President Sarah Palin

Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin addresses attendees at the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010.

Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin addresses attendees at the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010. (AP Photo)

After watching her speech at the Tea Party convention, Andrew Sullivan thinks those of us who think Sarah Palin is unelectable as president of the United States should “think again.”

The media, too scared be tarred as elitists, will never demand policy specifics from her; there is a huge constituency out there (rightly) outraged by Washington corruption and she now has the critical mantle of the rogue outsider; she can channel Christianism and fuse it with the slogans of phony “fiscal conservatism”; she will blame every lost job on Obama; and she will accuse him of betraying the troops and befriending America’s enemies. Behind her are the Cheneyites.

Above all, she is capable of generating a personality cult – much, much more so than Obama, because she can harness Christianism to her divine destiny. The power of this kind of appeal – of a charismatic, beautiful woman, an icon of the pro-life cause, persecuted by the evil elites, demonized by libruls, and commanding the biggest military on earth – should not in my view be under-estimated.

Given that I never thought Bill Clinton or Barack Obama could get elected — because of personal sleaze and lack of experience, respectively — I could be wrong.  Strong orators with an ability to generate mass enthusiasm can go a long way.  Then again, at least Clinton and Obama demonstrably had well-above-average IQs and a wonkish love of public policy.

Still, I’m dubious of the idea that the media “will never demand policy specifics from her.”  Thus far, at least, they’ve shown no such reluctance.   Indeed, they’ve shown open disdain for Palin in a way they haven’t done for someone of her stature since Dan Quayle’s heyday.

Further, while Palin’s charismatic and attractive, her appeal seems to be quite limited.  Last week’s CNN poll showed “43 percent of American have a favorable view of Palin, while 46 percent have an unfavorable view.”  Such high negatives would seem to make a presidential bid difficult.  Then again, “That’s up slightly from a 39-48 margin in early August.”

It’s worth noting, too, that Palin’s Tea Party pals, Tom Tancredo and Duncan Hunter, had dismal showings in the Republican primaries two years ago, earning roughly the same number of delegates as my dog, Molly.

Still, I’m surprised at the amount of steam that the Tea Party movement has maintained — even after some of its original instigators, such as the Red State gang — have jumped off the bandwagon.  So maybe I’m underestimating the appeal of a genuine populist with Palin’s skills.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor 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. just me says:

    The media story for Palin is that she is a blathering idiot-she is unelectable, because she is never going to get past that story.

    I do think she is a far better speaker than she is given credit for, and she definitely has a charisma about her, I just don’t see it as being enough to overcome the media story for her, which isn’t going to get kinder or gentler if she throws her hat into a race.

  2. Patrick T McGuire says:

    “…Obama demonstrably had well-above-average IQ…”

    as evidenced by his recent tribute to a US Navy “corpse-man”

  3. cynic1 says:

    An ” above average IQ ” ? …. and how do we know that ? …or by extention …his academic performance ? which is probably more relevent.

  4. john personna says:

    Intrade, and prediction markets, got hammered a bit in the last few years. Theorists started with high hopes for free market prediction and an Efficient Futures Hypothesis. They largely “failed” as a far predictor, working only to show a somewhat flawed measure of current consensus. Efficient Market believers attributed those flaws to the Intrade market being too thin.

    Nonetheless, it’s interesting that inTrade has Palin second only to Romney in 2012 betting … closely behind Romeny in fact.

    http://www.intrade.com/

    The way this can work is that strong believers (tea partiers) can get out there to intrade and make the market, bid her up. But still, even that says something.

  5. Benedict says:

    then again, at least . . . Obama demonstrably had well-above-average IQs and a wonkish love of public policy.

    PatrickT and cynic1 have already covered the myth of Obama’s high intelligence, but really James . . . “wonkish love of public policy”? This is the president who has outsourced his entire legislative agenda to Pelosi and Reid. There is zero evidence to substantiate Obama’s “love” of anything except golf and his own fine self (remember the image of him striding on to Air Force One with a copy of Men’s Health or GQ or some such rag with his photo on the cover? This past week’s “buried in an Obama t-shirt” comment?)

    If The One had such a “wonkish love of public policy”, perhaps he would have exposed himself to a press conference by the assembled media more than zero times since what, July? But there’s golf to play, dude; let Harry and Nancy handle the details.

  6. GS says:

    As usual, professor, I am amazed by your insight and breadth of experience. I had no idea that you’d administered IQ tests to Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Sarah Palin. I don’t know that you’re outside the beltway.. you seem to be right in the thick of things.

  7. Highlander says:

    James just look at all the ink you have devoted to this woman,you obviously disdain. If she so nothing, why do continue to hammer her? It is as if you and old media are moths drawn to the Palin Flame. If you hold her in such absolute disregard, why can’t you and the old media just ignore her? It is ironic that in fact your attacks are actually a big part of her growing strength.

