Sarah Palin’s Hand

Given the fascination with Sarah Palin’s legs and Sarah Palin’s toenails, I suppose this was inevitable: The focus has now shifted to Sarah Palin’s hands.  (We’re quickly running out of family-friendly parts of Sarah Palin’s body.)

Stefan Sirucek, in a HuffPo Exclusive:

Sarah Palin Hand Notes Tea Party PhotoCloser inspection of a photo of Sarah Palin, during a speech in which she mocked President Obama for his use of a teleprompter, reveals several notes written on her left hand. The words “Energy”, “Tax” and “Lift American Spirits” are clearly visible. There’s also what appears to read as “Budget cuts” with the word Budget crossed out.

Just to be clear: The notes most likely weren’t for her speech, for which she used prepared remarks, but for the Q&A session that followed, during which she glanced at the hand in question.

But in my opinion that’s even worse.

There were no specifics on there, just general concepts and things she supports.

The takeaway is that this presidential contender apparently can’t remember her supposed core principles and needs a cheat-sheet when simply asked about her beliefs.

Andrew Sullivan agrees:

My favorite detail is “[Budget] Cuts”. Which just about sums up the real Tea Party agenda on spending. But it also suggests that she was told in advance of the questions she would be asked, one of which was what would be you priorities if you were elected president? Now think about this: she had to write on her hand her priorities as president.

I stand by my belief that none of this matters to the people who support her, and that she remains a very potent, content-free and destructive force in American politics.

But remember too that even before her Glenn Beck interview, she was furiously Googling the Empire State Building in case she was asked any obvious universally known facts about it, and before her debate with Biden, she was buried in little post-card notes on factual basics that most Americans know – but she, of course, didn’t.

My anti-Palin credentials are undisputed.  I’ve alienated countless readers on my side of the aisle by questioning the wisdom behind her nomination, calling her an ignoramus and a pop culture celebrity.  I’ve been diagnosed with Palin Derangement Syndrome.

But this seems much ado about nothing.  If Sarah Palin likes to write buzz words on her hand, so what?

People — even smart people — have different ways of helping them remember things.  Barack Obama famously relies on a teleprompter for even informal speeches, even though he’s generally quite thoughtful off-the-cuff.  My guess is that it helps him relax and focus on his audience and delivery rather than stringing together words.

I continue to believe Palin was chosen too soon and too abruptly as the vice presidential nominee and that she was unprepared for the role.  She famously bombed the Katie Couric interview and others.  But she acquitted herself quite nicely in the “debate” with Biden and has demonstrated that, given preparation, she can do well in other fora.   She’s not intellectually curious or a policy wonk, but she’s decidedly not stupid.

She’s unlikely to ever persuade me that she’s presidential timber.   She closed that door when she resigned the Alaska governorship to go on a book tour.  And, aside from all that, there are likely to be several candidates for the Republican nomination closer to me ideologically.

But, goodness, there are plenty of points of legitimate criticism of Palin the presidential aspirant without focusing on nonsense like this.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. Alex Knapp says:

    But, goodness, there are plenty of points of legitimate criticism of Palin the presidential aspirant without focusing on nonsense like this.

    Amen to that.

  2. sam says:

    But this seems much ado about nothing. If Sarah Palin likes to write buzz words on her hand, so what?

    So what? Well suppose President Palin has to give a speech to the nation in a moment of deep crisis. And she’s written the points she wants to address in her right palm, and in her left she’s written a list of things for the First Dude to do.
    Suppose she gets confused and begins her address to a fearful nation with, “My fellow Americans, we have reached a crossroads. In this time of peril we should get brown eggs if they’re available.”

  3. James Joyner says:

    Suppose she gets confused and begins her address to a fearful nation with, “My fellow Americans, we have reached a crossroads. In this time of peril we should get brown eggs if they’re available.”

    A fair point! Then again, Obama’s teleprompter could fail, too, and goodness knows what he’d say.

  4. Herb says:

    If Palin hadn’t been so quick to mock Obama for using a teleprompter, no one would have said anything about the notes on her hand.

    You know, people in glass houses and all that.

  5. PD Shaw says:

    I’ve used talking points in public speeches before — the three or four things you’re there to speak about, listed on the corner of the speech. Sometimes you don’t look at them, it’s the exercise of identifying them that’s important.

