Politics

She Did No Harm

I don’t know anyone who had high expectations of Sarah Palin going into tonight’s vice-presidential debate. Her speech at the Republican convention was a real barn-burner, but it’s been downhill since then. Her interview with Charlie Gibson was terrible. Her interview with Katie Couric was even worse.

But tonight, Governor Palin exceeded expectations. She held her own (in complete, intelligible sentences), and she did no harm to the McCain campaign. In fact, if I had to pick a winner, I would say that Palin came out on top. In the final analysis, however, I think this debate will be seen as fairly inconsequential. Senator Obama is leading this race, and nothing happened tonight that will change this fact.

One item of note. Hot-button cultural issues took a backseat throughout the evening. They did not interact on abortion at all. The discussion of same-sex marriage was minimal, and the differences between the candidates on this issue were not brought into plain view.

If you missed the debate, you can read the transcript here.

69 Comments

  • John

    I agree that she did no harm to the campaign on account of the debate tonight. I don’t know if I would say she was the “winner” but I definitely think she exceeded low expectations. In my mind, Biden seemed much more knowledgeable and articulate, but that’s to be expected I assume. I was surprised they didn’t mention many hot-button cultural issues as well, something I assume many aren’t happy about.

  • Tim Young

    As someone who have never seen Palin live, I thought she got rinsed by Biden. She is clearly so out of her depth that at times I felt sorry for her.

    I was surprised when all the commentators afterwards were saying how great she did and I thought I must have been watching another debate. But then again, I never had any expectations of her.

  • Mark Gibson

    I think she did well. I also strongly doubt that cultural issues will decide who wins. The election depends on who wins the debate on the economy. Sadly, McCain and Palin missed major opportunities to make their case during their respective debates.

  • Anonymous

    She’s either a compulsive liar, or still too uninformed of reality that she can’t speak the truth. Either way, evangelicals should be appalled at this one. Biden did NOT support McCain’s view on the war up to being chosen as VP for Obama; during her tenure as Mayor, her town’s debt went from $0 to $19 million; she did NOT oppose the Bridge to Nowhere, etc. Are we really supposed to take her seriously? The scariest reality is this: not that she doesn’t have answers (though that is awful enough), but that she doesn’t even know the questions. She doesn’t even understand how the VP works; if she thinks the VP should have MORE control over the Senate, she’s on crack. And that someone who would be part of the Executive Branch of Govt cannot name any significant ruling of the Judicial Branch is unbelievable. It is an outrage that she could be leader of the free world; and many people, because of social issues, are buying into this nonsense. Only in politics would America accept someone so incompetent and unqualified. Utter nonsense.

  • Don

    As the president of the Senate, the VP has at least the same power as any Senator, as the VP gets to vote ONLY and EXACTLY when it counts. If the vote does not matter, the VP does not even need to vote. So it is easiest to think of the VP as having a vote and there being 101 Senators.

    But the VP has more power than just a normal Senator, in presiding over the Senate.

    Any everyone knows that the VP can step in as prez when the prez is incapacitated or dies; so there is power in the possibility of power.

    Doing a political favor for the VP has the potential to pay back a lot. And that is the way Congress actually works, by trading favors.

  • Brandon

    Good call Don.

    Here’s a quote from Biden:

    “Vice President Cheney has been the most dangerous vice president we’ve had probably in American history. The idea he doesn’t realize that Article I of the Constitution defines the role of the vice president of the United States, that’s the Executive Branch. He works in the Executive Branch. He should understand that. Everyone should understand that.”

    Everyone should understand that Article 1 deals with the legislative branch, and states, “The Vice President… shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.”

  • Lance

    I only saw the first 3/4 of the debate and was hoping that Palin would do well.

    I thought, though, that she seemed uncomfortable. Her sentences were choppy, whereas Biden (as much as I disdain saying this) seemed much more articulate and detailed in his answers.

    I still can’t figure out why McCain and Palin have not pointed out Obama’s obvious and irresponsible involvement in the subprime fiasco, including his participation in lawsuits against banks who wanted to avoid high-risk loans, and that former Fannie and Freddie folks are advising his economic views.

  • Mark Gibson

    I doubt anyone in the media will call him out on this. No one called out Biden on his comments about FDR addressing the nation on television after the stock market crashed in 1929. Katie Couric just stayed silent.

  • Truth Unites... and Divides

    I doubt anyone in the media will call him out on this.

    I agree. The liberal meanstream media is in the tank for secular liberalism and for liberal politicians.

