Pro-Choice (more on this issue in a future blog), but I CRY EVERY TIME I hear Sarah speak about the love she has for son Trig, and about the decision she made to not abort him. It takes POWERFUL WORDS to make a grown man cry, however much he wears his heart on his sleeve. (And I DO!!) Sarah has intelligence. The day that her critics listen to her words, and really read her words, and don't pre-judge her based on parodies or edited transcripts of interviews, is the day America will learn something from this woman, who IS INTELLIGENT!!!
There are 2 islands in the sea that divides Russia from the United States (Alaska)--Big and Little Diamedes. Big D is Russian, Little D is US (Alaskan). On a clear day, you CAN see Russia from Alaska!! Sarah told the truth!! Her resignation speech July 3 was "rambling, incoherent". HUH?? Yes, it covered more than one topic. Yes, it used sports references. Yes, I admit she spoke too fast, and the sound of ducks on Lake Lucille perhaps took away from the serious intent of her words. But look at those words on paper. They make a LOT of sense. Better yet was her farewell speech on July 26, again highly criticized. Read THOSE words. Read her China speech transcript, at least the excerpt provided on her FB page. Search out the COMPLETE UNEDITED transcript of her interview with Charles Gibson during the campaign. You know, the one where she was questioned about Bush's Doctrine. The editing was biased to make her APPEAR DUMB!!! Can she speak without a teleprompter? YES!! Listen to her post-election interview (in her office) with Greta Van Susteren, when she explains the FACTS behind the wardrobe controversy, and whether she knew Africa was a continent, or which nations were part of NAFTA. Watch the lengthy press conference in Alaska where she talks of legislation, her cabinet, and other subjects, all extemporaneously. Watch her interviews with Sean Hannity, Matt Lauer, and especially Wolf Blitzer, all in June 2009, when she speaks lucidly of energy independence, the economy, and the Letterman controversy, each time without notes or a teleprompter in sight!! The one complaint about Sarah Palin that irks and infuriates me the most is the one (actually, they're quite numerous!!) that says she lacks intelligence, or the basic ability to write her own book, FB Notes, or op-eds. BULL!!!!! I've been a writer for nearly 44 years. Published? A little. Known? NO! Wealthy because of it? You gotta be kidding!!!! BUT, as a writer, I know there is very often a long divide between the manner one writes words on paper (or computer) and the manner one speaks in person during a typical conversation. Truman Capote criticized Jack Kerouac's prose, specifically his "On the Road", saying "That's not writing, that's typing!" Listen to, and watch, Sarah's speech in Evansville IN last April at the Vandenburgh Right to Life affair. She speaks from notes, yes, but she speaks from the HEART! I'm a 65 year old man who is solidly Pro-Choice (more on this issue in a future blog), but I CRY EVERY TIME I hear Sarah speak about the love she has for son Trig, and about the decision she made to not abort him. It takes POWERFUL WORDS to make a grown man cry, however much he wears his heart on his sleeve. (And I DO!!) Sarah has intelligence. The day that her critics listen to her words, and really read her words, and don't pre-judge her based on parodies or edited transcripts of interviews, is the day America will learn something from this woman, who IS INTELLIGENT!!!
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You claim to have been a journalism major, but I have met auto mechanics who are better with the written word.
Not persuasive, barely coherent, worthy at best of a high school sophomore - I give you a C- for this.
October 18, 2009 2:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I appreciate it, AND your critique. I did NOT graduate college (Humboldt State), completing 90 units. Never worked in journalism, except to write some pieces for small publications, book reviews, and Letters to Editors. I'm a poet who can't define "sonnet" or "sestina". Never been an auto mechanic either. (Could barely change a tire!!) Yet I recall "Joe the Plumber", whose words became a focal point of a debate between Presidential candidates. I recall Sarah Palin's invented phrase "death panels", which redirected the whole healthcare debate, and forced lawmakers to eliminate portions of their bill which CAME CLOSE TO DESCRIBING exactly what Sarah was referring to, perhaps a bit hyperbolically. I heard President Obama, in his healthcare speech before Congress, refer to a "prominent politician's" "lies" about those same "death panels". Why did he not name Ms Palin? And why did he bother to refer to what she said, if her words were "lies", as he said? Why not just ignore them, and her? So one need not be better than a "c-" student to make a point, one need only be willing to express it. I did. Persuasive? Apparently not with you. Maybe not with anybody. Funny, but I spoke to that in this blog. No matter what Sarah says, or does, she is still called "not intelligent". To put it politely! Again, thank you for your input.
