On Demand
Palin's First Interview
Friday, September 12, 2008
Last night, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin had her first media interview with Charles Gibson from ABC World News. Washington Bureau Chief for USA Today, Susan Page, weighs in.
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Charlie Gibson’s interview with Sarah Palin would make a great opening sketch for the season premiere of Saturday Night Live. With her painful performance, Palin established her bona fides as a first class featherweight politician.
If John McCain knew what he was doing, he’d send Palin down to the minor leagues ASAP and call up Kay Bailey Hutchison, Olympia Snowe, or Susan Collins. Palin simply isn’t ready for primetime. She’s breathtakingly inadequate and woefully unprepared.
McCain should be ashamed of himself for pulling this bush league stunt of selecting Palin as his running mate. McCain owes voters an apology for breaking his promise of putting “his country first”.
BL MODERATOR,
I wish you'd give serious consideration to creating a password protected message board so that listeners would have another place to go where they could have a more free wheeling conversation, exchange contact information, etc.
For the next installment, I hope Gibson asks Palin for a timeline of the bridge to nowhere saga - when she was for it before she was against it, her use of earmarks, her effort to remove polar bears from the endangered species list, and her views on abortion, intelligent design, and censorship.
I couldn't believe how horribly Palin's performance was during this interview. I've never seen a politician skirt a question so inadiquitely and I was glad to see Charlie Gibson really stick to his guns and repeat himself when she so ungracefully tried to back pedal out of answering fundamental policy questions.
If McCain took Palin on because of her knowledge of foreign policy where was that knowledge yesterday? And how many times will Palin decide to change what she believes according to what McCain in behind?
Lastly, the McCain camp has gotten exactly what they were looking for...a VP that is going to be nearly impossible to attack, and as a woman I find it despicable that any attacks on her would be first misconstrued as sexism, why must we go to that first, she is a candidate and should be open to criticism as such.
Sad to say, although Palin's answers fell way short of what we should expect from a VP candidate, she did not make any gaffes that could be reproduced as sound bytes to support the opposition. For example, although she obviously didn't know what the Bush doctrine was, and Gibson repeatedly pressed her, she stayed on task by relentless repeating obviously rehearsed and overly general answers. She is clearly a practitioner of the old Kissinger approach to press conferences: "Do you have any questions for my answers today?" The real question is, will the American people care?
From Politico this morning and Mr. Drew Westen, among many others (http://www.politico.com/arena/):
"We’ve seen what happens when “the average person” becomes president. The world is simply too complex to do that again....[she] hasn’t even followed the news enough over the last 6 years to know what the Bush Doctrine is. It’s fine for the average person not to know, but it’s not fine for someone who could become President at any moment, any more than it’s fine for your pediatric oncologist to say, “Ah, gee whiz, I don’t read what’s in those fancy medical magazines—I just give it my all and pray a lot when I see a sick child.”
I think there are too many people who don't connect the two analogies and take these public offices (and their outlying consequences) for granted. Votes that last for years are based on sound-bites and emotions of the moment. And yet when one chooses a doctor for your child's sickness, even if it's a common cold, you think about the future, not just the here-and-now. What on earth is wrong with this picture?
Back in 1980, the Dems were saying the exact same thing about Reagan as they are saying now about Palin. Guess what? He cleaned their clock--and so will she. Get ready for President Palin in 2016, WNYC listeners.
Wow #7, please be honest! 'Fess up to what all Repubs want, President Palin '08.
Prior to the interview she linked Iraq to 9/11 (per Washington Post) at her son's deployment ceremony, just FYI.
As for the interview, she was over-prepped and under-prepared. She would spout out pre-prepared answers to some questions and was clearly flumoxed on the ones her handlers didnt coach her on.
On Sarah Palin's uncomfortable response to the question about the Bush doctrine.