    As for her negatives,true enough, but I have never…never seen in the 40 years I’ve been in the game. A politican take such an unrelenting negative barrage of MSM attacks. There is something really unusual going on here. I don’t know what exactly,but it definitely is.

    You guys will just have to adjust to the woman’s presence for a long while. Because,I do believe I see her emerging from the smoke of your and old media’s fire with her M-16 in hand and bayonet fixed. Looks like she is heading toward inside the beltway with a rather murderous glint in her eye.A glint that according to your polling stats, at least 135 million or so Americans agree with. My guess that number will only increase.

    However,if I were a member of the Imperial Capital’s elites, I wouldn’t worry too much. They could take somebody like Dear Old Sainted Mother Theresa and turn her into a “hooker” in about 6 months. That will sadly probably be Palin’s fate also. If they can’t kill her off first.

    You know,I don’t think you are one. But the whole tone of your “christianism” thing borders on bigotry. I bet you wouldn’t take the same tone toward say Judaism.

    Is it 70BC or 370AD?

  8. steve says:

    Sorry James, she will be your candidate in 2012. She just has to beat out Huckabee, who is not really a very good campaigner. The Christian right will support her with real passion. The country will still have high unemployment in 2012, so a populist will play well. She is very good on TV and she has a network ready to give her 100% support. They are already grooming her and paying her while she prepares (why is this legal?). I see this as a Rovian get out the base election, which is what she will be good at.

    If there was anything like true justice in this world, McCain would have been elected and he would have put her in charge of domestic issues like he promised. Think about i. We could have been at war with Iran already AND had huge tax cuts.

    Steve

  9. Gerry W. says:

    Tea parties and independents can go into a thousand directions. So far, this tea party was more of the same do nothing republicanism and more of the same that got us into this mess. Same o, Same o.

  10. PD Shaw says:

    More apt than the CNN poll is last month’s CBS poll, showing 58% of conservatives do not want Palin to run for President. That poll shows her favorable/unfavorable score among conservatives at 46%/26%, so I think it’s safe to assume she is much more favorably viewed in general than she is as a Presidential candidate on the right.

  11. Michael Reynolds says:

    James:

    The question I have is why you’re still a Republican. I’m sure you read the recent poll that revealed the depths of GOP idiocy. And you see who now leads your party.

    At what point do you accept the fact that you are part of a party that has changed and is no longer remotely the party you supported over the years?

    When Palin is your party’s candidate will you still call yourself a Republican? Is there a limit for you, or will it be loyalty to the end?

  12. LMEsaysso says:

    “…Obama demonstrably had well-above-average IQ…”

    As demonstrated by the liberal media elite saying so!

  13. steve says:

    PD-You forget how the Republican primaries work. Winner take all. All she needs is a solid minority that will get out and vote. Running against an incumbent is always a bit risky, even when the economy is bad. There is no other strong candidate out there. A strong early showing and she is on her way. Remember how the conservative elite felt about McCain.

    Steve

  14. Herb says:

    Still, I’m dubious of the idea that the media “will never demand policy specifics from her.”

    Me too. But then again, those are just the “lamestream media” outlets we’re talking about…..

    PS. It’s amusing how many folks take offense at the merest suggestion that Obama is smart. They can’t even give him that!

  15. Pete says:

    Michael Reynolds, the Republican Party is undergoing a transformation. Conservatism is returning to it and the Tea Party is responsible. Comments from people like you regarding the alleged irrelevance of the Republican Party will serve the transformation splendidly. Keep up the good work.

  16. Michael Reynolds says:

    Only an idiot doubts Obama is highly intelligent.

    But of course doubts about his IQ among teabaggers is less about the capacity of his brain and much more about the melanin in his skin.

  17. Michael Reynolds says:

    Pete:

    Um . . . huh? Comments about the alleged irrelevance?

  18. PD Shaw says:

    steve, my read is that the Christian Right will get behind a candidate, like Pat Robertson, Pat Buchanan, Alan Keyes/Gary Bauer, or Mike Huckabee, perhaps even winning early states with a plurality and then the Republicans in the rest of the country will gravitate towards the establishment candidate that can beat him. (I see the dynamic intensified with Palin with the same concerns that animated a search for an alternative to Hillary Clinton) If Palin does enter the ring, I would expect Romney to win the nomination.

    (At this point I also expect Obama to win re-election, regardless of the opposing candidate)

  19. Pete says:

    Michael, I seem to remember you are a writer; therefore I presume you choose your words with care. As I read your generalized, and sometime specific, criticisms and descriptions of the Republican Party, I can only infer that you consider the Party irrelevant in its current form. And I would agree. Yet, your comments drip with derision regarding the Party. That is why I encourage you to keep up the criticism. Conservatism will grow in appeal to independents as it represents a more positive outlook on life than the angry mood of liberalism, which you seem to prefer.