  • Mark Gibson

    A couple of funny things I picked up on during the debate:

    1. Joe Biden called Bosnians, Bosniacs.
    2. Palin pronounces nuclear like President Bush.

  • Steve

    I don’t know why everybody is so up in arms over finding the person “most qualified.” We have made politics a profession rather than a short term occupation as was intended by our nation-building forebears.

    I don’t like career politicians, lobbyists, the two-party system, or the prostitution of our checks-and-balances system. I don’t care how much experience they have if they don’t believe the same things I do. Although, I don’t see anyone in Washington who believes as I do. Really I was hoping Condi would run. I would have voted for her in a heart-beat.

  • Tim Young

    Steve, would you hire a plumber who is not qualified but believe the same thing as you do?

    The main job of a leader of a country is running the economy especially now. McCain does not have any understanding of economics nor his foolish sidekick. The only thing he knows is cut tax and deregulate but everything else he is clueless.

  • Mark Gibson

    I think the problem is with too many politicians running the economy. This is what has caused our current economic situation.

    I like that McCain and Palin are running on lower taxes and lower spending. The problem with Washington is that lower spending means a cut in spending growth. I want to see the 2009 budget actually be lower than the 2008 budget.

  • Paul

    Mark,

    the problem is that everyone wants to talk about lower taxes, but no one realizes what that really means.

    Sure, you can lower my income tax, but the government still needs money. It needs money for completely reasonable things, and unfortunately, it spends money on completely unreasonable things. Without getting into those reasonable vs. unreasonable things, one important question remains:

    how do we pay for the things we’re already paying for?

    And another:

    what do we cut?

    If income taxes don’t go up, others will. Property taxes jump. Sales taxes jump. Business taxes go up. Fees, and bureaucratic red tape start appearing in order to sneak money into the coffers.

    I wouldn’t dare say that it’s “patriotic” to pay taxes.

    However, I will say this: every last person that thinks that our personal income taxes are so enormous needs to look at what they take from the government before they go calling for massive cuts in the budget. If every American did THAT, there would be very little of this silly talk about how we need to lower taxes.

    That said, both of these moronic candidates are talking about tax cuts instead of real relief for Americans. And before anyone tells me that lower taxes ARE real relief for Americans, you’ll need to remember two things…

    1) under McCain’s plan, families making under $100K/year would benefit to the tune of about $19/year. And that doesn’t even take into account the idea of taxing health benefits as income, which would end up with most families then owing on an extra $10-20K/year worth of income.

    2) even under Obama’s plan that would offer much more tax relief to families under $100K, and SOME tax relief to families under $250K, how much does that help a family when it’s spread over 12, 26 or 52 paychecks? That $1100 in tax relief ends up being about $50 per paycheck for most Americans.

    Yeah, Obama and McCain, you really saved us this time!

  • Brittany

    Is “doing no harm” the equivalent of “coming out on top”?

    As for the VP debate, it’s about Cheney’s comments about expanding the role that the VP plays in govt. Biden did not deny that the VP “presides” over the Senate (if by “presiding,” you man casting a vote in the event of a tie), but rather that s/he has no part in actively shaping legislation (since it is outside the realm of the executive office).

  • Don

    Presiding means the VP has the gavel. Voting in a tie is equal to voting all the time, as a tie is the only time it counts. The VP has more power than any Senator and is a heart beat away from the Prez.

  • Mark Gibson

    Hey Paul,

    I decided to look up our 2008 federal budget and found this study done by the Heritage Foundation. Check out page 11 http://www.heritage.org/Research/Taxes/upload/FederalSpendingByTheNumbers2008.pdf I think it is a good list of wasteful spending.

    Lower tax rates have always resulted in increased tax revenue because of greater economic growth. We’ve had this discussion before. I don’t know if you ever saw my response when you asked me to show proof. If you didn’t see it, then I’ll try to find it.

    “If income taxes don’t go up, others will. Property taxes jump. Sales taxes jump. Business taxes go up. Fees, and bureaucratic red tape start appearing in order to sneak money into the coffers.”

    This is the whole problem.

    When Obama/Biden talk about tax relief for all Americans, I’m always amazed that they hate George W. Bush. George Bush knocked millions of taxpayers off of the tax rolls. He also added the Earned Income Tax Credit. You would think that they would love this.

    McCain would also give a $5k tax credit to offset any of those increases.

  • Paul

    Mark,

    I understand where you’re coming from with the lowered taxes = greater revenue argument, so I won’t go there.