    I can only assume Sullivan’s speaking engagements are organized around whatever fool thing crosses his mind, or at least until Chris Matthews talks over him.

  6. PD Shaw says:

    BTW/ Didn’t Bill Clinton have similar notes for his Presidential campaign: “It’s the economy stupid.”

  7. mpw280 says:

    God forbid jumping Joe Biden had to give an unscripted speech in a moment of national distress. What shit would spew from that “brilliant” mind. The dems have Biden in the wings as potential presidential replacement and all they can worry about is an unteleprompted speech and Q&A by Palin. Give it up, the current resident and his sidekick are way worse than Palin in the speech making faults but hey Obama is a “brilliant” mind and has lots of great things to say, about himself anyway. mpw

  8. Maggie Mama says:

    Considering all the stupid questions Sarah Palin gets asked, can you really blame her for jotting down a few issues she wants to cover?

    One can easily get taken off message by the MSM reporters who want to ask a gotcha questions, questions from left-field.

    If it had been on an index card. there would have been no issue. Somehow she would have seemed more “studious”.

    Please get lives, people, and stop obsessing over this woman.

    You demean yourselves.

  9. Jeff says:

    Can’t wait for the candidate who doesn’t mess up their Couric interview …

    So what sort of intellectual curiosity did McCain or Obama show in ’08 ? Or did you not vote …

    Whats the view like from that ivory tower with the other “intellectually curious” ?

  10. JKB says:

    How horrible to make a list to keep your top points in mind in case the discussion gets lively. Why it is almost like she could be anyone. Anyone except a polished politician whose primary skill is reading speeches.

    What is being missed is her hand notes are endearing. Not to the punditry but to the everyman. She’s not some professional con artist but like most she uses little tricks to help her get her points across. Nice that she ran with this “scandal” with the “Hi, Mom” in Texas.

    I’m not sure it is a good idea of the Left to highlight this when Sarah using 7 words on her hand is compared to Obama using a teleprompter at a staff meeting. (interesting that staff feed him the words he will say to staff, who’s actually in charge in the Obama White House?)

  11. anjin-san says:

    MSM reporters who want to ask a gotcha questions, questions from left-field.

    Such as “what newspapers do you read”.

    Interesting that none of the Palinites want to discuss the fact the every time Palin speaks, it is essentially incoherent babble…

  12. Mithras says:

    What is being missed is her hand notes are endearing. Not to the punditry but to the everyman.

    Thank you, Sen. Hruska.

  13. Herb says:

    “Please get lives, people, and stop obsessing over this woman.”

    From Maggie Mama’s fingertips to every Tea Partiers’ ears!

    I’m not sure it is a good idea of the Left to highlight this when Sarah using 7 words on her hand is compared to Obama using a teleprompter at a staff meeting.

    See…this is precisely why this is an issue.

    The double standards are downright comical!

    Obama using a teleprompter tells us volumes about his unfitness for office and general incompetence.

    But Sarah Palin writing notes on her hand just endears her even more to the everyman…

    Seriously???

  14. Herb says:

    Addendum: Can’t we just agree that public speakers should be able to use a teleprompter, notecards, or scribbles on your hand without criticism?

  15. PD Shaw says:

    Herb: agreed.

  16. Steve Plunk says:

    Five or six words are far from a teleprompter and to be honest the teleprompter is fine for major speeches. Obama is mocked for using a teleprompter for the small inconsequential ones.

    Now I don’t support Palin as a presidential candidate but I do support her as someone with a right to speak out without her opponents going all kooky. This is an example of such kookiness. I hear talk of legitimate criticism and her incoherent babble but no real back up for those claims. I guess if you call her an idiot often enough pretty soon you don’t have to really prove it.

  17. Gerry W. says:

    Steve Plunk,

    She is not saying anything knew. You can tune in to Rush Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, and all the republicans and you get the same thing.

    It is the same o tax cuts, religion, and on Fox she has said “free market principles.” It is sitting on ideology and not dealing with problems. Under Bush all we saw was the tax cuts (tickle down), but nothing else was done. All I saw was our jobs going overseas, our money going to Iraq, and our country in neglect. This is the Ayn Rand of doing things (laissez-faire) and after 8 years, we already know it does not work.