That Governor Palin had to be prompted about what the Bush Doctrine is only reveals that she is acutely 'out of the loop' on even the most prominent current events. Since its articulation by President Bush after 2001, the doctrine has been discussed, and debated ad infinitum, and it represents one of the most significant and controversial shifts in US international affairs in a generation. Where has Sarah Palin been??? Can we afford another national leader who does not keep abreast of the most basic news and information?
Headline: "...and You're Suprised?"
Jenny, I think the sound bite might be "you can actually see Russia from Alaska" as if that alone confers expertise on every inhabitant of the state. What I find distressing is that over time she might ultimately master the 3 sentence answer to most of the probably questions, thereby masking her lack of depth. People say she is a "quick study" but as shc suggests, we need someone who has been paying attention to the worls for more than the last five minutes
I am an Obama supporter and contributer. From what I have seen so far, the Republicans have indeed found their new Ronald Reagan -- affable, shallow and far right. I think she will win it for McCain and become the next president.
It's an embarrassment that Palin is even considered for Vice-President.
It's a disgrace.
As for Regan? He was one of the top five WORST presidents this country has ever seen. W being #1.
I'm afraid McCain will win which will be a VERY sad day in this country!
.
She came across as cocky and combative.
I was stricken by her lack of knowledge of the Bush Doctrine. It isn't as if it were just some vague over-arching concept, or Bush's "world view," as she said attempting to get Gibson to give her the definition she lacked. This is now, much to our detriment, our national defense policy. She should know it.
She appeared to contradict herself on the "Mission from God" issue, especially in light of the fact we have her sermon on video.
And I am still wondering why it was deemed appropriate for those running the Alaskan ceremony sending off the troops deploying to Iraq to request only those supporting McCain-Palin attend. Requesting those who support a different ticket to stay away from an event to support the troops is petty and disrespectful.
Democrats should resist the temptation to overly criticize Governor Palin...a tactic which will only backfire. She is patently underqualified, a fact which will surely become obvious to even the most benighted among us in the electorate.
If republicans really care about us being at war, they should arrest McCain for treason. Palin is in so far over her head it would be funny, except we are talking about the real world.
Headline should be: PALIN DOESN'T KNOW BUSH DOCTRINE, BUT NEITHER DOES GIBSON.
From Think Progress:
While Gibson did not get the Bush Doctrine wholly correct, he was at least on the right track. In fact, the Bush Doctrine is predicated on “preventive war” not “preemptive war” — a sharp distinction in which the former justifies launching war in an attempt to “prevent” a threat from emerging (i.e. the Iraq war), while in the latter case, the threat has already materialized.
I didn't see the whole interview, but did see some long clips. She didn't seem to have a good handle on policy.
But I don't think Americans are really concerned about policy. She is like them, has flaws like them, and so enough will vote for her for McCain to win.
Had Gibson hammered her hard on her lack of knowledge, he would have been pilloried for picking on her.
Exactly: "mission we're on is reform of this country." Talk about a vague generality. What exactly does that mean? Somehow, given her radical politics, I don't think it involves only Washington DC.
If John McCain wins I have three words for him-
Betsy McCalley(sp)Ross.
I don't think I want a woman who is so sure of her own salvation to have her finger on the nuclear button. I would feel a lot safer if my potential President had more doubts and were not anxious to enter the hereafter.
The Obama campaign looks like the Hillary Clinton Campaign when he (Obama) grabbed the media spotlight. Charlie Gibson is not ready to be interviewing any candidate - go back to a morning show Charlie!
Like Hulkamania back in the day, Palin Derangement Syndrom is runnin' wild! Keep it up, by all means, keep it up.
We non-lefties are laughing ourselves silly every day at the left's antics. I'm not a McCain fan but at the rate you are all going, you're going to lose control of Congress and the White House. They better close the bridges on November 5. You guys are a riot; please keep it up, no matter what. I'm having way too much fun.