    As for the EIC, I remember that being around well before Bush.

    However, your last comment deserves a mention:

    “McCain would also give a $5k tax credit to offset any of those increases.” (assuming you’re talking about health care here)

    If that’s per person, then right on. Even I’ll vote for McCain.

    Problem is, it’s not. It’s per household.

    Now, show me a worthwhile health insurance program that a family can pick off for only $5K per year.

    Won’t happen.

    So, no matter what, you’re looking at a net increase of $5K-$15K per year per household under McCain’s current proposal.

    There goes my $19 in tax relief I was going to get under McCain’s plan.

    Thanks Republicans!

  • Mark Gibson

    Paul,

    The EITC has been around since 1975. It has also been increased by GWB. GWB also included non-taxpayers in the economic stimulus package. They received tax refunds without paying taxes.

    The McCain tax credit would be $5,000 for families and $2,500 for individuals. He would tax the employer paid benefits at the individual’s tax rate. The $5k credit offsets any tax increase. The money left over goes into a Health Savings Account.

    As for the uninsured, maybe the $5k will make it affordable. It’s better than nothing.

    I know your heart is in the right place with making healthcare available for all through government, but it isn’t affordable and can’t be sustained forever. Just look at the problems with social security.

  • Paul

    Darius,

    $5K would cover either a plan full of holes, or a comprehensive plan with a high deductible. If you don’t have anything, you’re right, it’s fantastic.

    But, for practically anyone that DOES have employer funded health insurance? You’re looking at a tax increase of up to $15K if you’re dealing with family coverage.

    And who is going to feel that pinch the most?

    The middle class.

    And Mark, as for this…

    “I know your heart is in the right place with making healthcare available for all through government, but it isn’t affordable and can’t be sustained forever. Just look at the problems with social security.”

    allow me to put palm to face for a moment here…

    okay.

    I’ve said it a million times here, I don’t want to see the Canada/France/England model of “socialized” medicine. I think that any politician that doesn’t look towards the German/Swiss model of health care is a loon. What they did was force the health insurers to become non-profits and cap the co-pays. Is it the favorite situation of the insurance industry? No. But people keep their favorite doctors, and they get in to see their doctors when they need to see them.

    But then you’d have unhappy shareholders, and you can’t have that. So, instead, the republicans keep praying at the alter of big business, and the democrats think it’s even smarter just to put them out of business altogether.

    This country is made up of idiots.

  • Tim Young

    People seem to be missing the point. It is not about debating little policy points, it is about the character of the president and leader of the most powerful nation in the world.

    There are very many great presidents like Theodore Roosevelt, Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt.. now guys like Dubya and McCain appears. What happened? I wonder if it is systematic of the age where American Idol exist..

  • Brittany

    Policy points aren’t indicative of character? I’m less concerned about “character” (something we don’t get a clear picture of through the lens of the mainstream media, on either side, and the concept is kind of vague anyway) than about what practical changes will affect the daily lives of Americans.

    Voting in a tie is not the same as voting all the time (without it counting); according the the Constitution, the VP “shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be evenly divided” (Article I, section 3; emphasis mine). If it doesn’t count, it doesn’t exist. The President of the Senate is a largely ceremonial office.

    The VP office exists primarily (in this day and age, I mean) as a talking head, a fighter for their candidate, and a way to shore up their candidate’s policy or experience weaknesses. They do not play an active role in legislation and are not more powerful than senators. Congress has much more “hands on” power in actively and practically shaping policy matters and amending the Constitution. Being a “heartbeat away from the presidency” does not give the office of the VP any more power or leeway, which is the issue we’re discussing.

  • Brittany

    Sorry, commenting again. While I don’t think that McCain’s tax credit is a bad idea – and neither is allowing companies to sell across state lines to increase competition – there are troublesome aspects to it. It will be paid for through by making the employer tax credit voluntary (companies offering health care plans receive a tax credit), which means that businesses may likely drop many health-care plans for their “lower”-level, expendable, full-time employees, who will hurt the most. Also, the average health-care plan for a family of four is almost $13,000 a year; $5,000 does help, but not to the necessary extent for lower-income families.

  • Mark Gibson

    Paul,

    It is not an increase of $15k in taxes but an increase of $15k in taxable income. There is a huge difference. If the family is in the 10% bracket, they will have a $3,500 net gain. In the 15% bracket, they will have a $2,750 net gain.

