Another Silly Mistake by Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin is fond of saying the media get their facts wrong. She often accuses the media of being biased against her. "Why didn't they just check with me first?" is a familiar refrain.

Well, now we have the answer - because if they check with you, you're going to give them answers that don't match the facts. The video below is a small example, but it is indicative of how little preparation she goes through and how little regard she has for checking the facts. As you can see in the video, she throws around a "fact" in her last interview that isn't even close to true:

I'm a little amazed by this. Why would you state something like this as proof that the media has all their information wrong without making absolutely sure you were right about it? She undermines her own point better than anyone in the media ever could. Game, set and match. Sarah Palin defeats Sarah Palin.

The topic in this case isn't important but what it says about Palin's regard for facts and preparation is. Anyone with any sense would check before the interview if the Harry Potter books really came out after she was no longer mayor of Wasilla. What's funny and sad is how she thinks she outsmarted the media with this clever example. Mainly sad.

She loses all credibility to challenge the media on their reporting when she makes such obvious and needless mistakes. Again and again.

Watch The Young Turks Here

Comments

[MikeElPaso]

Couple of days ago my youngest daughter said this to me: "Dad, I get so confused when I listen to her (Sarah Palin). I don't understand what she's saying."

"It's OK honey, no one does".

[LollieDotCom]

I agree with everything you say here. But I'm amazed you use Wikipedia for a resource of 'facts.' Amazon.com, and maybe the Wasilla website might lend more weight to this really good story.

[lisakaz2]

What if Amazon agrees with Wikipedia? I agree it's not my first "go to" resource, but usually they get dates correct. There are a lot of other facts harder to mess up.

[tatianalensky]

ok. So we know she is stupid. What I don´t get - why doesn´t Ms. Greta whats-it call her on it? Like on camera?

Or is she as oblivious to a silly thing such as a "fact" as Palin is?

[kycatfan]

Because this "interview" show was designed to boost Greta's ratings. It was a piece of Look How Normal Sarah Palin Is! fluff.

[Minsi]

Oh gawd. Why do we even pay attention to her? Don't we all know that she's an idiot, but at the same time she thinks we are bigger idiots??!! Enuff already. But thanks for pointing that out Cenk.

[thepoliticalcat]

Did anyone question her "facts"? Or did they just let her get away with lying through her teeth once more?

[daffey]

My post didn't show up, so let me take your post to respond. There are enough posts on here showing that the above article is wrong. She became mayor in 1996. According to the records, the incident arose during her time as a councilwoman. According to her critics, she said - before she was mayor - that there was a book in the library and questioned if it could be removed. She has denied this, but believe who you will. Nonetheless, the incident was well before the release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (1997-1998). So she is correct - this happened well before Potter (though HP didn"t become a phenomenon until 1999 and after, toward the end of her time as mayor). She may have spoken wrong if she says Potter didn't come out 'while she was mayor.' But as for the 'book banning' moment, she is right. And if saying something wrong, is a problem, just remember Obama visiting all 57 states, or FDR's famous appeals on national television when the market crashed in 1929.

[bdaved]

The "Harry Potter" thing is a red herring based on an internet rumor, not on what really happened. You yourself accuse Governor Palin of wanting a book removed when she was on the city council, but she made additional inquiries after she was mayor. So long and no thanks for all the fish.

[infinity]

Yea, this is as funny as Joe Biden claiming FDR's fire side chats were televised.

[eutectic]

In that same interview, she said something about when she was "city manager" of Wasilla. She never was. She was on city council & she was mayor. As mayor, she hired a city administrator. Was it too much work for her to run the town? My county has a higher population than the entire state of Alaska & she had to hire someone to manage Wasilla?!?! Yeah, she'd be great at running a country.

[0whole1]

Part of her problem is that she lumps chain-mail emails, personal blogs, big name blogs, and mainstream media all together. It'd be like complaining to NBC about the contents of a flyer somebody stuck under her windshield wiper.