The Dems need to get off (as tempting as it might be) focusing on Palin and McCain when the strongest arguement for a change in Washington is the Republican record over the past nearly 8 years of power and the current mess with the economy. The more attention they give Palin the more it helps the Republicans. It's like the BMW commercial for their "new" used cars where the wife of the buyer after her husband has told her it's a reconditioned used car says, "Look at it, it's a new car!!" The Rep. candidates are not "a new car!!"
I'm very disappointed in Obama for not being able to grab the headlines and the conversation back from McCain/Palin. Since the McCain announcement of Palin, they stepped on Obama's bounce from his convention, and have dominated the news ever since.
#7 RadRepub
Ronald Reagan served 2 full terms as Governor of California and had run for President twice(1968 and 1976) before winning in 1980.
Your comparison of Palin to Reagan is simply ridiculous
As a "reformer" she's peachy keen. But take her act beyond our borders into a dangerous world and she reinforced last night that she would be a disaster. After eight years of living with the calamities caused by an ignorant president, we are now asked to accept an ignorant POTENTIAL president. Unacceptable.
Now that the governor of Alaska has received her 15 minutes, it's time for the Dems (and the media, if those who run vapid garbage for ratings have any integrity left) to turn the attention back to McCain. He was vulnerable before the Palin farce began, and he is just as vulnerable now. Go get him, Barack. The future of the country depends on it.
Palin will be very comfortable meeting with foreign leaders because she speaks in tongues.
it seems the gop's media experience from last night was unpleasntly parallel in their inability to answer the question asked.
as "experienced" as they are or aren't, they clearly are not ready for answering tough questions from moderators/reporters, and obviously are not ready for the tough issues the oval office would present.
will it matter to their supporters? not at all, unfortunately. hopefully it will matter greatly to those who are on the fence.
"Big fat resume"...ughh......I understand her folksy appeal. I understand that many people connect with her personal story. But if I was picking a heart surgeon I could care less about the personal narrative. I would pick someone who knew what the heck they were talking about. Why is the bar so much lower for (potentially) the Presidency?
Not quite sure how to attach links, but here goes.
Links to the Palin interview
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=5783816
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=5782873
Why is that only gaffes should define whether or not someone is qualified to be president?
Can't we all look past the superficial and get on with the analysis of their real qualifications?
People like her because they feel she is not superior to them. Her gaffes will only endear her more to her supporters. Criticizing her for them will only mobilize her supporters more. they don't know the bush doctrine either.
There is a difference between spouting facts and having good judgment. Her ultimate answer to the Bush Doctrine question was excellent.
Charlie gibson: Gotcha!
ABC heavily edited the interview of Sarah Palin by Charlie Gibson with "60 Minute" style cuts.
She still came off pretty well despite the "editing".
I watched some of the interview of Palin, and the thought that keeps coming back to me, is that Palin is woefully underqualified for this job, and few, if any, are talking about that.
People are talking about her personality, her ability to handle an interview or give a speech, but what about her ability to govern? I just think people are overlooking the obvious, that she is incompetent for the VP job, let alone the presidency. Could you imagine what someone with no foreign policy experience would do running our country?
In the private sector, she is the equivalent of a young person with a few years of experience saying they could be a vice president of an entire division. This resume would be thrown out, let alone given an interview.
I admire her gumption, but running the country is a lot more important than a personality or popularity contest.
I hope we wise up in time for the election!
Sarah Palin is a GIANT DISTRACTION!!!! That is the ONLY thing going on here. She represents no new policy initiatives that will in any way change the live of Americans, she is just a personality -- to use McCain's construction, a celebrity and nothing else. Every minute we spend talking about her is time we are not spending talking about McCain's policies vs. Obama's policies. The McCain campaign loves this because they don't have to talk about the last 8 years or their terrible policy proposals.