    Switching to the German/Swiss model is still moving towards socialized healthcare. I guess my argument is actually pointless since we have been on the move toward socialized medicine since LBJ’s tenure. I’ve been trying to find historical healthcare expenditures but can’t. Maybe you can help me out with this.

  • Tim Young

    Thanks for the tip Brittany. If anything my political leaning is towards the right and I do believe in less taxes… but I do not understand how McCain came to be in the running to become President. He is not very bright (and I recalled he came 894 out of 899) and have anger problems.

    The way he has acted in the last two debates is despicable.

    He is not an exceptional character or even an average one. How did the Republican party choose him to run? He is dubya mk2. Actually, worse even worse than him.

  • Darius

    Tim, let me clarify. You said that a president is good or bad according to character. And from what I have seen, Bush has some outstanding character. As leader, he’s made some poor decisions or mistakes which I haven’t agree with, which means I rank him in the top 20 of presidents. As a man with character, he ranks probably in the top 5 for me. Say what you will about his policies, but his intentions are good and he geniunely tries to help the American people and protect them.

    As for McCain… I’m not sure about his intelligence, but you may be right, he may not be the brightest bulb. But what does that matter, at least in comparison to Obama’s worldly wisdom and smarts which will lead us downhill? I would rather have a fool who makes relatively good decisions than a genius who destroys the world with his evil policies. Regarding his character, I would challenge you to find anyone in politics today who has shown more character, especially in service to his country. Right or wrong, he has never buckled to peer pressure.

    As for how the Republican Party chose McCain, your guess is as good as mine. I was not happy with the choice, but that’s the one that is now given me. Personally, I don’t believe the Republicans gave me McCain but instead all of the independents and Democrats who were allowed to vote in many of the state Republican primaries. McCain always lost to Romney and others in every poll among conservatives and registered Republicans.

  • Tim Young

    Maybe I didn’t make clear… when I say character, what I mean is the quality of the person rather than looking at the specific policies they are in favour of at the time. Bush is not very bright with poor decisions making skills and is considered one of the worse US president of all time. He should never have been voted to become President in the first place because he does not have the skills to be a good President.

    This is similar to McCain. He came bottom of his class. A fool will not make good decisions accept by luck. Why decide to have a fool to become president??? That is what I do not get. I am not saying intelligence is everything but surely it means something? Should the President be picked from a pool of exceptional people or Mr Joe Average who is nice and have similar views to yours?

  • Darius

    Bush is reasonably bright, he goofed off and still graduated from an Ivy League school (with better grades than Mr. Kerry, in fact). He is a very persuasive speaker who struggles with certain words or phrases (like many intelligent Southerners I know). Who considers him one of the worst presidents ever?? The media, check. Liberals, check. Historians… nope. I’ve listened to or read historians who actually know what they’re talking about, and most of them agree that he is probably above average, and depending on how some of his projects work out (Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.), he may even be regarded in history as a great president. Time will tell.

    With all due respect, but if I were to judge your own intelligence based solely on your posts in this thread, I wouldn’t grade you very highly.

    decisions making skills -> decision-making skills
    worse -> worst
    “He came bottom of his class.”
    accept -> except
    have similar views -> has similar views

    I’m not pointing those out to rip on you, but just to make the point that one can be intelligent and not have a good command of the English language, either written or spoken.

  • Darius

    Rereading my comment #37, I just want to restate that it is NOT my intention to insult Tim, but merely to point out that judging one’s intelligence on their use of the English language (like he apparently does with Bush) is silly (not to mention hypocritical on Tim’s part).

  • Tim Young

    Dubya is not bright or otherwise there wouldn’t be that many websites making fun of the things he said. The fact that he went to an Ivy league is irrelevant. Anybody would be able to get in with his family connections.

    It is not his problem with language, like spelling or grammar or pronouncing the words. It is the fact that what he says does not make sense.

    Sorry but anybody who thinks Dubya is a great president is blinkered.

    Getting back to the issue tho. Do you believe Presidents should be exceptional individuals or the average joe will do as long as he has the same views as you?

  • Darius

    “Dubya is not bright or otherwise there wouldn’t be that many websites making fun of the things he said.”

    Are you serious? You base your judgment of a person’s intellect on how many websites make fun of him? You do realize that liberals call anyone stupid or an idiot if they are conservative. Now I truly have to question your intelligence. Do you know that the man flew a fighter jet (a very complex piece of equipment), something that an idiot could never do?

    “Do you believe Presidents should be exceptional individuals or the average joe will do as long as he has the same views as you?”

