Sarah Palin: Bailout is About Health Care Reform

By Jeralyn, Section Elections 2008
Posted on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 04:31:55 PM EST
Tags: Sarah Palin (all tags)

Share This: Digg!

Unbelievable that Gov. Sarah Palin could be Vice-President of the United States. She's practically sub-verbal and she makes no sense.

Here she is telling Katie Couric the bailout is about health care reform and that reducing taxes must accompany tax reductions. I kid you not.

Transcript below, along with her newest and absurd defense of her Russia is next door comment.

COURIC: Why isn’t it better, Governor Palin, to spend $700 billion helping middle-class families struggling with health care, housing, gas and groceries? ... Instead of helping these big financial institutions that played a role in creating this mess?

PALIN: Ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up the economy– Oh, it’s got to be about job creation too. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions.

She also didn't learn too much from her speed diplomacy course this week. In the clip below she defends her comment about how living next door to Russia gives her foreign policy experience. Her new explanation is Russia is next door to Alaska and Russia and the U.S. have "trade missions." [More...]

Watch CBS Videos Online

Here's the transcript:

Katie Couric: You've cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?

Sarah Palin: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and, on our other side, the land-boundry that we have with Canada. It's funny that a comment like that was kinda made to ... I don't know, you know ... reporters.

Couric: Mocked?

Palin: Mocked, yeah I guess that's the word, mocked.

Couric: Well, explain to me why that enhances your foreign-policy credentials.

Palin: Well, it certainly does, because our, our next-door neighbors are foreign countries, there in the state that I am the executive of. And there...

Couric: Have you ever been involved in any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?

Palin: We have trade missions back and forth, we do. It's very important when you consider even national-security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right next to, they are right next to our state.

Truly frightening. It's a good thing Obama is beating McCain on the economy and that's all Americans care about now. Or, is it?

Update: TPM found this 2007 Seattle Times article on how little Palin has done for (or cared about) Russian diplomacy and joint initiatives.

< ACLU Asks Court to Reinstate Secret Rendition Lawsuit | McCain's Stunt Stalls Bailout Negotiations >

Legal

Nothing on this site should be construed as legal advice. TalkLeft does not give legal advice.

TalkLeft is not responsible for and often disagrees with material posted in the comments section. Read at your own risk.

Sarah Palin: Bailout is About Health Care Reform | 97 comments (97 topical)

Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

This is one of two women EVER (5.00 / 1) (#1)
by coigue on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 04:42:33 PM EST

given the opportunity to run for president on a major party ticket.

I am really embarrassed.

Ahem. No, no woman ever has been given (5.00 / 4) (#3)
by Cream City on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 04:47:32 PM EST

the chance to run for president on a major-party ticket. Just for the record.


oops. VP. (none / 0) (#5)
by coigue on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 04:48:25 PM EST

Unh - you're forgetting that it's the (none / 0) (#9)
by scribe on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:01:06 PM EST

Palin-McCain Campaign.

And not the other way around.


: LOL! (none / 0) (#33)
by alexei on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:35:21 PM EST

Plenty of men have indulged in this kind (5.00 / 3) (#57)
by esmense on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:07:19 PM EST

of talking point blather. Including men who have actually been president -- like, for instance, both Bushes.

Gender has nothing to do with this poor performance. The dishonest and nonsensical nature of Republican economic arguments explains it all.


: Yeh, Biden comes to mind (5.00 / 3) (#75)
by Cream City on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 07:00:33 PM EST

with his inane statements this week. But I guess we all now must get on board and believe, with Biden, that FDR was president in 1929 -- and that he went on TV then!
And Biden actually is, I think, very intelligent. That certainly cannot be said about many of the men who have been on major-party ballots, and that includes many Dems.

