Carl Bernstein On Sarah Palin: 'She's An Ignorant Demagogue' (VIDEO)

Journalist Carl Bernstein joined the "Morning Joe" panel to discuss Sarah Palin formally relinquishing the governorship of Alaska yesterday.

And he did not mince words regarding her fitness for national office, calling Palin "ignorant" and a "demagogue."

Bernstein also argued that Palin is being taken seriously by the conservative wing of the Republican party, considering her qualifications, in a way that would not happen if she were a Democrat:

And I think there's a kind of obeisance that the conservative movement has paid to this person. If a liberal Democrat were to be in a similar position, conservatives would run her out of town, as would sensible Democrats . . . [McCain] committed an almost unpatriotic act in picking Sarah Palin because she's manifestly unqualified for high office.

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Comments

[KimberleyC]

Buchanan: "She terrified the Democratic party."

LOL! Can't stop laughing.

[jlarue]

Proves that the democrats dont understand middle america....that was good for a laugh, too!

[ditchdigger]

i hate to agree with a lucky washed up journalist. i wonder if carl,and bob would have hustled so much if they would have caught mcgovern doing dirty tricks. what they exposed was way over rated compared to many other presidents. that is the way the cookie crumbles.

[mobetta]

Carl is absolutely correct and Pat confirms his point. There is a mystical...er religious belief in the far right wing that since dubya turned out to be one of Jesse's (of biblical fame) pretender sons; a failure, that Sarah must be their anointed one.
In their bizzaro world, the least likely person to lead will lead and she CERTAINLY qualifys there.
If they would read their bibles a few verses more, they would see that Samuel reviewed all of Jesse's sons before he anointed David.
Who knows, David killed the lion and the bear and Sarah killed the moose and the wolf.

[whatsthisthen]

Pat Buchanan is the golden mouthpiece for the GOP. He can make a person such as SP seem as if she were a reasonable choice for VP.

She's not. After painfully watching her go on and on about the media "making stuff up", it's not hard to come to the conclusion that if she were an intelligent and learned person she would need to be committed for paranoia and deluded thinking.

No one is making this stuff up. Her problem appears to be that she can't stand in there with the big kids and take her licks. She isn't fighting, she's begging the media to back off unless they have something adoring to say about her that plays to her ostensibly narcissistic self image.

[tm68]

Ditto

[CheeseNow]

No one has to make anything up about Sarah Palin. Truth is stranger than fiction, and she is the gift (to us Democrats) that keeps on giving.

[nolefty]

Anything said against the left doesn't get posted

[ladyfractal]

Not even wrong, nolefty. Your inability to use your browser correctly does not constitute a liberal plot.

Cheers
LF

[johndylan1]

my comment was posted yesterday, for a few short seconds before it was removed ... does that count?

[johndylan1]

oooh there goes another one, today's post lasted maybe 5 seconds! What purpose does a forum serve that doesn't allow a diversity of opinion? Perhaps it's not a forum, but it is a deceptive propaganda tool.

[linux]

Sorry, I believe the official time threshold for a post actually 'counting' is 35 seconds.

I could be wrong since I just pulled that out of my a**.

[Chip W]

I've seen lots of anti-left comments. Also, many of my comments, which are perfectly well-behaved, vanish into the ozone. I hope what you say isn't true.

[obiejuan]

In Alaska "GOP" means "Get Out Palin"

[ofcoursejesusisblack]

Finally! SOMEONE speaks the truth.

[jimbeaux1961]

Mr Carl Bernstein
New York, New York

Dear Mr Bernstein,
Please refrain from referring to Ms Sarah Palin as an "Ignorant Demagogue"; even we have standards.

Sincerely,
Ignorant Demagogues Worldwide

[ofcoursejesusisblack]

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

[linux]

I tip my virtual hat to you

[squeakette]

.....I have an intimate, long-standing connection with church--my husband is a pastor in a mainline Protestant denomination. In the congregations we have served, group A is most prevalent in numbers, but group C holds sway in every other respect. Please, everyone, consider that people may self-identify as Christian, but hold your judgment as to the veracity of their claim until you observe them for awhile. (I apologize for the length of my comment--but I have been holding this in for a long time.)

[squeakette]

This comment does not make any sense without the first two-thirds of the comment being posted. Sorry, everyone! Hope the first part comes through.

I do agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Bernstein.

[ThanksMatt]

Thank you squeakette. Talk MORE! The real Christians need to claim their religion back! All real Christians, just get from the sidelines.......

[momcat4obama]

Excellent post, squeakette! I am with you 100%. We can always hope that the Christianists will recognize themselves, and do some honest-to-God soul searching - but i'm not going to hold my breath.

[BBHounds]

Squeakette & ThanksMatt,

Well said, both of you. It is past time for your opinions to find a place to be heard.

Thanks for your comments.

[jlarue]

Hear, hear! I am a leftie Chrisitan myself and I know plenty more of us....

[squeakette]

I have seen many comments regarding SP representing the "Christian right". While I know that that is the common designation given to people who twist Biblical teachings into their own self-promotion, I suggest that we should all adopt a new term, "Christianist," for these people.