  20. wr says:

    I’m always amused by the Palin fans who insist she’s smart and a great speaker, but who somehow never manage to quote anything she’s said. Here’s the girl genius at the Teabag Convention on what Congress’ priorities should be:

    “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.”

    So let’s be generous and ignore the fact that this is incoherent babble, despite the crib notes written on her hand. What she seems to be saying is that one of three priorities for a conservative Congress should be to ask for God to bail us out.

    Sorry, all you people who think that Obama is stupid despite having been president of the Harvard Law Review. This woman is a moron, and there are only two kinds of people who are not aware of that: Those who willfully refuse to actually listen to her for political reasons — we call them Kristols — and those who are actually dumber than she is.

  21. John Personna says:

    LOL, Michael Reynolds entered this thread with the best line. The Repubs down on James for his post set up that question perfectly!

  22. Herb says:

    Only an idiot doubts Obama is highly intelligent.

    That’s what is so pathetic about these guys. The obvious denial going on in some quarters is astounding.

    First they said he was a Muslim…even though Jeremiah Wright proved them all wrong.

    Then they said he wasn’t a US Citizen…even though his birth certificate (I know, I know, what birth certificate?) proved that he was.

    Then they said he’s a committed socialist ideologue…even though he’s so centrist even the progressives are mad at him.

    And now he’s not smart? Even though he’s Harvard educated and was somehow smart enough to beat both Hillary Clinton and John McCain to become President of the United States.

    I’m not sure it’s racism. I think it’s pure unadulterated Partisanship with a capital P. It’s the kind of cheap partisanship that allows Sarah Palin to giggle about Obama using a teleprompter even as she reads from notes scribbled on her hand.

  23. steve says:

    PD- Hope you are correct. I am more of a policy than horse race guy, but I have my doubts about Romney’s ability to inspire. He has changed position on a number of things in some convenient ways. Using my wife as a barometer,( yeah I know), who has voted for a Democrat only once in her life, even she had major qualms about Romney. I am expecting a “get out the base” election to take advantage of the anger out there. Will be interesting.

    Steve

  24. Drew says:

    “But of course doubts about his IQ among teabaggers is less about the capacity of his brain and much more about the melanin in his skin.”

    Please, Michael. That’s a juvenile, unsubstantiated cheap shot that is beneath you.

  25. Pete says:

    wr, were you around in 1979? Reagan was a “moron” too.

  26. Matt says:

    Whatever happened to tangoman? Used to always show up in Palin threads during the election..

  27. Phil says:

    Sarah handled herself well with Larry King in this video:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rSNGnYvF8k<a

  28. wr says:

    Pete — As with every Palin acolyte, you simply ignore the gush of babble emanating from her and invoke the holy spirit of St. Ronnie. Which is natural — you can’t possibly defend what she said.

    So you will vote for a woman who believes Congress’ highest priority to help the country is to hope for divine intervention simply because some people were mean to Ronald Reagan.

    But what you — and your fellow acolytes — will never do is actually engage with what she says. Because that would require you to confront the truth.

  29. Wayne says:

    Only an idiot believes Obama is highly intelligent or doubts Palin is highly intelligent. That was a easy post.

    Obama has -17 approval index in Rasmussen with 26% strongly approve and 43% strongly disapprove.

    Obama is not a policy wonk. He is a Campaigner in Chief. His lack of policy understanding and executive experience is showing. If he doesn’t get a clue here shortly, he will go down as being a President worst than Carter.

  30. 2012 will be a referendum on Obama. And if the election were held today, I think Palin would almost certainly win given the unified hatred on Obama on the right, and the very tepid support for him on the left. Current polling is meaningless because it isn’t in the context of a campaign.

  31. john personna says:

    Pete: “wr, were you around in 1979? Reagan was a “moron” too.”

    Do you remember that moment when someone asked Regan a question and caught him flat footed? Nancy looked at the ground, toed the grass, and fed him a line. He repeated it.

    The only problem was that boom microphones picked up Nancy too. There was a kerfuffle.

    At the time I thought it was fine. Ron was an old guy, and his wife helped him. I felt like I was in the minority on that though.

    We now know that it was early onset Alzheimer’s. It makes that scene much more human.

    The lesson that we thought we took from that was that a President who wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer could still succeed with a good staff. That actually shaped the GWB campaign. That argument was made by pundits publicly.

    … I guess the GWB lesson is “not always.”

  32. anjin-san says:

    Obama has -17 approval index in Rasmussen with 26% strongly approve and 43% strongly disapprove.