: most tv interviews with politicians (none / 0) (#78)
by sancho on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 07:24:35 PM EST

involve the deployment of talking points in the guise of giving a "straight" answer. she's not as good at this form of fakery as others. so what. but does anyone think the bills put forward by a mccain administration would be different had he chosen a male vp candidate more versed in impressing katie couric (who is more likely, i fear, to be impressed by male suits than female suits)? of course not.
the point should be that a republican adminsistration is a republican administration, regardless of which figurehead is given public control of the enterprise.
plain is no less qualified to be president or vice president than any other professional republican.
and we're tired of repub. administrations.

: Yes. But we have more VP examples (none / 0) (#80)
by coigue on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 08:08:22 PM EST

that are men, don't we?
I am entitled to feel a bit embarassed.

I figured it out! (5.00 / 2) (#2)
by Steve M on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 04:42:48 PM EST

She is not Tina Fey. She is this guy.

I swear I cannot recall seeing a wilder compilation of disjointed thoughts in a long time. She makes George Bush look like he has a point.

No she is (5.00 / 0) (#11)
by litigatormom on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:09:34 PM EST

this woman:

"I truly believe that U.S. Americans cannot do so, oh, it's all about job creation too, and the Iraq, such as, such as, health care reform, because Wall Street must survive because, such as, we should educate Wall Street, because they don't have maps...."

No. She is (none / 0) (#16)
by scribe on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:17:05 PM EST

This woman.


That's who she is... (5.00 / 0) (#26)
by desertswine on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:27:20 PM EST

She is trying to befuddle with bullsh*t.

My head is exploding in a slow motion kind of way.

Befuddle. Is that a word?


Yes, it is. And while your head's exploding (5.00 / 0) (#32)
by scribe on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:34:58 PM EST

take a look at this news item, whererin Barney Frank compares McSame trying to find his way back to Capitol Hill to Andy Kaufman in his Mighty Mouse costume, singing "Here I Am, To Save The Day."
Now try to keep from spitting your beverage through your nose.


Barney Frank is funny! And way smart (5.00 / 0) (#43)
by thereyougo on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:50:57 PM EST

Thank goodness we have him on The DEM side.


: And razor sharp. (5.00 / 0) (#44)
by scribe on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:51:50 PM EST

Pass it on.

The bale-out structurally prevents (5.00 / 1) (#53)
by Salo on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:05:08 PM EST

Obama from even attempting to reform healthcare. it's quite neat. There's no cash left in the treasury. See, that's the way to control the next president by remote.


: Yup (none / 0) (#56)
by Militarytracy on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:07:03 PM EST

We'll be too broke to attempt anything like that for quite some time.

scribe, you posted the same (5.00 / 0) (#64)
by litigatormom on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:23:44 PM EST

video of Teen Miss South Carolina as I did.

Unless, uh, such as, the Iraq, you meant to suggest, such as such as, Palin is the equivalent of TWO Teen Miss South Carolinas.


: Very astute! (none / 0) (#86)
by scribe on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 08:24:26 PM EST

Back in the 80s, in a bit of a stunt to ensure continued funding, NASA sent then-Sen. Jake Garn up into space on the Shuttle. He promptly got a wicked case of space sickness, that variant of motion sickness that comes from being in zero gravity.
Thereafter, degrees of space sickness were measured in "Garns". Measuring units have to have names, after all.
So we have Miss Teen South Carolinas, and Palin's at least two of them.

Try as I might (5.00 / 2) (#4)
by Pegasus on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 04:48:00 PM EST

I can glean no actual information from that bailout answer. It just doesn't... I mean, what the #$%@? It's a collection of random English words having to do with domestic politics. She might have well just said "What the bailout does is tax and spend with respect to 21st-century national security imperatives in order to spur entrepreneurial, grassroots, faith-based earmarks, and we also need to take a look at potential fiscal impact on civil rights."

In fact, I think I just made more sense than she did.

: Yeah, that was sort of my reaction, too (5.00 / 0) (#94)
by sj on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 10:49:35 PM EST

I mean, I know all those words and I know what they mean but it when they're put together that way, it's just all so much word salad.
The McC campaign must be really freaking out right now.

An Embarrassment of Riches (5.00 / 0) (#6)
by MTSINAIMAMA on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 04:50:26 PM EST

And they want us to believe that she spent 30 minutes speaking to world leaders yesterday?