Defining gaffe as just a word or phrase or some piece of fact and then judging her total performance on that is low bar indeed. How about evaluating her total performance -- how she answered the questions, what she said and what it tells us about her. Mostly she speaks in platitudes and "sound bites" targeted at her conservative constituency.
on the question of whether previous VP candidates have met with foreign leaders: Time reports that ABC news fact checkers found the claim false. Here's a link (unfortunately the link to the ABC news report isn't active):
http://thepage.time.com/2008/09/12/morning-show-summary-97/
Palin - Featherweight is right. Where is the heft? Why not the smartest and the brightest. She seems like a nice person and a well meaning person but God forbid she becomes the most powerful political leader in the world. She's just not qualified, plain and simple. Its obvious. Yes, I'm an Obama supporter and I have confidence that what Barack doesn't know he will learn and fast because, damn it, he's just bright and smart as a whip. Why are we so suspicious of bright, intelligent people?
I would so love to hear Brian interview Palin!
It's clear she's unqualified. We get it. The bigger issue at hand today is what is Obama's camp going to do now to get the spotlight back on Obama and Biden?
The democrats need to master the art of staying in the spotlight and not take for granted that the general public is intelligent enough to see through the lies pouring out from the other side.
Palin came off as both naive and hawkish. Sure, Steve Schmidt prepped her and she seemed to do an okay job of memorizing her answers, but saber rattling at Russia? She would have us fight on three fronts-- Iraq, Afghanistan, and with Russia?
And, her foreign policy experience includes the fact that you can "see" a part of Russia from Alaska?
It might do well as an SNL skit, but the joke is totally on the American public.
Her interview footage was awkward from the technical point of views. It looks like that the cheif editor for the show edited unfavorable parts of her interviews.
If the new Republican line is "reform and victory", why aren't we talking about Gen. Petraeus' assertion that he will never declare 'victory' in Iraq? Please see BBC article
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7610405.stm
Thanks.
Well she seems to be handled very well. She learns fast. Lets be real though she just got her passport last year.
It is dangerous to reelect Republicans again to the White House as they have NO solutions or ideas for addressing the SERIOUS problems this country is facing - especially with our economic collapse and the destruction of our military capabilities.
McCain and Palin are arrogant and are liers
Everything makes since now... 5 undergrad schools in 4 years?
I'm curious as to why "gaffe's" are relevant? Why support soundbyte-politiking instead of listening to, in this case, the hollowness of the interview?
An embarrassingly empty interview seemingly read from cliff notes on the back of Palin's hand.
Hello, It is clear that Sarah Palin was briefed to answer with key words and with confidence and body language. It is clear that she does not have a grasp of the issues and leads with her feisty attitude. The McCain campaign is relying on the stupidity of the American electorate to ignore her responses and stances on the issues, and rather to react to her demeanor and style. Politics as usual. Geoffrey, Chelsea, NYC
I loathe Sarah Palin, but I think her asking Charlie Gibson for a clarification of the "Bush Doctrine" question was the correct, intelligent response. It was a ridiculously vague question.
The more she speaks on her own (which won’t be much) the more she will demonstrate that she is lacking in specific ideas, nuance, a well cultivated worldview or the required intellect to be, not only VP, but a “heartbeat” away from the presidency in the midst of two wars and an ailing economy.
When coupled with the blind enthusiasm of her party whenever she achieves the bare minimum in a speech or an interview, the pathetic nature of her party is further exposed.
Due to this desperate attempt by the clueless GOP to energize themselves, Palin has been recklessly and awkwardly thrust forward prematurely joining Ronald Reagan as not only one of the most popular republicans ever but as one of the most overrated people in this nation’s history.
Would anyone like to comment on Biden's admission that Hillary should have been the VP nominee? Sorry to touch upon a sore subject but this Palin bashing in light of your own side's total ineptness is just too much. I'm busting a gut reading this stuff! You guys are a great pick-me-up.
We cannot afford to have an 'Average every-day' person who is NOT inquisitive be leading this country
An awful fact of life ...