    Speaking of idiots, only an idiot takes Rasumssen very seriously.

  33. john personna says:

    BTW, I do think we have a smart President right now, but I’m not sure what he’s thinking. He may be stubbornly pursuing center-left politics in the hope that the center will come around to him …

  34. Benedict says:

    Ahhh, anjin-san, so good for you to chime in. Did the IPCC give you the afternoon off from writing comic books peer-reviewed scientific papers it can cite to further substantiate global warming? Or was today spent manufacturing new congressional districts where we can track those jobs “saved or created” by the Obama / Pelosi / Reid “stimulus” package (which, in fairness, did succeed in stimulating Scott Brown right into Ted Kennedy’s (D-Chappaquiddick) old office)?

    As to your idiot observation, explain to me please how Bush the Younger (clearly an idiot in your eyes) was able to pass damn near his entire legislative agenda without ever having more than 55 votes in the Senate, but Obama couldn’t pass health care, cap and trade, card check, amnesty, or the rest of your beloved statist agenda despite having 60 votes for more than a year?

  35. Tyrone says:

    If Obama has such a high IQ, why does he rely on a Teleprompter do much? Also why does he have to habit of bowing to people uncontrollably. I still don’t know why he bowed to the mayor of Tampa last week.

  36. Tyrone says:

    Two of the biggest electoral college victories came from a man that the left dubbed an old, forgetful fool. That person was Ronald Reagan. Liberals believe that they are smartest people in the room yet are the dumbest. Keep treating Palin as if she was Reagan and see what will happen in 2012. As Sarah noted, the blame bush cow has been milked dry and it is now ALL ON OBAMA.

  37. Herb says:

    As to your idiot observation, explain to me please how Bush the Younger (clearly an idiot in your eyes) was able to pass damn near his entire legislative agenda without ever having more than 55 votes in the Senate, but Obama couldn’t pass health care, cap and trade, card check, amnesty, or the rest of your beloved statist agenda despite having 60 votes for more than a year?

    Easy…Democrats don’t have a rubber stamp. (They also have some conservative members…shocking to those who say the Dems are to the left of Commies, but true nonetheless!)

    Besides, when you’re talking about “damn near [Bush’s] entire legislative agenda,” are you including immigration reform or social security privatization? What about the gay marriage amendment? I don’t think Bush’s legislative agenda was as successful as you think…

  38. Michael Reynolds says:

    Drew:

    Of course racism is a major factor. It’s absurd to pretend otherwise. An overwhelmingly white, southern, conservative group that denies the very citizenship of the first black president? Open your eyes.

  39. Stuart says:

    I’m a bit afraid to ask, but is “libruls” your spelling or Palin’s? Either way, I’m afraid for our nation’s intellect…

  40. john personna says:

    If Obama has such a high IQ, why does he rely on a Teleprompter do much? Also why does he have to habit of bowing to people uncontrollably. I still don’t know why he bowed to the mayor of Tampa last week.

    IQ isn’t everything. I mean, maybe we’ve just got the nerdiest President in a while.

  41. Chris from NYC says:

    Palin is a female Teddy Roosevelt.

    She terrifies the Left because she is charismatic, and unlike President Obama actually is passionate about what she believes in, believes in American exceptionalism, and has proven leadership skills.

  42. 1stTimothy says:

    I think the best way to get our country back on track is to stop demeaning the politicians by saying how stupid or intelligent they are. We need honest politicians that will actually accomplish good things for our country.

    You question Palin and Reagan’s intelligence but never question Carter, Clinton, Johnson or any of the Kennedy’s. Intelligence is not determined by political party. I have voted for people running in both parties.

    There is no doubt that Obama is a likable person and has book intelligence but I do not know why he turned his agenda over to Reid and Pelosi. He should have been leading the process.

    One reason the Republicans seem to get more accomplished is that when they are in charge they are not afraid the push their agenda – they believe in what they are doing is best for the country. The Dems have a 60 vote majority and blame it on Republicans when they cannot pass a bill. They are afraid of the people.

    The Tea Party people are only doing what our constitution gives them a right to do – speak up and make the politicians listen. Every time anyone uses the derogatory term “tea baggers” it makes everyone who has this feeling that (“I have a voice but I should not use it – makes them even more determined that their voice will be heard and they will not be silenced.”)

    The politicians who do not listen of either party will sent to the trash heap like a used tea bag.

    We should elect politicians who have the country first and their re-election last.

  43. john personna says:

    LOL, Chris from NYC. Teddy Roosevelt would thrill the left and terrify the right.

    Trust busting and increased regulation of business anyone?

  44. john personna says:

    Oh. My. Gosh.