October 18, 2009 3:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
I've commented numerous times on Palin, and she obviously has some political savvy to have managed to snag the governorship, place on the 2008 ticket, and gathered quite a lot of party support over the last year. Plus she managed to keep the Democrats turning cartwheels all of this August in derailing much of the health care movement with some simple key phrases. That doesn't mean she has any policy know-how, but Republican policy is basic cookie cutter stuff these days anyway, could program it on an Apple IIe, almost irrelevant skill.
October 18, 2009 3:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
I disagree with your "cookie cutter" comment. Sarah's op-eds and FB Notes (including her latest on the Baucus bill costs)are relatively brief, just a few hundred words. The healthcare bills are sometimes over 1000 pages. Does that mean she can't tell you what's what about those 1000 pages in her 1000 words or so? Most American voters will never read those 1000 pages. (Nor have most lawmakers!!! hahaha) Most Americans, busy working, or looking for jobs, or raising families, appreciate one's ability to articulate a clear concise synopsis of a bill most lawmakers won't even read.
October 18, 2009 5:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
But, to the point..
'Most Americans' aren't going to be in the running for POTUS. If you want to influence any that she is truly competent and has the required knowledge to be POTUS, then provide the basics that prove she subscribes to higher standards in her review, abilities and acumen on the issues.
October 18, 2009 7:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't confuse issues. She's smart in hammering in the opposition messaging. That doesn't mean she has any skill in actually governing nor that she has more than lukewarm understanding of any of the real details in making health care work.
Your Americans "appreciate one's ability to articulate a clear concise synopsis of a bill" should also note that that clear concise synopsis can be inaccurate and misleading to the extreme. I can create a synopsis without having read the bills at all. Some Americans appreciate the ability to slam policy into a pre-conceived political framework to beat the other (hippie/liberal/traitorous) side, others might actually want some improvement in our health care system that will not be coming from Republicans who offer only pro-special-interest cookie-cutter responses to all of our problems, but who have made an art of making "average Americans" feel happy about giveaways that in reality screw them but make them feel part of the big boat.
So Sarah is clever at representing people's feelings and motivating them viscerally, but that doesn't mean she really understands the policies in any depth or useful way (and doesn't mean she doesn't either).
October 19, 2009 3:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
aaronk, would you be willing to participate in an experiment?
I believe that at some point the left is going to have to make a persuasive populist case to middle class and lower income Republicans that they are being used as "vote farms" for the moneyed interests who really run the Republican party. This is done by finding ways to get people to attach to single issues like abortion, gun rights, or "Conservative Values." Then when it comes right down to legislation time, the moneyed interests do just barely enough on these issues to hold onto your vote, while using Government and the business system as a way to rake in the dough.
I would like to post what I wrote to you on this thread as a new post, and ask for input from you and the group.
In other words, I aim to change your mind about Sarah Palin, and maybe even change your mind about the Republican Party. Are you up for it? I can't guarantee politeness from everyone all the time as you stretch to defend your point of view and we stretch to change it, but at the very least it should be a lively exchange.
Plus, you'll get to know everybody and they'll get to know you.
I'll wait a bit before posting--and will check my dashboard for your reply to this comment.
Thanks,
erica
October 19, 2009 3:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
She used wedge issues and avoided any discussion involving knowledge, data and facts. And she played to specific religious and conservative groups and if I'm not mistaken she got lucky in a low voter turn out on election day. She's a gambler, not a politician.
October 19, 2009 12:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Political savvy and intelligence are very different things.
There was no need to call her out by name on her "death panel" lie - it was obvious. And it was a lie. Not "hyperbolic", a LIE.
Perhaps President Obama (I'll bet you just hate hearing that) is simply a far better human being than Caribou Barbie. Have you considered that? (Doubtful - you seem too full of misinformed certainty, among other things.)
And knowing something about "editing", relative to her "In what respect, Charlie?" question - you, too are lying.