Most Americans know no more about foreign issues that Palin does, so even if she screws up royally, most won't even know.
If and when she does screw up, those who catch the error ... such as the media ... will be ignored, or even ridiculed ... making her rabid following even MORE rabid.
Machiavelli would be proud.
Even more worrying than her lack of knowledge about the Bush doctrine was her sabre rattling at Russia. She pretty much threatened to attack Russia. And also claimed incorrectly, that Russia attacked Georgia unprovoked.
Also - do you really think she even knows where Pakistan is? I highly doubt it. And I bet if you asked her the nuances of Pakistan's politics she'd be completely clueless. And we're putting her in the White House.
GREAT!
Has our political life become so degraded that a candidate demonstrates her fitness for the nation's highest office by memorizing sound-bites and reading a speech? Saying "Palin seemed confident" buys into this absurdity. Who cares if she feels she's "ready"?
Two thngs:
1) Does the media know that there is a Democratic vice presidential candidate? I'd like to see Joe Biden interviewed and given the same amount of "screentime" as Palin. A lot of people around the country still don't know him, and it's a disservice to NOT give him the same attention.
2) The voters can't let the McCain campaign get away with only letting Palin do select interviews in safe situation with safe interviewers. If she can't get out there and speak about issues without a script or without being packaged in a certain way, then she is proving she is not qualified. Either get out there and mix it up with the guys, or forget every getting my vote.
The world is falling apart and our answer is Palin... My 13 yr old son could have had a better interview..
We will be going to war again and next we will have the DRAFT!
The problem with us is that even if destruction is staring us in our face we will vote for it because we are very prejudice...
WAKE UP AMERICA!... (I am looking to buy land in another country).
just to folllow up--
we are a nation that has become accustomed to having very imperfect leaders and celebrities. they all behave badly and they are not people we look up to or admire. we wouldn't know what to qualify with a well-educated person with impeccable credentials. It's been 20 years or so that we've wanted our president to be like our neighbor. JFK would never have gotten elected today.
She's not going to govern on the Bush doctrine, she's going to govern on her own much more religious doctrine and a more creepy and freaky one. Beware. I've warned you now and, yes, "mark my words" if this person becomes involved in the next administration it will be a sad affair. Sometimes I think "these people" are actually trying to bring about Armagedon! Frightening, really frightening.
Is there a Democratic ticket in this race? If you were to judge purely on how the news media is covering it (including WNYC) it would be difficult to believe there is.
So what do you think would happen is Palins son was injured on the battlefield over the next 60 days.
Sympathy vote?
Kind of sad that much of the measure (by some commentators) of Palin's first interview is whether she made any serious gaffes. Is not failing, considered success? The bar is way too low here folks. How about some qualifications or at the very least knowledge of the substantive issues. I was stunned that she didn't know what the Bush Doctrine even was...
I really wish that someone in the media would confront Palin or anyone in the McCain campaign about the current crop of McCain ads, which are so misleading and dishonest. McCain's answer to this seem to be that campaigns are "rough," but the question remains: if you are willing to flood the airwaves with blatant lies and misinformation to win a campaign, what would you, once elected, to lead the nation in the direction you wanted. Given the lies of the Bush administration that lead us into the Iraq war, I feel this issue is central.
Well frankly Charles Gibson should be selling hot dogs on a street corner. I can not take that man seriously as a journalist. Come to think of it there aren't very many "journalists" around today that I can take seriously but this guy is about the worst...well tied with Blitzer.
I think this is the best example yet that Americans are too stupid to employ democracy in their own best interests. Only in the US can a woman who has never traveled, who is modestly educated, and who has no significant foreign policy, economic, or social policy experience to speak of be considered a candidate to be a fickle 75 year old heart's beat away from leader of the free world. If you were to ask a McCain/Palin supporter why they think Palin's a good VP candidate they'd tell you things like "she's a fighter,'' or "she's tough," or "she knows what working mothers go through." What does that have to do with the position of VP? Isn't "tough" what got us into Iraq?
