Roland S. Martin, a CNN (pointy) talking head, wrote the following piece on Sarah Palin that pretty well sums up what those who do not “get” her think about her. I make no assertion here that Sarah is an Ivy League intellectual, but neither do I claim that an Ivy League institution has figured out a way to confer common sense on anyone yet…
His article is below and my comments are in red. Link to the original site of the article is here.
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Sarah Palin’s most ardent supporters in “real America” love to suggest that those of us who don’t buy into her silly shtick fail to grasp why they adore her, citing her realness, plain-spokenness and whatever else they can conjure up.
She has never been caught lying, in a multi-syllabic, nuanced, or SAT vocabulary word way. Not in ANY WAY. Plain-spoken? Yeah. That’s “code” for NOT A LIAR where I come from.
Obama’s list just off the top of my head, in no particular order:
1. Rev. Wright “I never heard” any hate speech in TWENTY YEARS OF SUNDAYS
2. Ayers: “A guy around the neighborhood” but LAUNCHED HIS SENATE CAMPAIGN IN HIS HOUSE
3. Not a lie, but under-reported: 57 States.
4. Not a lie, but under-reported: corpsman = corpse-man
5. Not a lie, but under-reported: elevated stage, podium with presidential seal and TELEPROMPTERS IN A SIXTH GRADE CLASSROOM.
6. Close Guantanamo by 2010… Still waiting.
7. “Not one dime” tax increase promise over and over again. “Agnostic” on the subject now.
8. “C-Span”
9. FIRST day in office signs a transparency and no lobbyist pledge. He has nearly FORTY lobbyists working for him. GOP LITERALLY locked out of health care meeting behind CLOSED AND LOCKED DOORS.
10. 8% unemployment max. Reached 10% and still hovering.
I’ll be generous and stop at ten. I’LL TAKE AN HONEST NON-IVY LEAGUE WOMAN WHO HAS ACTUALLY HAD EXECUTIVE DECISION MAKING EXPERIENCE AND HAS MET A PAYROLL OVER A POINTY HEADED THEORETICIAN ANY DAY OF THE WEEK.
Folks, nice try, but as a native Texan, I’ve seen many politicians and wannabes over the years that had charm, wit, charisma and a twinkle in their eye.
You want a media darling politician with substance? Try the late Gov. Ann Richards, a woman who could cut you deep but beam ear to ear with her motherly smile. But unlike Palin, she had a host of strong ideas in her head that actually made sense and appealed to a cross-section of folks.
LOVED Ann Richards style. She WAS wonderful, you’re right. But, “unlike Palin, she had a host of strong ideas in her head that actually made sense and appealed to a cross-section of folks”
Palin’s WHOLE DEAL is that her ideas make sense and appeal to a cross-section of folks. In fact, there’s been a lot of elitist sniffing that her ideas are SO simplistic and that’s why she appeals to all those simple, mouth breathing, knuckle dragging neanderthals out there in corn-fed America. And if you actually listened to one of her speeches you would find VERY consistent, VERY solidly outlined ideas: reducing the tax burden on employers, domestic drilling, and limited government, just to name a few. Can’t have it both ways, S.
Congressman Charlie Wilson, who died this week, was a smooth-talking Texan who loved to party hard, but when it came to politics, he knew how to get things done. The media loved him because he could sit with you and enjoy a beer over a barbecue, give a hilarious quote or two and explain foreign policy better than Henry Kissinger.
So why haven’t I cottoned up to Palin? Because she desires to portray herself as a straight-talking politician, but she is nothing more than a political celebrity willing to cash every check she can grab.
When did making money in America become sinister? Did anyone ever question how much Bill Clinton or Geraldine Ferraro made for their media appearances?
What truly exposed her? The ridiculous way in which she reacted last week to two political heavyweights using the word “retarded.”
When it was reported that President Barack Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel told a bunch of liberals that they were “retards” for threatening to run ads against fellow Democrats who weren’t jumping on the health care reform bandwagon, Palin demanded his resignation.
As the mother of a child with Down syndrome, Palin has often used her bully pulpit to demand respect for the mentally challenged. Nothing wrong with that. It is an issue that is close to her heart and she should be a fierce advocate.
Yet when one of her biggest supporters, conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, also castigated liberals by calling them retards, Palin provided him cover — even trying to explain away his comments.
In an interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace, Palin said Limbaugh was using satire, while Emanuel was blasting those who disagree with him. But anyone who can read or listen could understand that Limbaugh did the same thing as Emanuel.
Emanuel and Limbaugh used retard to describe folks they disagree with, but only Emanuel was wrong? Yep, that’s how it is in Palin’s world. She was quick to pounce on someone she disagrees with politically, but not her patron saint, Limbaugh.
Sarah, if you were true to your cause, you would have demanded an on-air apology from Limbaugh and scolded him for using the word. Instead, you showed your true colors.
I have one word for you sir, SARCASM. It’s getting tedious, really, how many times you lefties get caught being so humorless that it becomes a buttressing argument for you. Limbaugh’s use of the word was in a bit using SARCASM. He was not denigrating anyone. Good grief. If I say that Hitler was a vegetarian are you going to accuse me of being a Nazi sympathizer just because I make a statement with the word “Hitler” in it?
I haven’t bought into the fake “I’m a real American” persona you are trying to portray, Sarah. You slam the president for using teleprompters (In a sixth grade classroom & pronouncing corpsman “corpse-man 3x in one speech! HE’S THE COMMANDER-IN CHEIF FOR CHRISSAKES.), but write crib notes on your hand to remember basic beliefs that should be easy to regurgitate. (Dianne Feinstein did the same thing, breaking debate rules waaaay back in the dark ages in 1990) You decry the “lamestream” media, but you bask in its glory and have now joined its payroll as a Fox News contributor, even having them build a studio in your home (talk about media elite!). (She lives in ALASKA you dolt. If she lived in the Hamptons you MIGHT have an argument.) You give a speech riddled with falsehoods (FINALLY- Some red meat. WHAT FALSEHOODS? NAME THEM. FACT CHECK AND ARGUE THEM BASED ON FACTS! If you are so sure that she is factually wrong, why did you BURY YOUR LEAD THEN and spend all this time on an ad hominem attack on her? It’s all been style over substance in your article to this point. WHAT IS SHE WRONG ABOUT? LET’S HEAR IT WITH FACTS TO SUPPORT YOUR ARGUMENT) about the president and national security, and then try to shrug them off as the “lamestream” media attacking you.
You don’t fool me, even as your legion of fans considers you the second coming of President Ronald Reagan.
I don’t. I just think she’s not a LIAR.
You quit on the people who elected you to become a political celebrity.
Quitting the Governorship was so perplexing to all you pointy headed intellectuals because it was
a completely unselfish decision based on what was best for the state (they were buried in an avalanche of lawsuits brought by one or two political foes, every one of which was adjudicated in Palin’s favor. EVERY ONE.) She did what was best for her state, though it meant she had to fall on a sword to do it. It was ADMIRABLE and full of INTEGRITY and THAT’S why the elitists can’t understand it. They’ve never seen anything like it.
You had the opportunity to show everyone that you’re willing to take on anyone who crosses the line against those mentally challenged, and you failed to do so.
I believe we’ve covered that.
Please, make as much money as you can. Paraphrasing comedian Martin Lawrence, ride this train until the wheels fall off. But please, cut the crap. You’re a crass politician with no true conviction. Your actions have shown that.
I believe we’ve covered that, too.
Roland S. Martin is a CNN contributor and a talk show host for WVON/AM in Chicago.
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