[0whole1]

You know, I'm sorely tempted to donate a copy of "Heather Has Two Mommies" etc etc to the Wasilla library, in her name.

[decm]

What she probably meant is not "Harry Potter wasn't even out during my terms as Wasila mayor" but "Harry Potter only came out after my book-banning period".
I haven't fact-checked this, but what is the story on her involvement in having the book "Pastor, I'm gay" (I think it was called) taken from the shelves in local bookstores?

[taddles]

I think the whole thing with the Harry Potter stuff was because someone had posted a list of books that one group or another had tried to ban in the US and they incorrectly attributed the list to Palin.

As I recall, Palin made several overtures to the city Librarian about removing books from the library right after she was elected to the city council. Her church had been in a fight with the town to get the book, "Pastor I'm gay", banned. No surprise then that when their darling Sara ran for City Council, her church came out and voted her in. In essence, her church got her elected to the City Council so she could ban a book they didn't like. Gotta love small town politics.

So, instead of just saying that the Harry Potter book was on a list that was incorrectly attributed to her, she went and made yet another dumb comment which is easily debunked. This just adds to the mountain of stupid comments she's made in the past 3 months that goes to her credibility, honesty and integrity.

[boing007]

Palin never took it further. (There is a challenge process which the librarian informed Palin of the procedure and Palin never followed up on).

And then Palin fired the Librarian a few months later. The Librarian was reinstated due to public pressure but left when Palin was re-elected to a second term.

How can you say that she took it no further when she fired the librarian not too long afterwards?

[justoverit333]

I can't take it anymore. Someone please
just make her go away. Please. I'm
begging.

[LiberTLover]

I know how you feel, I think I'm allergic now, I break into hives everythime I see or hear her....please make it stop....

[pons1595]

I no longer post comments about this witch, but seeing your words made want to just give you my support. PLEASE make her go away. I never watch any of the videos.

[hip dibler]

Cenk, i may be offbase here, but i think you deserve a cabinet post.

[drkazmd65]

I think at this stage,... Cenk is better served (as are we) by his remaining a rabble rouser on the outside of Obama's Government.

[mlaiuppa]

It's misdirection.

She didn't try to ban Harry Potter. She tried to ban "Daddy's Roomate". Published in 1994.

She unofficially asked the Librarian when she was on the city council, then again when she was Mayor. It was never formal. She just asked the librarian how she'd feel if she (Palin) were to remove some books. The Librarian naturally was horrified. Palin never took it further. (There is a challenge process which the librarian informed Palin of the procedure and Palin never followed up on). And then Palin fired the Librarian a few months later. The Librarian was reinstated due to public pressure but left when Palin was re-elected to a second term. I imagine those few years she made the Librarian's life a living hell. That seems to be her modus operandi whenever anyone crosses her.

[polarbearsforobama]

Actually, the allegation was that she floated the idea of banning books AFTER she was elected mayor but BEFORE she took office. According to Scholastic, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer"s Stone was released in America by Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic in September 1998. Palin took office in October 1996. I think Sarah Palin is dangerous, and I've been collecting information about her in case she tries to run for national office again. I'd like to believe every negative thing said about her, but to be effective the information has to be credible and verifiable.

[plafayette]

Does anyone seriously believe that 60% of the GOP want this woman to "lead" the party in 2012?

[tifaret]

knowing the GOP, yes

[eutectic]

bring it ON !!!

[egal]

With neighbors who believe a liberal conspiracy has forced Bush to make all his bad decisions, and who are stocking up on semi-automatics in preparation for the race-war they believe will engulf the nation the day Obama takes office, yes, I can believe that.

The same way you would expect white supremacists to hate blacks...well, hey ANYthing you say about white supremacists is basically true of the GOP members right now, as the two have basically become synonymous. When the core constituency of a party consists merely of those too dumb, ignorant, insular, hateful, egotistic, and detached from reality to comprehend their own closed-minded contributions to our nation's biggest problem, nothing's surprising anymore.