    It’s just a bonus if the person is eloquent and super smart. But what truly matters in my eyes and the eyes of God is making the right decisions. God chose fools in the Bible for the most important work, who am I to presume that the worldly wise are the only ones who can lead this country in the right direction?

  • Tim Young

    Are you seriously ignorant of the things he said? Google it. It is not based on how many websites make fun of him, it is based on the amount of ridiculous things he says.

    If you cannot see how bad a President Dubya has been then there really is not point talking politics with you.

    As to the bonus bit, you would have to be an exceptional individual to make the right decisions most of the time. Average joe will make average decisions most of the time. Joker.

  • Paul

    “You do realize that liberals call anyone stupid or an idiot if they are conservative.”

    Oh please. You’ll find very few liberals that are out there saying that George Will, William Buckley, Barry Goldwater and other TRUE conservatives are idiots.

    And really, you don’t see people calling Cheney an idiot, either. We just think he’s really scary.

    And I’d never doubt William Kristol’s intelligence. Simply his sanity.

  • Darius

    Oh really? They immediately called Palin a moron as soon as she joined the race. The log in the liberal elite’s eye is only obvious to everyone but liberals.

  • Darius

    Tim, it’s a bit disturbing that you have such an entrenched prejudice against people with speech impediments or just natural struggles with speaking perfect English 100% of the time.

  • Tim Young

    It is not speech impediments. It is not because he couldn’t pronounce a word or he got his words a bit mixed up. He said a lot of stupid things period.

    At the end of the day, this is going way off topic so I won’t say any more.

    Well, have seen the numbers. Look like Obama should win this election quite comfortably. Thank God.

  • Paul

    Darius in #49:

    She’s proven herself to deserve that title as well.

    If you don’t know about any other supreme court cases besides Roe V. Wade, you have no business appointing judges to the supreme court. At which point, you have no business being president.

    Seriously, if McCain wanted to add a woman to the ticket, why not Christine Todd Whitman? Why not plenty of other incredibly talented women in the GOP?

    Maybe because they’re not folksy and kinda hot?

  • Darius

    “Well, have seen the numbers. Look like Obama should win this election quite comfortably. Thank God.”

    Have you even bothered to read this blog? Obama will do a lot of evil things… it’s quite sad that you put intellect above policy.

    Paul, stop being such an elitist snob.

  • Tim Young

    Nice one Paul. Spot on.

    Darius, I haven’t read the blog at all. I wanted to make a comment after the Biden-Palin debate and this blog come up on my search.

    I am not clear on the so called evil things Obama will do. Bit of an exaggeration there? I am very scared of the things McCain will do especially his view of foreign policies. I have a feeling he would not hesitate to get into world with Russia and basically would not hesitate to get into war period. I do not have much hope of his temperament and would not trust him to have control of that big red nuclear button.

    Oh, you do need to stop putting words in my mouth and stop trying to judge me as it is not relevant. Stick to discussing the issues will you?

  • Paul

    Darius, there’s nothing elitist about it.

    If there’s one thing I HATE about conservative culture, it’s this whole lauding of ignorance that seems so rampant amongst the foot soldiers.

    Let’s face it, we’re electing someone to the highest office in the U.S., which, even in this climate, will automatically make them one of the most important people in the world.

    If you do a good job, you’ll be remembered fondly THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE WORLD (see Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, etc).

    If you do a great job, not only will you be remembered fondly, but they might just put your bust on the side of a mountain.

    I didn’t want a president who didn’t know the capital of Turkey (hi Dubya), and I certainly don’t want a president that can’t name a supreme court case from two months ago which severely and negatively affected her OWN STATE! (Exxon v. Baker)

    As I just said, if McCain really just had to play on the Hillary thing and put up a female VP, there were quite a few other women who could be counted on to win a debate without winking and not answering questions. McCain should have picked one. Heck, had he picked Whitman, I might have been compelled to vote for him.

  • Darius

    He didn’t pick her because she was a woman, but because she was an outsider and a reformer. That’s why he first looked at Jindal, who eventually took himself out of the running. He also looked at Pawlenty because he was well-liked by many in the Democrat state of Minnesota.

  • Paul

    A reformer who asks for tons of earmarks as mayor?

    A reformer who was only against one of the most ridiculous earmarks ever after it was no longer viable? That still took the money from that earmark to build a slightly less expensive road to nowhere?

    A reformer who still used political payback and loyalty oaths?