  18. Have a nice G.A. says:

    Interesting that none of the Obama worshipers want to discuss the fact the every time Obama speaks, it is essentially incoherent babble and a lie… With or without his teleprompter!

  19. Herb says:

    Thank you, PD. Now if we can just get Steve Plunk to agree that the size of your speech doesn’t matter.

    Teleprompter or scribbles on your hand…okay even if it’s just a “small inconsequential” speech.

  20. JKB says:

    Reading word for word what you are fed, be it your own words or someone else’s, is a far cry from having a few topics ‘at hand’ as a checklist. Palin had a 7 words but had to be able to expand on those topics from her own thoughts.

    Obama, unfortunately, has shown that if the teleprompter fails, he is at a loss for words, at least coherent words. In fact, if you can catch him without his teleprompter or link to staff, Obama’ll betray his own thoughts. Much to his chagrin. But what is unclear is, when the teleprompter fails, does Obama falter due to a weakness in his own thoughts on the subject or an inability to roll with the punches connect with his own thoughts?

    I don’t know if Sarah Palin is presidential material but I do know that when she speaks or appears in public, most of the next news cycle repeatedly use Sarah Palin and the presidency in the same breath. Obama barely gets that.

  21. sam says:

    @Plunk

    I hear talk of legitimate criticism and her incoherent babble but no real back up for those claims.

    Well, gosh and willikers, Steve, will these do?

    “Who calls a shot like that? Who makes a decision like that? It’s a disturbing trend.” —Sarah Palin, pushing a conspiracy theory that “In God We Trust” had been moved to the edge of coins by the Obama administration (the change was made by the Bush administration in 2007 and was later reversed by Congress, before Obama took office), West Allis, Wisconsin, Nov. 6, 2009

    Or this gem?

    “I think on a national level your Department of Law there in the White House would look at some of the things that we’ve been charged with and automatically throw them out.” –Sarah Palin, referring to a department that does not exist while attempting to explain why as president she wouldn’t be subjected to the same ethics investigations that compelled her to resign as governor of Alaska, ABC News interview, July 7, 2009

    Or this one (a personal fav):

    “[T]hey’re in charge of the U.S. Senate so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom.” –Sarah Palin, getting the vice president’s constitutional role wrong after being asked by a third grader what the vice president does, interview with NBC affiliate KUSA in Colorado, Oct. 21, 2008

    I’ll bet examples, as they say, can be multiplied.

  22. Have a nice G.A. says:

    Gerry W. we have enough simple minded Bush/Christan/American haters posting here, just saying:)

  23. IanY77 says:

    I think it’s more that she felt the need to jot down what is essentially the super condensed version of the Republican platform: “Oil good, taxes bad, YAY AMERICA!!”. I mean, she needs notes to remember that Republicans like tax cuts? Does she remember her own birthday? Combine this with her derision of Obama and the teleprompter, and it does come across as funny to us on the left.

  24. sam says:

    @JKB

    Obama, unfortunately, has shown that if the teleprompter fails, he is at a loss for words, at least coherent words

    Yeah, right. Go find the video of his meeting with House Republicans. No teleprompter there. You guys and your pathetic little fables.

  25. Herb says:

    You guys and your pathetic little fables.

    I know, huh? Again, the goal posts keep changing.

    First, he needed a teleprompter to even give a speech.

    Then, he just needs one for the small inconsequential speeches that a political superstar like Palin could get through with just a few words written on her hand.

    Then, if the teleprompter breaks, Obama gets all discombobulated.

    Or he mispronounces words because he’s too busy reading them. (OMG! He said Corpse-man, instead of Corpsman. And yeah, okay, that’s dumb…petty, but still dumb.)

    It’s the birth certificate all over again…

    I expect this kind of thing to last until 2016…when another Democrat takes over after Obama’s second term. It might even continue until 2024, when Republicans, tired of decades of irrelevance, drop the nonsense and finally nominates a candidate that doesn’t pander to the fringe.