    The movement for universal coverage in the United States goes back to the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, who first proposed the idea. Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman also attempted to implement socialized medicine as part of their administrations’ legislative accomplishments, but it was killed by a public campaign engineered by the American Medical Association which claimed, “Socialized medicine…will undermine the democratic form of government.”

    link.

  45. john personna says:

    Hey! A good comment got caught as spam. Please retrieve it.

    In part: “The movement for universal [heath] coverage in the United States goes back to the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, who first proposed the idea. “

  46. CJ says:

    Obama has an above average IQ? says who, his loving and adoring Obamabot fans?

    Obama has such an above average IQ that America’s enemies rejoice that he is the President of the United States and America’s allies wonder if he will come to their aid if needed. (See Poland and other Eastern European nations that he threw under his bus).

    this idiot, we currently have as President, has such an above average IQ that he voted in Illinois for a bill that would have allowed a woman to kill her baby even if the baby was already outside of the womb.

    we have an idiot as a President and his drooling fans don’t have the IQ to realize that this idiot is taking the nation in the wrong direction.

    the man is such a buffoon that he chose to lower himself to the level of radio talk show hosts. He made the same mistake Clinton did and he was equally burnt.

    The man has such a high IQ that he made EXACTLY the same mistake as Clinton with the whole healthcare debate.

    A person with high IQ learns from the mistakes of his predecessors. This retard (as used by pathetic Emanuel) doesn’t have the brain capacity to learn from the mistakes of others.

    Obama is NOT smart. What he can do well is read a teleprompter. A smart individual wouldn’t need a stupid teleprompter to speak to elementary school kids.

    The Left and way too many Americans believe that if you can speak well or read a teleprompter well, this somehow equates to being smart, intelligent and knowledgeable. Please America, wake up. I mean really, wake up.

    Obama lacks passion, he is not genuine. Every word he uses is measured.

  47. steve says:

    Reagan spent years writing and speaking on the pertinent national issues before he ran for president. He was well prepared. His gift was in choosing good staff, for the most part.

    The Republicans made free with the use of budget reconciliation. They used budget reconciliation to pass a bill that increased deficits. First time that was done. You only need 51 when you use reconciliation. Republicans also let pay as you go elapse so that they did not have to pay for the bills they passed, like Medicare Part D.

    Steve

  48. Dantheman says:

    Palin at least has a rejoinder to the nonsense about Obama needed a teleprompter (he seemed to do just fine without one in the Q&A with House Republicans). She doesn’t use that new-fangled technology — she does it the old fashioned way

  49. Chris from NYC says:

    “We must Americanize in every way, in speech, in political ideas and principles, and in their way of looking at relations between church and state. We welcome the German and the Irishman who becomes an American. We have no use for the German or Irishman who remains such… He must revere only our flag, not only must it come first, but no other flag should even come second.” — Theodore Roosevelt

    Yeah, I’m sure the Left would be thrilled with him.

  50. CJ says:

    If anyone wants to know where Liberals/Progressives come from, read up on the eugenic movement in the 20th century. There you will find the truth of who Liberals/Progressives are. Individuals who do not trust the average American to make the right decisions. Individuals who believe that certain groups need to be controlled through eugenics. etc, etc.

    Progressive and Liberal elites are snubs, who believe they know better than you or me what is good for us.

    Progressive and Liberal middle class and poor are poorly informed, emotional, low IQ individuals who are easily led and manipulated. Puppets that the Liberal elites love to use.

    Don’t believe me? Look how John Edwards manipulated countless of idiots on the Left to believe him. Same with Al Gore. These two Progressives are filthy rich individuals who went around America wanting to force us to change our middle class life style while they enjoy a super, duper, incredibly filthy rich life. Nothing wrong with being filthy rich, if you made the money morally and legally, but don’t be a filthy rich bastard and then turn around and ask everyone else to live a life of a poor person.

    John Edwards and the blind that fell for him is a perfect example of who Liberal and Progressives. Elite snubs and easily manipulated, poorly informed individuals who are led by the likes of John Edwards.

  51. Herb says:

    CJ, your feeble generalizations and bile-spewing rhetoric are cracking me up.

    As is this statement:
    “Obama lacks passion, he is not genuine. Every word he uses is measured.”

    You have passion, true, but your every word is not measured. Indeed, they seem to be quite….frothy.

    I mean, you’re not the first dude to go foaming at the mouth about John Edwards….

  52. Chris from NYC says:

    LOL

    If I listened to Lefties, I would have believed the Tea-party movement was “astro-turf”

    I mean, only a moron would believe that dissent against doubling the deficit and government takeover of 1/6th of the economy would be fake and illegitimate.

    So much for the intelligence of the Left

  53. Herb says:

    If I listened to Lefties, I would have believed the Tea-party movement was “astro-turf”

    Good thing you listen to talk radio then, huh?