It's amazing that the discourse is more concerned with Moose hunting, lipstick, and feigned victimization than with the very real pressing issues facing the country. That's not a mistake. It's chapter one of the GOP playbook and it works. It works because democracy is only as effective as the people employing it.
It seems to me that the underlying message of Palin's nomination is that the issues confronting the US are perhaps not so difficult after all: if we just elect McCain as "Father Knows Best" in chief, and Sarah Palin as our hockey mom, our new parents will take care of us all with nothing more nuanced than small town common sense.
You either acknowledge that our problems are more complicated than that, and are terrified of Palin, or you hold to the narrative, and rejoice in her "plainspokeness".
Give her a chance? She is not running for the PTA. This is someone that might be the "Leader of the Free World".
Caller Olivia_ give her a chance?...what elect her and see how she does?...Let her join the fray for 4 years and see wheres she's at after that.
Wow you knocked the lady because she has an accent!
Look in the mirror before you speak
re the bush doctrine, she did more to align the mccain/palin ticket with bush than to show a real point of departure from bush's brand of dangerous swagger...therefore, more of the same. this is change?
Why is it that male candidates, media personnel, etc. are always referred to by their last name, while their female counterparts are always referred to by their first names?
I think we are giving her way to credit. What I saw was that she did not have a grasp of any of the issues - not one. I do not want to just give her a chance. In comparison, seeing Biden on Meet the Press, he had a complete grasp and new every aspect of the issues. So it did not matter what she said, she did not even know what she was saying...
Joe Biden was being gracious. He was responding to someone in his audience who expressed delight that Obama chose him instead of Hillary, and he set that person straight with a nice, honest bit of humility. Hillary is terrific. She is qualified. Maybe even more than I am. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT????
Is our political culture so grotesque that a decent comment gets trashed as some have done????
WOW! She can actually see Russia. Do you have to stand on your toes or is it that clear to us all?
I watched part of the interview (I'm sure it was heavily edited) on "Nightline." Charlie Gibson looked as thought he was trying to be fair but to hold her to the questions. He found himself restating questions because she did not seem to understand the initial questions. She looked like an 8th grader - honestly, it felt as though she had dry mounth and was trying to just get through it without screwing up.
However, I remember Dan Quayle, who looked completely incompetent and yet we ended up with that ticket winning.
She's so incredibly unqualified it's scary. If Mcain gets elected, we'll all have to pray hard for his good health. Maybe that's why he selected her as his Veep.
Shocking that you're being an apologist for Palin's "Bush Doctrine" answer.
Gibson followed up with the direct question -- "What do you interpret the Bush Doctrine to be?" -- and SHE HAD NO IDEA!
i'd like to hear how her her deep religious beliefs and her literal interpretation of the Bible informs her political decision-making? thank you. dr. sandra mann
As journalist you should be critical and prosecutorial. Let Rachel Ray and the ladies of the View treat their guest with difference.
Golly Gee!!
You can actually see Russia from Alaska.
What amazing, fascinating insight from Sarah Palin.
Another Palin defense from a Palin-hater: she was pretty clearly praying that the war was a just one. Abraham Lincoln said the same thing: "Don't pray that God's on our side; pray that we're on God's side." (or something to that effect)
I was concerned when Palin equated "energy" with "national security". Seems very simplistic, and lacking experience.
Also, she described her task from God statement, as having been used by Lincoln. Is this correct (about having been used by Lincoln)?
sarah came off as a well prepared beauty queen finalist. she can string together meaningless platitudes with the best.
This is what happens when news turns into entertainment. We're so used to Baba Wawa's touchy feely, tell me tragic story, everyone crying together interviews. Or Oprah -- setting people up as saints and giving everyone a car. Any time the ultra polite reporters on NPR's news shows even get close to a tough question, the angry letters come in "how dare you badger that nice person!" We have no idea what political discourse is anymore. Just listen to the BBC for an idea of how it might be -- but never will.
