The Lyin', the Witch and the Wardrobe
Watching the fruit fly speech, I wasn't sure if I was seeing the real Sarah Palin, Tina Fey as Sarah Palin, or Sarah Palin as Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. It's all starting to blur. She was so absurd, so off-the-rails embarrassing, so staggeringly dumb, that it left me thinking that maybe Sarah Palin is a special needs child.
If you missed it, this candidate for vice president of the United States of America made a so-called "policy speech" on special needs children. In that speech she took on earmarks (naturally), and said that money "goes to projects having little or nothing to do with the public good -- things like fruit fly research in Paris, France. I kid you not."
Sorry, but everyone knows -- and I mean EVERYONE -- that fruit fly research is not about fruit flies! What I didn't know specifically, but I love knowing now, is that fruit fly research has led to the discovery of a protein that is apparently critical in treatment of autism in children, the very kind of "special needs child" the candidate was speaking about. Just when you think she couldn't get any more embarrassing.
Palin's supporters are outraged, wondering how we could expect her to know that. Um, when the candidate for vice president of the United States chooses to give a policy speech on a topic that she claims to be an expert on, shouldn't we expect her to actually be an expert? She claims in her speech that she is the one in the McCain/Palin administration who will "lead the reforms" necessary in the area of special needs children. She's not asking us to put her in charge of the church bake sale. She wants us to put her in charge of our most vulnerable children. And, no, it doesn't matter that she is the mother of such a child. Just like it doesn't make her a foreign policy expert because she can see Russia from her house, it doesn't make her an energy expert because she lives near an oil pipeline, and it doesn't make her knowledgeable on the job of vice president because she plays one on TV (she thinks the VP is in charge of the senate!).
For the few people left who continue to stubbornly love this woman, I know it feels great to see someone on the national stage who reminds you of yourself and your own $150,000 wardrobe. I know you felt the same kind of familiarity with George W. Bush, when his brush clearing reminded you of your own 1500 acre estate, er, ranch. I get it. We all suffer from a touch of the narcissist from time to time. But how about we all stop looking in the mirror and start looking out the window? The world is big, complicated, messy, and very dangerous. The problems are deep and the problem solvers need to be deeper. We don't need more superficially familiar, intellectually vacuous, and insecurely arrogant people running the country into oblivion.
What we desperately need are smart, educated, curious, intellectually honest, and genuinely confident leaders. We can't afford to keep voting for ordinary because yet another snake oil salesman (or saleswoman) sold us on the idea that we should somehow be terrified of the extraordinary.
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Most politicians--probably most people--don't know anything about scientific research. A recent survey found that a significant percentage of people don't know what stem cells are (except, I guess, that they're "agin 'em). Yet stem cell research--as well as fruit fly research--could someday save their lives. But your column is absolutely dead-on: Time to wise up, literally.
I don't believe the mccain campaign was going to donate palin's clothes all along. but who would want her used clothes?
Bill Kristol and Rich Lowery come to mind, but I prefer not to think what they'd do with them.
They'd make good disguises after the election.
Please make her go away. Vote Obama!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What I don't understand is the buzz that she is the face of GOP in 2012. I don't get this. Every poll shows that the majority of Americans don't believe she is qualified to be VP and potentially President, yet they think she is a viable candidate for the President? Even if she studies really hard for four years, it won't be enough to erase the lies, the hatred, the narrow point of view, the base-line ignorance, her directive to merge her God and policy, the ethics violations, the memory of the $150,000 wardrobe and the lies that followed, her scary world views, her ties to the AIP, Troopergate, her voice (errr), and the winking (gag).
I want her to go away..............forever.
About 2012...I want to know how she can be president, considering her literal translation of the bible. I truly need someone to explain it to me, please.
This is in no way a slam to women becoming elected to any position in politics or elsewhere. But from what I can see, a fundamentalist, evangelical, biblical literalist (is this a word?) wife cannot be president.
According to ephesians, she must submit to her husband. And the husband must see to it that his wife is right with god in all decisions and actions within the family. And this is ok because of their love for each other and their love for god.
BUT, what if there is a moment when, as president, the wife has to do something that the husband cannot agree to, because he feels that it would put the family out of step with god, or would place his wife's relationship with god in jeapardy?
She cannot be president if her hubby can step in at any time and direct her actions, as commanded in ephesians. She cannot answer to the people of her country first.