    I know, I know. You don’t outsource your thinking to your radio. You came up with this “Palin terrifies the Left” stuff on your own.

    Newflash: Palin doesn’t terrify the left. She makes us laugh.

  54. Thomas says:

    Obama — CORPSE-MAN (not once but twice)….. where is the intelligence in the way he pronounced that word? Not saying for a moment he is not intelligent, but he is far from being the smartest person to have ever walked the earth the way the left and the liberal media portray him to be. He has middle of the road intelligence. As far as being a president — he is horrible and does not have a clue.

    Birth certificate? Why not release a long form birth certificate that shows which hospital he was born and the the doctor that delivered him? The type of birth certificate he has posted on the internet was able to be obtained by anyone, even if not born in Hawaii. All one had to do was have to witnesses that stated one was born in Hawaii. Period. Nothing else. Again, why not release the long form birth certificate?

    Why not release his school records? Did he go by the name of Barry Soetero when he registered in Indonesian and Hawaiin schools? That means he was adopted by his Indonesian stepdad, which would disqualify him from being president here in our great country. Why not release his Harvard grades and records? Did he get foreign student assistance? He is super intelligent so it must not be because of his poor grades that he refuses to release.

    Why has he spent over 1.2 million dollars to stop the release of all this information?

    He is president of ALL Americans. One would think he would want to show anyone that has any doubt that he is a legit president, just out of decency.

    I needed to show a long form birth certificate when I wanted to join my little league team back in the day. ALL military personnel need to show their long form birth certificates when they join, and our president is the leader/commander-in-chief of the military, but he refuses to show his long form birth certificate. And there are many many other times where ONLY long form birth certificates are accepted to complete proper legal papers.

    I really do not know if President Obama is eligible to hold his position because of of all this secrecy in regards to his past.

    Mr. President Barack Obama, why not be a president to ALL the people and show without a doubt that you truly are eligible to be president?

  55. Have a nice G.A. says:

    Highly intelligent people don’t need to go to Harvard to learn what the Constitution means, the same goes for people of low and average intelligence.

  56. sam says:

    The key to Sparkle Plenty’s electoral prospects will be how she polls among independents. Too soon to tell how that will turn out I’d think.

  57. Herb says:

    Mr. President Barack Obama, why not be a president to ALL the people and show without a doubt that you truly are eligible to be president?

    HA! You guys are seriously cracking me up. Birthers think they’re being oh-so-reasonable when they “ask questions” about Obama’s birth certificate.

    Here’s the answer, Thomas.

    Because as soon as Obama shows his “long form birth certificate that shows which hospital he was born and the the doctor that delivered him,” you’ll want to see the long form birth certificate that shows which hospital he was born in and the doctor that delivered him, as well as a notarized signature of that hospital’s head administrator, a signed affidavit from two witnesses, and a sliver of the placenta for DNA testing.

    The goalposts on this one have widened so much they’re not even in the same stadium. Pack it up, bud.

  58. wr says:

    Hilarious. All you Palinbots keep changing the subject. You’ll talk about birth certificates and eugenics — as long as you never have to actually pay attention to what your idol says.

    So tell me, all you who believe Sarah Palin is so intelligent: Should the agenda of the next congress be to hope for divine intervention?

    That’s all I want to know. Do you agree with Braintrust Sarah or not?

    And yes, we all know you hate Obama. We all know you believe Islamocommiefascists are taking over the country. There’s really no need to repeat it.

    Just tell me: Do you agree with Sarah Palin that Congress should spend its time asking — praying, I suppose — for divine intervention?

    It’s an easy question for an honest person.

  59. sam says:

    @Thomas

    Did he go by the name of Barry Soetero when he registered in Indonesian and Hawaiin schools? That means he was adopted by his Indonesian stepdad, which would disqualify him from being president here in our great country.

    Hard to believe someone could be this effing stupid.

  60. anjin-san says:

    explain to me please how Bush the Younger (clearly an idiot in your eyes) was able to pass damn near his entire legislative agenda without ever having more than 55 votes in the Senate, but Obama couldn’t pass health care, cap and trade, card check, amnesty, or the rest of your beloved statist agenda despite having 60 votes for more than a year?

    Thats pretty simple skippy. Spineless Democrats on the hill. Now please show me where I have ever mentioned global warming. Or I suppose you could just continue ranting…

  61. anjin-san says:

    Oh, and Benedict… Today’s comic books are actually quite a bit more sophisticated that the drivel you hear coming from the pie-hole of the average Palinite/Tea bagger 🙂

  62. anjin-san says:

    Nothing wrong with being filthy rich, if you made the money morally and legally,

    Ah. you mean like Bush, being a bitch for the Saudis?