Most news organizations today refer to al Qaeda and other terrorist groups as "Islamist" because they have twisted Islamic teachings into a hateful agenda of killing. Likewise, fundamentalist "Christian" crazies have twisted Christianity. Walk into any church and you will find A) Churchgoers--people who are there because that is what they are to do and they don't do anything else other than warm a seat each Sunday morning; B) Christians--people who really endeavor to follow Christ's example and who realize they don't have all the answers and occasionally make mistakes; C) Christiani­sts--those who invoke the names of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in order to fulfill their own deviant definitions of Bible teaching. These Christianists respect only their own thoughts and not the interpretations of others. (Sarah Palin is clearly a Christianist.) .....to be continued

[ThanksMatt]

Oh good, the first part of your post is really very interesting too.

I also think very much that a term has to be created in order to make a clear distinction between real Christians and Christianists, as you call them. The idea behind it is excellent ------ only it is somehow not yet so ear-catching.

Recently several people were trying to find something to make this clear distinction. Somebody called them Christian Taliban. I mostly talk of them as cult members. And now Christiani­sts.......­... maybe this one will succeed?

I don't know yet and I suggest we all keep thinking about it until we find THE super catchy and precise term.....

[squeakette]

Christianists really is unwieldy, but with only the "Islamist" example there was not much to work with!

[TamPhi]

Another option is to begin referring to ourselves (group B) as Progressive Christians.

I am sad that identifying oneself as a Christian leads so many to assume that you are a small-minded hater who is insufferably judgmental.

[jlarue]

I have been calling them the Christian Taliban since George Bush was re-elected in 2004. I consider myself an evangelical Christian. I also say that Mathew, Mark, Luke and John were evangelicals. The Pharisees were fundamentalists!

[ThanksMatt]

Squeakette, PS:

Did you read Bruce Wilson's article about Sarah Palin and her church background?

It is SHOCKING. There you will see why she and her ilk definately are cult members, religious zealots, not what I understand to be religious persons. Here is the link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-wilson/sarah-palins-churches-and_b_124611.html Sarah Palin's Churches and The Third Wave

And here is how she came to power: Max Blumenthal: Sarah Palin's radical right wing mentors http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/10/10/palin_chryson/

And here is, what people who think along Palin's lines are up to: About C Street, Interview with Jeff Sharlet
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jul/19/behind-closed-doors-c-street/#comments

[linux]

I prefer the term 'Misguided Zealot'

[buffnygirl]

Her fake "straight talk", winking and neck popping has gotten her into places she did not earn and it is quite obvious she was not prepared for the scrutiny of being fact checked and not given a pass because of her looks or alleged charm. She is a contradiction or paradox at best.

[Sunflowerpr]

He said the truth and Buchanan has no credibility!

[buffnygirl]

I can no longer hold my peace. She is a jargon and syntax deficient, unlearned, divisive, derisive, polarizing, narrowminded, opportunistic politician who does NOT represent my values. Contrary to some of the posts, Democrats are not afraid of SP. It is truly AMAZING that a person has no regard for the English language (I expect more from journalism and communications majors no matter how many colleges they attend), proper grammar and diction.sheis sorely undereducated about foriegn policy and "lower 48" matters of national interest, and I find her false bravado and chutzpah laughable. The dripping sarcasm while smiling all the while not bothering to use complete sentences is mind numbing. SP appeals to a small group of Republicans who are afraid that the country will leave them behind and blame the POTUS for their perpetual state of slack-jawed yokelness. America is bigger than the South, bigger than bigotry, deeper than fringe politics and more sophisticated than voting on guns, gays, and religion. Why does she love to bashthemediabut invite them to her conference to announce she is stepping down? Criticize a heckler for not agreeing with her platform while admonishing him the he should be grateful for our troops fighting for his right to free speech! We are guaranteed this, no one is fighting for it! I blame Mccain for picking her and exposing us to this slow moving train wreck. She is pretty and looks have value, peoplehave overlooked the fact that she's out of her league.

[1dogs2]

One of her most common abuses of the English language is her use of intransitive verbs as if they were transitive, as in "We will progress our agenda." Her failure to grasp some of the finer points of English grammar suggests a mild form of brain damage.

[BBHounds]

Hee hee. I can't stop laughing.

[doodlebug2]

good post

[td74]

And.....the sky is blue!

[DONKEY-OH-TEE]

i am with Sarah

we could start funding universal health care right now...please see Why Alaskans Love Sarah

I thought she was against socialism. You know, her bein' a bootstapper and all.

Donk!!!

[imwithsarah]

I with Sarah on her fight against corporations. She was right about a windfall tax on the oil companies, and she is right about the cap and trade BS pushed by people like Al Gore who is responsible for sending jobs overseas to countries with no environmental standards.(see 'free' trade agreements-also cause of our tanking economy)
As far as imposing a windfall profit tax on oil, I propose that we do it nationally as Kucinich has suggested. If we impose a windfall tax on the oil companies and the health care industry, that would fund universal single payer health care(my idea, not sarah's)