OR...If she does not follow this command in ephesians, what other commands in the bible does she not abide by. Does she pick and choose from the bible? Does her conservative christian base know this?
first off-the article was spot on.defenders of sarah palin love to fall back on the whole line of "oh,yer' all elitists and you just hate her cause she aint got all that fancy book learnin' like you liberal elites".its actually hysterical to watch em' squirm and struggle to continue defending this woman.having said all that...
not to sound all preachy,but suggesting that palin might be a "special needs child" is not helping the cause of normal,intelligent people who know this woman simply is not qualified.its exactly the sort of comment that the bill oreilly's of the world will use to push forward the conservative narrative about mean,vicious liberals and their mean vicious websites simply mocking sarah palin because she's a "regular american".when your right on all the issues theres no need to stoop to their level.
people should pay careful attention to the character of this woman, not only does she have a very narrow view of the lower 48 states, it is her proclivity to lying that disturbs me. now, all politicians tell 1/2 truths, but she is a BAD lier, in defending the $150k wardrobe, he says she does not wear her $35.00 wedding band because it hurts when shaking hands. HELLO, wedding bands are worn on the left hand, the right hand is extended in greetings!
The electorate is demonstrating a willingness to compromise -finding and willing to settle for the more important middle ground between ordinary and extraordinary, and that is RATIONAL.
Is there any way possible to move the actual changing of the guards from 1/20/09 up to November '08.'
2 months is too wide a leeway to leave the neocons.
very clever title
It's not original, though, unless two people just HAPPENED to come up with the same thing simultaneously. Well, the other one is the next day, so maybe either the other guy stole it or they DID come up with it simultaneously, but it fits better with that one, which is an actual comparison of Sarah Palin to the White Witch from the book.
http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/10/26/the-lyin-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe-an-alaskan-tale/
This wasn't the 1st time Palin has use the fruit fly speech. It amazes me as a mother of a special needs child that Palin wouldn't know about the fruit fly research. I feel sorry for her child, it's clear he is put on public display for sympathy votes. To bring a new born baby to be exposed to many people screaming and shouting is not in using good judgement. Just shows me if she can't use good judgement with a new born child that's her own. How is she going to use good judgement with people who are not her own..Scary thought
Yep. I learned in my high school biology class decades ago that scientists do some of their most important research on fruit flies. The topic was covered in the text book.
I thought Palin's father was a science teacher.
Yeah, I'd like to see those "science" textbooks, Yikes!
true, they use the word "elite" like a bludgeon, when it simply means, "the best," the most talented, the most qualified. why on earth WOULDN'T we want the best people for the job?
the mccain camp makes very bizarre arguements:
-govt is broken-> the government has been run by republicans for 28 of the last 40 years and as of two years ago was entirely replublican.......so, their own party is the problem and we should re-elect them while mccain has employed the same people
-everything is elitist -> the policies of the republican party benefits the rich and the big corporations, but now the Northeast elitists are un-American? when mccain's own wife wears $300k dresses? my five bedroom house was $450k!!!!
very, very strange
I was aghast when I heard her make this statement. This, beyond all others , is the most egregiously ignorant, uninformed, incomprehensible, outrageous ( I could go on and on ) remark made by her or any candidate in this election. How anyone could look at her as a legitimate candidate after this just , again, incomprehensible.
insecurely arrogant - perfect
Is it possible that she's not as clueless as she sounds, but that she would actually prefer not to have anything lead to stem cell research even if it could benefit her child and others like him ? It's a mark of how awful her ethos is that such an interpretation could possibly be viewed as a charitable one.
Oh man, is it time to vote yet? I don't think I can stand another day hearing from or about Sarah Palin.
Amen !!!!!!!
This will add further confirmation to the 62 Nobel Prize winning scientists who have endorsed Obama, that they made the right choice.
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/86/i39/8639notw10.html
Michael:
I agrees with most of the points of your essay. But this statement was just too much:
"She was so absurd, so off-the-rails embarrassing, so staggeringly dumb, that it left me thinking that maybe Sarah Palin is a special needs child."
I'm no fan of Sarah Palin, but I find that saying that she is "absurb", "embarrassing" and "dumb" like "a special needs child" to be pretty vicious and insensitive to people with disabilities.
My brother, who has autism, has special needs. But that doesn't make him "absurd" or "dumb".
I know you mean well, but your illustration does your argument no favors. And it's actually quite hurtful to those of us with loved ones who live with disabilities.
I agree...let's be responsible for raising the level of the discourse...the stuff we're going to hear over the next week, and beyond of Senator Obama wins, from a group of very sore losers -- which is putting it mildly in terms of their desire for the power of the presidency -- is going to be bad enough without taking the low road.
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