  26. Wayne says:

    The only double standard is how Palin is scrutinized above and beyond anyone else on a regular bases. This subject matter is a prime example. How many speakers and politicians use notes? Almost all of them. Haven’t anyone paid attention that Pelosi places a piece of paper in front of her and glances down at it often? Oh but I forgot we hold Palin to a much higher standard than anyone else.

    Now if Palin had a teleprompter constantly feeding here word for word, that would be different but who does that.

  27. sam says:

    @Wayne

    The only double standard is how Palin is scrutinized above and beyond anyone else on a regular bases.

    Get real. The woman is engaged in a 7×24 marketing campaign for Sarah Palin Enterprises. If she wasn’t being heavily scrutinized, she’d probably call a meeting of her staff and demand to know why.

  28. wr says:

    @plunk:

    As I posted in a message on another Palin topic, this is the third priority she listed for a conservative congress:

    “I think, kind of tougher to, um, put our arms around, but allowing America’s spirit to rise again by not being afraid to kind of go back to some of our roots as a God fearing nation where we’re not afraid to say, especially in times of potential trouble in the future here, where we’re not afraid to say, you know, we don’t have all the answers as fallible men and women so it would be wise of us to start seeking some divine intervention again in this country, so that we can be safe and secure and prosperous again. To have people involved in government who aren’t afraid to go that route, not so afraid of the political correctness that you know — they have to be afraid of what the media said about them if they were to proclaim their alliance on our creator.”

    First of all, please feel free to explain to me how this is not incoherent babble. And once you’ve done that, I invite you to do what every single Palin supporter has refused to do — explain whether or not you think it’s a fine idea for congress’ third major priority to be begging for divine intervention.

  29. Wayne says:

    Her statement seem pretty clear to me. We need to go back to our countries roots. We need regular folks who speak plainly instead of the politicians who speaks for an hours and say nothing. We need to get past the PC B.S. and not be afraid of the name callers. We shouldn’t be afraid with expressing our faith. Sound pretty clear and straightforward to me. Can you say the same about Obama?

    It is ok for any party to seek divine help. Most all politicians including Obama have claim they seek help from God.

  30. Zelsdorf Ragshaft III says:

    Sam, take you meds and get back to you room before we have to call the orderlies.

  31. Pug says:

    wr, I agree with you. It’s not incoherent babble and if Sarah Palin is elected president, we should start praying for divine intervention.

  32. sam says:

    @Wayne

    We need to get past the PC B.S. and not be afraid of the name callers.

    Oh for Christ’s sake, go tell that to the Divine Sarah and her jihad against Rahm for calling some folks ‘effing retards’. (Of course, Rushbo gets cut a cable’s-length of slack for using the word over and over again. But that’s Rushbo, against whom even the Palin mojo is powerless.)

    Try and keep up, OK?

  33. Alex Knapp says:

    Wayne,

    We need to go back to our countries roots. We need regular folks who speak plainly instead of the politicians who speaks for an hours and say nothing.

    The Founding Fathers weren’t exactly “regular folks who speak plainly.” Most of them were well-educated, wealthy landowners and lawyers who spent years and decades in politics prior to the Revolution.

    Personally, I’m all for going back to our country’s roots, including James Madison’s fear of standing armies, Thomas Jefferson’s desire to strictly regulate banks and joint-stock corporations so that small business could flourish, John Adams’ unwillingness to start an unnecessary war, George Washington’s human treatment of prisoners, Benjamin Franklin’s skillful diplomacy, John Jay’s defense of a strong, independent judiciary, George Mason’s desire to strictly limit the power of the executive branch, etc. Not to mention, of course, the large numbers of unitarians in public office.

    Somehow, though, I don’t see the current Republican Party going for any of that.

  34. Herb says:

    We need to go back to our countries roots. We need regular folks who speak plainly…

    Wayne, of course, is talking about “regular folks” like Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, John Adams, etc.

    Sorry, bud. In that incoherent paragraph, Palin is saying that our country needs to find Jesus. Which is fine.

    Unless you’re Jewish or something…

  35. Michael Reynolds says:

    Stupidity and ignorance aren’t a bug they’re a feature for Palin. Her supporters are stupid and ignorant and want a leader who is just like them.

    Although to be fair they’re looking for more than just stupid and ignorant. Their ideal candidate would also have to be white and Christian.