What has changed since the culture wars of the 90s? George Bush. Can we, as a nation, continue to be persuaded by close-minded religious ideology that dismisses intellectual discourse and critical thinking? It's an open question.
So much to say, so little time...
My main broad brush concern is this idea of treating her with deference...is she counting on the tyrants of the world to treat her such?
If she is so smart, tough and ready for prime time then let her do real interviews and stop hiding
Also, and while I don't think candidates kids should be involved and attacked it occurs to me that if Chelsea Clinton got knocked up we would be hearing about the end of the world and those decrepit democratic values
Here is the text of the "mission from God" quote. It is ambigious. Brian is right that she seems to be saying that she hopes that the mission is from God, but because of the tortured sentence construction it all hangs on one (misplaced) word: "that." So I guess it depends on the meaning of "that."
“Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending them out on a task that is from God.“
It's a shame litte or no distinction is made between a person who is, though undistinguished in diplomas, high social standing or personal wealth---the usual measures by which Americans deem a candidate for the presidency qualified---and, on the other hand, a person who is not only undistinguished in the ways just mentioned but also one who, by intellectual breadth and depth, as far as we can judge that from objective and subjective indications, simply lacks keen insight, broad knowledge and much-better-than-average understanding of people, of life's urgent social and political dilemmas and of the great issues of nation and international affairs.
Thanks for covering the Palin interview, but I hope now the media attention can turn back to the real issue, the real race, Obama vs. McCain, not Palin. The Republicans want all the attention to be focused on the VP nominee because they're Presidential nominee was losing.
Keep in mind: While Ms. Palin may have crossed the aisle to be effective as governor, she would NOT have this opportunity for flexibility as vice president, whose job in the modern era is to support the president's agenda.
Charlie Gibson was a model of fairness and objectivity. He showed the proper degree of respect for Palin.
The notion that he was too prosecutorial or adversarial is absurd.
Gibson showed Palin every courtesy she was entitled to and never badgered or bullied her.
Another WARMONGER! We will be going but this time the DRAFT is a must!
it's something of a stretch to compare the sheer idiocy of palin's "you can see it from here" comment with gibson's "task from god" question. it also seems as though people are really desperate to give palin the benefit of the doubt on this. i've heard the quote a bunch of times now and it is what it is. if it is what her defenders are saying then does that mean the war ISN'T worth fighting if it's NOT a task from god?
Brian: Your comment that Sarah's quote about her talk in her church about Iraq "being a task from God" taken out of context misses several points. First, the US military had to change the name of its mission--infinite justice-- because implying that this war had any religious character is very dangerous. Secondly, she also said in that same church talk to pray that the Alaska pipeline was also part of god's portfolio. Finally her religion does put a very strong emphasis on humans having limited agency against god's plans.
Referring to the war in Iraq, Sarah Palin said, 'pray for God's will,' as all Christians would (I am Christian and oppose this war), about all things. But at her son's and others' Iraq deployment ceremony, she specifically told them they'd be fighting 'the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans.' That DOES sound like Bush and is alone enough to worry about.
What about Biden, folks?
(part two) your character limit is too LOW!!!
A person of the former kind, but possessing all this: keen insight, broad knowledge and much-better-than-average understanding of people, of life's urgent social and political dilemmas and of the great issues of nation and international affairs, is one well-deserving of the public's most serious consideration as a candidate for the presidency.
A person of the latter, one who is lacking in all this: keen insight, broad knowledge and much-better-than-average understanding of people, of life's urgent social and political dilemmas and of the great issues of nation and international affairs, is neither well-qualified nor deserving of the same serious consideration.
Americans have only just endured more than seven years under the administration of a president who is manifestly unqualified to hold that office and who has amply demonstrated that fact by the disastrous record he has produced.
(more)
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