Palin Explains What Parts Of Country Not "Pro-America"

The McCain campaign is seeking to clarify a remark reported from a Sarah Palin fundraiser in North Carolina yesterday in which the Alaska Governor declared that she loved to visit the "pro-America" areas of the country -- implying, implicitly, that there were some parts of the United States she viewed as not pro-America.

The reporter who broke the story, the Washington Post's Juliet Eilperin, sends over the following, extended quote from a more detailed version of the pool report.

"We believe that the best of America is not all in Washington, D.C. We believe" -- here the audience interrupted Palin with applause and cheers -- "We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation. This is where we find the kindness and the goodness and the courage of everyday Americans. Those who are running our factories and teaching our kids and growing our food and are fighting our wars for us. Those who are protecting us in uniform. Those who are protecting the virtues of freedom."

Not sure how much this helps Palin out. Is the VP candidate saying that small towns are more authentically American than, say, suburbia or cities?

As Eilperin writes: "The upshot? Washington D.C. is neither 'real America' or 'pro-America.' Other parts of the nation? It's unclear, but if you live in a small town, you're probably patriotic from Palin's point of view."

Comments

[AZ1]

What the media will not show you:

Video footage shows AIP Vice Chairman Dexter Clark describing Palin at the Oct 3-4 2007 American Secessionist Convention in Chattanooga, TN. "she was a AIP member before she got the job as a mayor of a small town -- that was a nonpartisan job. But you get along to go along. She eventually joined the Republican Party, where she had all kinds of problems with their ethics, and well, I won't go into that."
"she is pretty well sympathetic because of her former membership"


Sarah Palin, Dexter Clark AIP Vice Chairman secret video footage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twOPPzrkBwk

[krabby]

I think that this is mostly a non-issue, and in context not all that bad. Just another silly statement by a silly candidate. Isn't all of America the "real America"?

[frantaylor]

Why do you hate democracy?

[sclucie]

yes.

[collprof]

She is neither a real mother. Would any mother exploit the pregnancy of her teenage daughter and in fact make an historical first. The first presidential campaign featuring a shotgun wedding.

She's had her 15 minutes and now, hopefully, in 15 days she goes back to either impeachment, censure, or recall.

[jcsophie]

Something tells me that you are clueless as to what it takes to be a real mother.

[Aimleft]

Oh, so YOU'VE cornered the market on what it takes to be a real mother? Give me a break.

I have never seen such exploitation of "family." Dragging that poor baby around in such obvious attempts at photo ops. It makes me sick to watch, to know that someone who you must think is a "real mother" would use her children like this. To get votes.

[fred edison]

If she knows where the pro-American parts of the country are, perhaps she'd be kind enough to let us know where the anti-American parts of the country are also. We're waiting.....

[postman606]

I guess Wassila, the Crystal-Meth, teen pregnancy, ra.pe capital of Alaska represents the best of America.

[seazoe]

The woman is a mouthpiece and what is worse, she doesn't understand what she is saying. She incites violence and hatred with her foolish statements. I am afraid of this woman. She is blindly ambitious and is unthinking--a deadly combination.

[reno1190]

NOW SARAH I KNOW YOU INCLUDED ALASKA (AIP)PARTY AND YOURSELF AS NOT PRO AMERICA

[deevee]

Clarifying idiocy. That's a hot one!

[oldcavpilot]

According to her husband, Alaska isn't 'pro-America'; he joined a polical party that existed purely to advocate for the secession of Alaska from the US. Keep talkin' Sarah. Yer doin' good you betcha.

[Janico]

It's comments such as this that illustrate just how out of touch the McCain-Palin ticket are with the general public. People in desperate situations will say/do anything that they think will get them attention. I wonder if Palin knows just how many families living in big cities have empty seats at the dinner table because someone chose to do the most Pro-American thing any citizen can do?

My husband and I live in a suburb of what I'm sure Palin would consider to be the very anti-American city of Atlanta. I'm so happy to see the lines have been at least an hour long every day since early voting began in September. I can't wait to take my 11-month-old son into the booth with me as I cast my vote for Barack Obama! My hubby wishes he could be here to tell my son just how important this election will one day be to his future, but he is one of thousands of big city dwellers currently 'fighting our wars for us'.

It's things like this that make it so easy to be excited about the Obama - Biden campaign and everything it represents.

[TRK113]

"Real Americans", "Pro America..." While it is indeed a little scary that That Woman is saying these things, it is scarier to think that these are the applause lines that are causing the McCain base to virtually foam at the mouth. I really thought that McCain would run a decent campaign that was true to his years of respecting the other side and opinions that differed from his own. I am so disappointed in him. But, the bottom line is that he is a Republican and has to win his base first. The sad truth is that this sort of rhetoric is what it takes to win them over.
The great news is that the nastiness that is so typical of Republican political races is destroying McCain's chances. While it seems to be conventional wisdom that the economic meltdown is doing him in, I think the reaction to to the turn to divisiveness that was ratcheted up while the market was crashing did far more damage. I hope that message is recognized and appreciated.

[acemcface]

In Palin's world you can't be Pro-American unless you're Republican. Disagreeing with the Bush/Cheney regime obviously means you're Anti-American to brainless fools like her.
She lives in a very simple world since her mind is so simple.

[walleymr]

Well, she is an excellent judge on what is anti-american. Afterall, she did endorse that secessionist group.

[calico jack73]

Okay... a lot of comments have been about Obama's quotes being taken out of context. I think we all understood what Palin was saying and that her comment is also being taken out of context. Let's take the high road folks and not stoop to McCain tactics.

[Torita]

I don't know...I actually don't think her comments were taken out of context. I do think that she was suggesting that there are some parts of the country that are "pro-America" and others that aren't. I mean, making that distinction clearly implies this, whatever the context. I agree that we shouldn't stoop to McCain tactics, but I'm not sure this qualifies as "stooping." She has been plugging the Ayers/terrorist/Obama connection tirelessly, which is disgusting, so she should be called out on such things.

[postman606]

I don't think her comments were taken out of context, like most of her comments they were taken out of her a@s.

[MrBlu]

Anybody see the video from MSNBC where Pfoutenhour (I'm sure I screwed up that spelling) when asked about Virginia turning into a blue state said that the "real Virginia" will come out and vote for McCain?

The reporter gave her a chance to reel herself back in but she countered with a statement that the "real Virginia" is more southern. Take that for what you will but no matter how you slice that up it sounds bad.

[liz]

You'd think the Republicans, since they think they are smarter than the rest of the world, would have learned from Allen's idotic remark and its consequences, that talking about the "real Virginia" being the racist right-wing Virginia do themselves no good. Ironic how they are trying to distance themselves from Bush/Cheney/Rove while repeating every stupid misreading of the American people they ever made.