  36. An Interested Party says:

    The confab in Baltimore between the president and House Republicans proved that the silly meme that the president “needs” a teleprompter is nothing more than a desperate fiction…

  37. Have a nice G.A. says:

    Stupidity and ignorance aren’t a bug they’re a feature for Palin. Her supporters are stupid and ignorant and want a leader who is just like them.

    Although to be fair they’re looking for more than just stupid and ignorant. Their ideal candidate would also have to be white and Christian.

    lolhaha, are you ok over there Harry?

  38. Have a nice G.A. says:

    We need to go back to our countries roots. We need regular folks who speak plainly…

    Yup, ones who speak of Heavenly Providence and the power it has for when asked for to effect freedom and prosperity. Like Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, John Adams, etc. did.

    And not a pseudo egg head who uses a teleprompter to bluster himself or blame his predecessor as his only two modes of communication.

  39. Drew says:

    Good to see Palin derangement syndrome as still well in vogue, as well as, if you don’t agree with me you are stupid, a homophobe or a racist.

  40. sam says:

    I prefer Palin Derision Syndrome.

  41. Have a nice G.A. says:

    I prefer common sense derangement Syndrome.

  42. Michael Reynolds says:

    Drew:

    Are you calling yourself a Palinite now? I hadn’t realized you identified so closely with them.

    For the record: conservatives have been race-baiting and exploiting dog whistle racism at least since the sixties and the southern strategy. The GOP does not get the benefit of the doubt on race.

    Now your party is being captured by a group that hasn’t thing one to do with genuine conservative principles. The tea party movement is an expression of demographic, economic and cultural panic. It’s an ugly movement that lauds ignorance, giggles at race-baiting, and will drag the GOP the rest of the way into the gutter.

  43. An Interested Party says:

    Good to see Palin derangement syndrome as still well in vogue…

    Well, it certainly is a change of pace from the usual Obama Derangement Syndrome, a very popular activity in these parts…

  44. Wayne says:

    Alex
    Granted our Founding fathers weren’t perfect and many were prior politicians and there were a great deal of disagreement of how this country should precede. However what came out of it was a country founded on the rights of individuals. A government that was supposed to be “of the people” and “for the people”. A limited central government with a less limited state government with the majority of rights belonging to the individual. Many of those “elites” lost everything they had in the Revolutionary War. They turn down offers of land and money that were customary to give local leaders\lords for peace.

    Are you claiming Washington spoke out of both ends of his mouth? The person who turned down being King and self impose term limit as President. Are you claiming he did not give great sacrifice to this country? Are you claiming that if you are wealthy or well-educated that you can’t be honest? Are you saying that you must be wealthy to be well-educated or intelligent?

    Perhaps you misunderstand what Regular folks are. Perhaps you are one of the elitist who think “regular folks” are poor, uncivilized, uneducated, stupid, and are incapable of understanding the complexities of the world.

    “Regular folks” are honest, hardworking, moral people who do not have a superiority complex and look down their nose at other people simply because they are not in their social class. It has to do with their attitude more than wealth or intelligence. There are plenty of famous, wealthy and\or intelligent people who are considered as one of the regular folks. Favre, Darryl Hannah, Malone, are wealthy but many consider them as down to earth regular folks who happen to be famous. Many famous military leaders were considered by their men as being “regular folk”.

  45. Wayne says:

    Re “It’s an ugly movement that lauds ignorance, giggles at race-baiting”

    Sound like liberals and the Democrat Party to me.

  46. wr says:

    Shorter Wayne:

    When we bring up the Founding Fathers, how dare you talk about what they were really like when we want to talk about the cartoon version we’ve made up. Same with Reagan.

  47. steve says:

    Has Palin done a serious interview yet? Just asking as I dont remember anything other than Fox interviews.

    Steve

  48. Drew says:

    “Are you calling yourself a Palinite now? I hadn’t realized you identified so closely with them.”

    “For the record: conservatives have been race-baiting and exploiting dog whistle racism at least since the sixties and the southern strategy. The GOP does not get the benefit of the doubt on race.

    Now your party is being captured by a group that hasn’t thing one to do with genuine conservative principles. The tea party movement is an expression of demographic, economic and cultural panic. It’s an ugly movement that lauds ignorance, giggles at race-baiting, and will drag the GOP the rest of the way into the gutter.”