  63. wr says:

    1st Timothy — I don’t question Carter’s or Clinton’s intelligence because Carter was a nuclear engineer and a successful businessman, while Clinton was a Rhodes scholar. You may not like the way they governed, but both were smart by every standard this country uses to measure intelligence.

    Sarah Palin couldn’t stay in one crummy state school for more than a quarter at a time. She can’t speak a coherent sentence and apparently knows nothing, except that it’s congress’ job to get on its knees and pray for things to get better.

    Not, of course, that any Palin fans here are willing to acknowledge or defend what she actually said. Not when you can talk about how Obama mispronounced a word.

  64. 1stTimothy says:

    WR —
    The point i was trying to make on intelligence of those who seek office – the ones who seem to be the most intelligent – do not know how to use their intelligence to get things done. Carter thought he was smarter than everyone one else in Washington and could not work with a Democratic Congress. Clinton started with a Democratic Congress and lost it after two years. Clinton would have been more effective in his second term if could have keep is pants up.

    Now we have Mr. Obama who thinks he is smarter than all the rest in Washington and can get nothing done. He will be a one term president (Jimmy Carter’s second term)

    Maybe Sarah had to go to different schools because she did not qualify by race to get the free handouts Mr. Obama received. One does not have to go to some ivy league school to be qualified to be president. I will remind you that Harry Truman did not go to college at all.

    Many people like Mr. Obama are no doubt intelligent but are ineffective as president, ie Jimmy Carter.

    Give me a Reagan, Bush, Palin any day.

    Reagan’s question that he asked to Jimmy Carter will be asked of Mr. Obama in 2012 “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” If things continue on their current path the answer will be a NO just as it was in 1980.

  65. anjin-san says:

    Give me a Reagan, Bush, Palin any day.

    Neither Bush nor Palin is a pimple on Reagan’s rear. You should be embarrassed to even say that. At some point the right is going to have to stand on its own merits. Endlessly evoking Reagan is not going to get the job done.

  66. 1stTimothy says:

    anjin-san —

    Sorry I am not Jesus Christ – I can’t resurrect Reagan. We have to work with what we have. I am hoping there are some men and women coming up now that will have the courage and conviction of Reagan. There will come a time when we will look back and realize that we had freedom under Bush. If Mr. Obama gets his way we will go to jail if we don’t buy health insurance. What else is he working on that if we do not comply we go to jail. Sounds a little like Germany of the 1930-40s.

    I am not embarrassed by my comment. I do not think the Hope and Change Mr. Obama won on is working out to well for our country.

    I think I and many others just want a real leader with courage and convictions and work to fix this train wreck that we are headed for with the Federal Budget. Mr. Obama is doubling down on the spending apparently intending to crash the system and set himself up as a Hugo Chavez.

  67. bellagrazi says:

    Ah, President Palin. Music to my ears. As we all know, Andrew Sullivan is no fan of Sarah Palin’s. If he can see how powerful she is, I think you should drop your bias and admit that you can see it, too. By the way, who says Sarah Palin has a low IQ? They thought the same of George W Bush, too, but he ended up having a higher IQ than that genius of yours, John Kerry. Never underestimate the power of the ‘cuda. You do so at your peril.

    By the way, what’s your IQ score? Can I count it on one hand?

  68. Gerry W. says:

    1st Timothy,

    While Obama is not my cup of tea, Bush has to go down as the worst president of all time. Bush had tax cuts for 8 years, we watched our jobs leave the country, our money go to Iraq, and saw the neglect of our country. It was Cheney, who said “deficits don’t matter. And Bush said “stay the course.” And Bush ran the country into the ground. We saw the failure of ideology of neconism, of militarism, of trickle down, and of relgionism. Those 8 years of tax cuts was for the here and now and did not create prosperity. Without cutting spending we saw deficits and debt go up. The tax cuts did not stop a recession, did not solve any problems, and did not create prosperity. We see the republican party sit with ideology of the constitution and tax cuts and nothing else. You still have to manage the economy and its problems. I though republicans were smarter than that, but evidently not. They all sound like robots. And they have nothing to offer.

    We are witnessing the loss of the middle class as both parties have no idea in running the country. Ideology of both parties have ruled and it is bringing down our country.

  69. anjin-san says:

    There will come a time when we will look back and realize that we had freedom under Bush. If Mr. Obama gets his way we will go to jail if we don’t buy health insurance.

    You really should not let people like Glenn Beck do you thinking for you. You run a great risk of making a fool of yourself. Its ok for Beck or Rush, they are making millions. You just end up looking stupid by repeating their nonsense.

  70. wr says:

    1st Timothy — I don’t care if you can resurrect Reagan. But if you could try to resurrect the thousands of Central American peasants whose murders he was directly responsible for, that would be a good thing.