    Frankly, who cares about Washington “outsiders”? At the end of the day, you’re gonna need to know people to get stuff done, and you’re going to have to know HOW to get stuff done. Considering just how close Palin actually is to the presidency (let’s face facts here, McCain, if elected, will likely die in office or be rendered unable to hold office), it’s insane to put someone in the position of VP who can’t name a newspaper or a SC case besides RvW. Much less someone that thinks she understands Russia due to proximety.

    There’s nothing elitist about it. She’s not ready to lead this country.

    And if that makes me an elitist, then I’m in the good company of Peggy Noonan and David Brooks. Time to let that freak flag fly with Reagan’s speech writer.

  • Darius

    “let’s face facts here, McCain, if elected, will likely die in office or be rendered unable to hold office”

    This is the same stupid idea that I keep hearing. In what world is this anything but something an ignoramus would say? He’s like what, 73. As president, he will get the best care in the world. Furthermore, he appears in great health, considering the campaign schedule he keeps. A typical healthy male in his mid-70’s should live at least 10 more years, if not 20. I would be amazed if he dies before he’s 85.

    “Much less someone that thinks she understands Russia due to proximity.”

    Another stupid, ignorant statement. Read the full UNEDITED!!! transcript of that Gibson interview before you ever bring up this issue again.

  • Darius

    Hey Paul, do you know who John Paul Stevens is? He’s the 88 year old Supreme Court justice. That’s right, 88 years old. By your odd understanding of today’s life expectancies, he should have been dead at least a dozen years.

  • Paul

    “Another stupid, ignorant statement.”

    Darius shows his true colors.

    I want to like you, but then, like clockwork, instead of having interesting debate and posting a link of a full transcript, feel the need to mock.

    Well, Darius, I’m reading a full transcript now.

    And even though she did say other stuff in response to other questions, she still did have the following exchange (and this is from the unedited transcript):

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

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

    Yes, she actually said some things in that interview that were intelligent, but she also said stupid stuff like the unedited quote above.

    So, Darius, if you’re going to spout off about elitist, intellectual, terrible, no good, very bad liberals, you’d better have your facts straight.

    Now, as for more “stupid” ideas that actually hold some water, let’s look at the facts about McCain:

    1) He’s survived Melanoma how many times now? One of these days, it’s gonna come back and he’s not going to make it. That day, at this point, is likely to come sooner than later.

    2) Everyone says he’s in good shape. For someone who spent five years getting the tar kicked out of him by the North Vietnamese. The guy can’t even move his arms above his shoulders. That experience HAD to have taken years off of his life. To think that it hasn’t is foolhardy.

    3) Let’s talk about the stress of being president. Reagan looked no worse for the wear, but look at Clinton or Bush. They both look as if they aged 20 years during 8 year tenures. Do that to McCain, and you WILL kill him.

    As for JP Stevens, was he tortured for five years? Has he survived cancer multiple times? Is being a SC justice nearly as stressful as being president?

    Yeah, exactly.

  • Darius

    You’re being dishonest about what Palin said in that interview. BEFORE she said the statement you keep referring to, she said this:

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

    That set up her repetitive statement regarding the proximity of Alaska to Russia. She worded it a little poorly, but it wasn’t like she was saying that because she can see the country she knows what is going on. Stop being a typical liberal for a minute and don’t twist her words.

  • Darius

    “feel the need to mock.”

    I wasn’t mocking, I was calling out your comment as stupid and uninformed. Pretty simple, and as I have just shown, it was at least the latter.

  • Paul

    Darius in #62:

    Her statement before the infamous soundbite was an empty quote.

    Great, we’re close to Russia. We need to be buddies with our neighbors.

    But when asked to clarify the first time, her answer was still the same:

    I can see Russia from here.

    Now, when asked to clarify again, she gave another empty quote. When asked what INSIGHT she had, she said that we’re neighbors and that we need to not have another cold war.

    Nothing mis- or under- or ill-informed about it.

    Your pin-up model is a ninny.

  • Darius

    “Your pin-up model is a ninny.”

    No more so than Obama or almost any other politician on either side. That’s what I liked about Fred Thompson, he actually had a brain on his shoulders and understood the issues at a deeper level than “because my constituents want it” or “because that’s what a Republican/Democrat is supposed to support.”

  • Darius

    The biggest problem with politics today is that, by and large, it is full of very average people who know little about the worldviews that lie behind their views. Churchill was a rare politician AND philosopher. If we only had the Buckleys or Dalrymples of the world actually running for office…

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