Might I suggest the like-minded denizens of Red State or Free Republic for your next screed? At least there you might be regarded with a measure of credibility. Here, you are not.
October 18, 2009 4:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Curious...
Have you ever spoken personally with Sarah? If so, on what topics?
Have you ever been to Alaska and met with, talked to the people here (of all political affiliations)?
Have you ever researched specifics about her tenure and actions as Governor here?
If you want those here (or elsewhere) to give credence to your platform, you need to do more than parse her speeches (some not written by her) and give specific examples of actions and stances by Sarah of which you are personally knowledgeable (either by careful research based on factual documentation and/or personal interactions).
If you are basing your pro-Palin stance on only what she's 'said', the truth is that Obama is a much better orator and debater. Give the opposition credit for their strengths and come back with factual data on specific issues that she has proffered and acted upon. If you truly want to positively impact and convince any that Palin is a better option.
I live in Alaska and have been able to form my impressions and stances about Sarah on facts, personal interactions and knowledge. I'm a registered Independent - not affiliated with Repubs or Dems.
October 18, 2009 3:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Are you sure you're not Sarah Palin Grrrrl?
http://dagblog.com/politics/i-love-you-sarah-palin
Just sayin'.
October 18, 2009 3:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Paragraph breaks are your friend. Use them.
October 18, 2009 7:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wasn't the "Death Panel" line stolen from Betsy McC. the former Lt. Gov. of NY and GOP wingnut?
Palin's grammatical syntax, (or lack thereof), reveals all about her intelligence, (or lack thereof.) She does not speak in complete sentences.
October 18, 2009 7:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is the way your future President would talk to another head of state:
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/11/the_prank_call_palin_thinks_sh.php
October 18, 2009 8:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
A quote, "John McCain and I love you."
I won't bother to quote any more. It is too painful.
October 18, 2009 8:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think that most of us agree that Sarah Palin is not utterly stupid. Sometimes I agreed with her when others seen reasons to ridicule. Honestly, why any sane person should care what "Bush doctrine" is?
I had more problems with her running mate who declared that "we are all Georgians" (take that, SC!) and that we should defend Georgia because it is "second oldest Christian nation". (Q: what two key allies keep the oldest Christian nation afloat? A: Iran and Russia.) Who wanted to maintain our alliance with Czechoslovakia, and worried about events on the border between Iraq and Pakistan? And who astounded the nation with a reaction to financial crisis that was so stupid that it surprised all? (He proposed deftly to suspend election campaign and came to Washington to "roll up the sleeves and work", only to stumble upon a stalemate between Bush and House GOP with ... no position on the matter. He focused everyone's attention on the fact that he had no clue about the economy. And had no clue about the fact that he had no clue.) And who did not remember how many houses does he have?
OK, personally I do not know how many houses I have, but I am richly aware of having no clue about the economy, so I would try to get some advise before making a political stunt.
García Márquez: The fall of the patriarch
Kulin pointed out the following Faulklerian influences:
1. The representation of the universe deliberately reduced in space and community.
2. The predetermined nature of man submitted to time, the inevitability of fate and the techniques of using up the process of human remembering — fighting against this fate. The double result of the latter isa) the assuring of a kind of eternity by turning the mortal man into a mythical hero,b) the actualization of time past, the transformation of the course of time into an eternal present.
3. A complex, global vision resulting from the interrelation between the recollection and its subject which can be a man or a process.
4. The transmission of an experience of mystery suggested by the contradictory nature of existence with the help of the marvellous, the hypnotic prose and the incompetent narrator
"transformation of the course of time into an eternal present." Semper Czechoslovakia!
October 18, 2009 10:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Whatever you're drinking, I could use some of it!
October 19, 2009 12:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
By the way, the post is a classic "unreliable narrator" trick: "Yes, I admit she spoke too fast, and the sound of ducks on Lake Lucille perhaps took away from the serious intent of her words."
My personal problem with Sarah Palin was that she was a vengeful small minded bitch hounding -- ineptly!!! -- her ex-brother-in-law. Trying to have that guy investigated for such weighty offense as killing a moose using the hunting license of his wife! Nixon in her heart, but definitely not in her brain.