    How pathetic. Want to revisit 1900, grandpa? ROTFLMAO. You know so much about me and other conservatives?? !! All that about the core principle – spending restraint eh, ?

    MR – you embarrass yourself with such intellectually light drivel. The other day it was accusations of racism. Now this?? Are you just a mindless dope?? I had thought otherwise.

    Can I purchase some of your mushrooms??

    PS – Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton, Rev Wright, Emil Jones, and Callipso Louie…..

    When you finally pull you head from your ass, pull the shit from your eyes and wake the fork up……………..you will see that the Democratic Party is the absolute kingpin of race baiting. Its not just an industry, its a campaign technique.

    Filthy. You want to be associated with filthy?

  49. Michael Reynolds says:

    Drew:

    The southern strategy was circa 1968, not ancient history. And it continues to this day.

    I thought you might know enough of politics not to argue something this historically self-evident.

    More contemporarily, I can provide you with links to conservatively a dozen overtly racist statements by the intellectual leaders of the GOP. Do we really need to prove yet again that Rush Limbaugh is a race-baiter? Shall we link to the Obama as witch doctor posters?

    Even the better class of Republican admits the GOP has a bad record on civil rights. That’s not even controversial. Only a fool pretends otherwise. You think it’s coincidence the party has not a single black Congressman? You think it’s coincidence you got essentially none of the black vote and actually managed to lose ground on Hispanic votes?

    You think it’s just happenstance that your party is almost 100% white, increasingly old, southern and rural? You think it’s coincidence that for the first time in American history the opposition party openly denies the citizenship of the US president? That just accidentally happened upon the election of the first black president?

    But of course the GOP wasn’t just wrong on civil rights, it was also wrong on women’s rights and gay rights. And continues to be. Your most recent presidential candidate blatantly reversed his own position when forced to confront allowing DADT to end.

    Now, you may not like the facts, you may find them inconvenient, or embarrassing, but that doesn’t change those facts. You had an opportunity to change that history — in fact, if I recall correctly, Mr. Bush called for just that — but instead your party chose the dog whistle racism of Rush Limbaugh and the immigrant bashing of Mr. O’Reilly and Mr. Hannity and it is that bigotry and intolerance that are the core of your party and of the tea partiers in particular.

  50. Wayne says:

    Herb
    Jews and Muslims don’t seek divine guidance?

    Maybe next time we can convince her to use smaller words so you can understand or perhaps it is the blinders you have on that contributes to your lack of understanding.

  51. JKB says:

    I’m curious. When are liberals going to start seeing Barack Obama as a man instead of a black man? Do you really believe that everyone opposes him because of the color of his skin instead of his policies and beliefs?

    As for the teleprompter problem. Well, Gerald Ford was a talented athlete but he was marked as a bumbler by a few stumbles that were played up by a hostile press. Obama’s had enough teleprompter problems that it’ll probably stick to him for the long haul. For instance, even the in-the-bag MSM found his performance in Baltimore sans teleprompter surprising.

  52. sam says:

    @Michael

    But of course the GOP wasn’t just wrong on civil rights

    Michael I think we have to be honest here. Had it not been for crucial Republican votes, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would not have been passed, nor the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Of course, as I said here a bit ago, that was a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away where compromise was possible. And our politics was not the sewer of hyperpartisanship it is now.

  53. Edgonzo says:

    The “fascination” is with Palin, period. Whatever Sarah Palin does, it gets coverage, and there’s a whole bunch of constituencies quite happy to have it that way.

    Few people seem outraged by the writing on the hand, just seems highly amusing that Palin needs crib notes on such elementary tea-party slogans.

  54. Herb says:

    Jews and Muslims don’t seek divine guidance?

    Oh, they do. So does the Buddhist and the Hindu. I’m sure even the Satanist drawing pentagrams in chicken blood thinks of themselves as seeking divine guidance.

    That’s all fine and dandy. But in this country, going all the way back to the founding, we have this thing called Freedom of Religion, which has been reinforced by this thing called Separation of Church and State.