    Still no response to the substance of what Palin actually said. Are all you Palin worshippers so terrified that you’ll realize she’s a moron if you actually listen to her you will never actually engage with her words?

    Once again: Should congress pray to God for intervention as a strategy to fix the country? Simple question. Are you all cowards?

  71. 1stTimothy says:

    WR –

    Did you not hear President Obama say at the prayer breakfast that he does a lot of praying. Should he stop praying?

    I think all those guys in congress need to seek some divine guidance. None of them are very bright. The US Government has to get it’s fiscal house in order. We can’t just keep printing money.

    I do not let anyone do my thinking for me including you and your liberal friends.

  72. mike says:

    she’s a genuine demagogue, not a genuine populist

  73. wr says:

    1st Timothy — When you say the people in congress aren’t very smart, are you using the generally accepted meaning of the word, of your own interpretation, which seems to be “can get legislation pushed through”?

  74. No way Jose says:

    Palin will not get elected. If rebuplicans want to win, they will need to pick someone that moderate independents can tolerate.

    If the election is between Obama and Palin, people like me will stay home or write in our own candidate. I don’t want to be culpable for putting either of those nightmare scenarios in the whitehouse.

    Palin may be scrappy, but one does not get the sense that she has any proficiency with the issues.

  75. Joe Fratolill says:

    I watched both the keynote address and the Chris Wallace interview with Ms. Palin and was “inspired” by her common sense ideas on both economics and security in our country. WHAT IDEAS did Obama have, in his election campaign other than “income-redistribution”? More to the point, ALL of his ideas, save his Afghanistan policy, have PROVEN to be a rehash of FAILED LIBERAL POLICIES that have brought our country to the “brink of failure”. I WOULD HAPPILY vote for and campaign for the candidacy of Ms. Palin!

  76. Boden says:

    Anyone who quotes Andrew Sullivan for a story, ESPECIALLY for a story involving Sarah Palin, loses ALL credibility. Sullivan is a loon with an obsession over Trig Palin that makes the “birthers” look like Nobel Prize winners. (Oh yeah, guess that doesn’t mean that much anymore either. They’ll give those to anyone!)

  77. ken harlow says:

    what do we actually know about the early obama?
    he said he went to columbia and harvard law. has even one single person come forward to say they were ever in his class, fraternity, study group, dated him or played basketball with him? has one person come forward to say they were on law review with him? has even one person come forward to say that they were taught constitutional law by him? has anyone produced a photo of him in a yearbook or read anything he’s written in the harvard law review? more people know the unknown soldier than know this guy.

  78. TheEnforcer says:

    EXTRA!!!! EXTRA!!!!!

    Dateline United States, November 6, 2012.

    Over 15,000,000 dead all over the United States as Sarah Palin was elected President of the country in a landslide election.

    The cause seems to be heart attacks as liberals learned of Mrs. Palin’s election which carried 49 of the 50 states.

    More later.

  79. anjin-san says:

    Is it just me, or are the people commenting from the right in here getting stupider? Sarah’s Evita’s followers are giving “brain dead” a bad name…

  80. sam says:

    @ken harlow

    what do we actually know about the early obama?
    he said he went to columbia and harvard law. has even one single person come forward to say they were ever in his class

    I take back what I said about it being hard to believe that someone could be this effing stupid. The evidence mounts that it’s becoming easy to believe.

  81. FBanta says:

    “Populist” appears to be the term du jour in the MSM. The Tea Party Movement is popular, but the reason is that a growing number of Americans are rediscovering, or discovering the Constitution of the United States and in the process, realizing that our federal government has completely usurped authorities not delegated, and thereby is destroying America.

    The lefties can scream about Palin til’ the cows come home, but we’ve seen their best, and he’s the worst president in American history. Doubt is growing that he’ll complete even one term without being impeached. He certainly deserves to be.

    Palin represents the spirit that made America great; she respects the COTUS, including the 5th Amendment that denies the federal government any authority to take any person’s “life, liberty, or property without due process of law” despite what Roe may claim.

    The COTUS defines the legal authorities of the federal government. The goal of the Tea Party Movement (TPM) is to put into office elected officials who honor the COTUS; not another idiot who considers the COTUS to be a “only a charter of negative rights”.

    The TPM is not about political party because the two parties are basically indistinguishable in their abuse of the COTUS.

    Liberals choke on the COTUS because they believe they are above the law and entitled to tell others how to think and live. The fact is that the COTUS intentionally limits the powers of the federal government.

    Fortunately there are over 200 countries in the world where one can live unencumbered by the COTUS: but the US isn’t one of them.

    There are only two kinds of people in America: those who love and honor the COTUS; and those who need to move somewhere else.

    Delta is ready when you are.