October 18, 2009 10:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
You forgot to add, her family share in the harvest from the kill too, so that would make her a accomplice.
October 19, 2009 12:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Aaronk, welcome to TPM. Don't worry about what old grouch says about your writing, he does get grouchy, but please do divide your work into short paragraphs; it makes it much easier to read online.
Thank you for your thoughts on Sarah Palin. You are entitled to your opinion, but I'm going to try to change your it--about Palin, about where she stands in the Republican universe, and perhaps even about what she means to you. I think Palin is being used by the people who run the Republicans, and I believe you are being used as well.
*****
I've never thought it was very helpful to question Palin's intelligence. She seems pretty smart to me. And I think her decision to resign her embattled governorship in favor of making a boatload of money as a spokesperson for her causes was a very smart career move indeed.
Personally, I believe Sarah Palin would be a dreadful president, primarily because I don't agree with her politics.
But I'm not the one who would be making Sarah Palin president; the Republican elite would have to do it, and for that reason I don't think she'll ever be president. Even if I try to look at the situation from a Republican standpoint, I don't see Palin in the presidency. Granted, she's probably not educated enough, experienced enough, connected enough, nor does she have the right type of personality to be president. The Republicans tried to have a president who wasn't quite up to snuff, (though not a dumb guy either) and if you caught many Republicans in an honest mood they'd admit that GWB wasn't all he could have been as a president.
But the MAIN reason Palin won't be president was telegraphed the moment she was chosen as McCain's running mate. The MoneyPublicans were aghast, and snubbed her for all they were worth. Peggy Noonan (awful woman that she is) just about had palpitations trying to cut Palin down without letting the words "Low Class Christian Wh-re" spring from her lips. She actually quivered with indignation when she talked about Palin.
You see, the Christian Right are the people the Lucrescenti (the financial class who own and run this country) use as a source of cheap and easy votes so nobody gets elected who would stop them from making more money. THEY WOULD NOT MAKE A MEMBER OF THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT PRESIDENT UNLESS THAT PERSON IS PART OF THE RULING ELITE LIKE GWB OR WOULD BE A FAITHFUL SERVANT OF THE MONEYED CLASS. Palin's low-class background and her very rogue-iness disqualify her.
Do you see what I'm saying? Palin is a great poop disturber who will make a ton of money and be of great use to the Lucrescenti in her new career as hottie political spokesperson for hockey moms and the Christian Right. She (and her fans) will be a powerful enemy of the Democrats and will use every wedge issue possible to prevent the Democrats from getting anything done. And she'll do it with a folksy style that makes her seem like an ordinary person even though her job is very specific.
And for all this, Palin will never be rewarded with the presidency. The Lucrescenti will never allow it. Why, it would be like allowing the kitchen help to host a white-tie event! Plus, if Palin were president, she'd expect the Lucrescenti to do Christian things, like read the Bible and stop having abortions.
If you're a Sarah Palin fan and a member of the Christian Right, you need to understand that you are a tool of the highest-level people, who align themselves with the Republican Party because it is the cheapest source of the votes they need in order to continue making money. They want your teabagging as a distraction from what's going on out there. They want your vote because they still have to deal with that tiresome one-person-one-vote thing, but they're not your friends. And, sorry to break the news, but they're not going to make Sarah Palin president. Ever.
October 19, 2009 2:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
It is the 'country club elite' republicans that are destroying the party. Palin represents where the party should be focused, on principles and on common people and common sense, which is why they hate her. McCain insiders did more to damage her than Obama did, because she was more of a threat to them than he is. I do not think she is a great candidate at all. She lacks experience and knowledge, but she is better than an awful candidate which is usually our choice.
October 19, 2009 8:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
erica...AMEN!
October 19, 2009 12:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Recommended for the dialogue. People on different sides coming to grips with what matters.
October 19, 2009 12:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
What's the difference between George W. Bush and Sarah Palin? LISPTICK!!!
That joke never gets old!
Palin's appeal is very much the same as Dubya's when he first ran. Dubya was someone with whome the American people could drink a beer. Sarah is no different. Why we want our bar mate to run this country makes no sense to me whatsoever, but there it is.
October 19, 2009 1:41 PM | Reply | Permalink