    Now keep in mind that this doesn’t mean one has to choose one or the other. Indeed, most of the people that spend Monday thru Friday in the Statehouse can be found in a church on Sunday. (It’s an unwritten rule that in order to get elected you must profess at least some religion. Part B of that rule says that atheists don’t get elected.)

    So what Sarah Palin wants –“people involved in government” who seek “some divine intervention”– already exists. What she really wants, though, is for people to do it her way.

    And that view is not compatible with a society that values religious diversity.

  55. Have a Nice G.A. says:

    That’s all fine and dandy. But in this country, going all the way back to the founding, we have this thing called Freedom of Religion, which has been reinforced by this thing called Separation of Church and State.

    Why do people like you always got to make up history, and laws?

    And Harry, what are gay rights?

  56. Have a nice G.A. says:

    Good to see Palin derangement syndrome as still well in vogue, as well as, if you don’t agree with me you are stupid, a homophobe or a racist.

    Yup,but I speaking for myself am not afraid of people who like to have sex with people of the same sex and only believe that there is one race, human.

    Stupid, stupid is what liberals call those who are not indoctrinated and those who do not honor perversion and infanticide.

  57. Wayne says:

    Herb
    Go back and read your statements. You claim “Palin is saying that our country needs to find Jesus. Which is fine. Unless you’re Jewish or something…”

    Why because she uses the word “divine”? Maybe you should read what she actually said instead of prejudging her speeches and assuming you know what she “really” means.

    You probably came to your conclusion that her speech was incoherent before you even heard it.

  58. Concerned says:

    Dear God,
    Please, please, please, let palin just once more make a stink about telprompters. Please? And since I have been very good, perhaps she could bring it up during an interview with Couric?

  59. Maggie Mama says:

    They wanted to make her look like a Jr. HS student cribbing for a test …. they wanted to make her look foolish, juvenile.

    So they send Robert Gibbs out with a grocery list on his palm in one of the poorest “jokes” from one of the poorest spokesmen for one of the poorest of Administrations. Even the WH Press Corps (please pronounce correctly) groaned. Memo to Administration: You are NOT SLN. Get over her.

    All this criticism of Palin only gives HER power and raises HER star status … as if what she says and what she does is of utmost importance. Why it MUST be important cause everybody is talking about her ALL THE TIME.. even the White House.

    And YOU think she’s stupid … NEWS FLASH: She’s the smart one adding to her personal wealth and her “star” quality. Dumb ditz must have seen how well it worked for the Fox News Channel! Get yourself on the receiving end of Obama’s ire.

    Dumb ditz is watching her numbers going up, while Obama’s tanks. Fox lesson learned well.

  60. Sandman says:

    I’m surprised no one has even commented on this. Sarah is a beautiful woman by all measures, and I think it is so interesting that attention has finally been directed at her very pretty hands!

  61. BeholdersEye says:

    Too bad the repukencains must constantly get candidates from the dunst list. Bush, now her, well I finally had enough, of fox and palin and deleted fox off me HDTV. No more fox news, shows or advertisements for me.

  62. BeholdersEye says:

    Oh, yea, little kids, who wanted to cheat on their test do the same thing, way to go mother of a teen pregnant girl.

  63. anns new friend says:

    You see what you wish to see. You think Obama is intelligent so his slavish dependance upon a teleprompter doesn’t bother you at all, even when he needs one to deliver remarks at a children’s school.

    You believe Sarah Palin is content free and have felt this way from the moment you first realized she even existed. She has no “content” for you! That she can recall the answers she wants to deliver to questions anyone could surmise that she’d be likely to be asked, that she can recall her preformulated answers by simply glancing at a few words written on the palm of her hand! — you take as a sign of her inferior intelligence!

    “Black is white, up is down, night is day,” said George Costanza.

    I’d say if we were judging these two figures Palin and Obama by this evidence alone, Palin comes out looking remarkable and smart. And Obama looks like he needs some remedial college courses on expressing what he thinks.

    The time is now, I’m standing here before you, a light will shine down on you, and you’ll hear a voice telling you to vote for Barack Obama, who will heal the planet and cause the oceans to recede, just after the crisis, crisis, crisis even though anyone can buy a pick-up truck.

    If this is your idea of intellect, you can have it.

    You know, Obama, like any other con man can only con those who want to be conned. It’s all in the eyes of the beholder.