Hey, if you believe that, I have a bridge in Alaska to sell you...

Sure she did: (5.00 / 0) (#7)
by coigue on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 04:53:03 PM EST

30 minutes of getting to know you chit-chat is easy.


Well, she talked with Karzai, (5.00 / 0) (#10)
by scribe on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:07:29 PM EST

and they compared the names of their kids.

And she talked with the Pakistani leader, and he was impressed with her hotness.

And she talked with Uribe of Colombia, and the video showed he had the best "what kind of idiot is this?" and "what are these crazy Americans up to now?" look on his face that I've seen in years.

But Kissinger gave her a kiss on the cheek (no Playgirl centerfolds anymore, but he's over 80 so we'll let him slide), so I guess that makes her OK.

I think that adds up to thirty minutes. It was speed-dating, after all, and time goes quickly when you're doing that....

Now, if we can just keep the people of Maine from getting down on that newscaster who looks like her.


What was the most shameful... (none / 0) (#15)
by laila on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:16:42 PM EST

There was a cover story on CNN Today about Condy Rice meeting with all the women Heads of States in the World and They all asked her why she wasn't on the Ticket. The anchor on CNN don't remember her name (the redhead?) actually had the nerve to say at least she is one women intelligent and qualifies to do the job and it was so snarky I damn near fell over in my chair. The press is ready to tear Princess Palin and apart and it's not the men its the women.


: of course it's the media women. (none / 0) (#55)
by Salo on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:06:43 PM EST

They more or less did the same to Clinton.
It's rough being a woman in American politics.

well, after GWB, we can't really criticize (none / 0) (#51)
by thereyougo on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:04:31 PM EST

ANYBODY, he's set the bar so low.

Mediocrity is becoming the goal now. Sad


i know you try very hard (5.00 / 2) (#8)
by Turkana on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 04:53:34 PM EST

to maintain a level of comity, on this site- and i greatly respect you for it. it's one of the reasons many of us prefer tl to other scoop/soapblox sites. but there's no other way to put it- palin is an idiot.

I tend to think of her (5.00 / 3) (#23)
by Jeralyn on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:22:20 PM EST

as a cross between a Valley Girl, Mary Hartman and just plain clueless. She's just so out of her league in every respect.


I try very hard as a woman to sound (5.00 / 1) (#50)
by thereyougo on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:00:25 PM EST

informed,speak well and sound like I actually contribute in some way so I don't sound like Sarah Palin <sigh>. She puts the women's movement one notch back.

AFAIC,she belongs on a life support watch, waiting for someone to pull the plug on her candidacy. She's really asking for it. Actually begging for it.

But her makeup is impeccable. I wonder what kind of eyeliner she uses.


She doesn't seem to (5.00 / 0) (#73)
by byteb on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:41:40 PM EST

understand the questions. She seems to hear a phrase in the question, latch on to the phrase and then throw some talking points at it in an attempt to use up time. She makes Dubya look like a genius.


Oh for pity's sake, she does not set back (5.00 / 1) (#76)
by Cream City on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 07:04:42 PM EST

the women's movement. If it was set back in this campaign, that happened in the primaries.

If anything, the movement may be energized by all that we have seen -- including the nomination of Palin, if you think through all of its effects, and how it may focus effort on where it is needed.


: I Don't Think (5.00 / 1) (#88)
by daring grace on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 08:58:35 PM EST

it's been set back in either case.
Senator Clinton ran a tough, competitive campaign and showed a woman could do that without it always being front and center she IS a woman. She was a strong candidate, gender be darned. That moved the whole question (can a woman...?) off the table. Forever? Who knows? Depends if she runs again or another woman comes along who does the same thing.
Governor Palin is proving that just like any man an inexperienced female politician who is not ready to be VP can still run anyway. It removes a little more of the novelty of a woman on the ticket--and it defies the idea that only the best and the brightest of our gender can attain high office. It's ironically the height of equality that now a woman can be ill suited for the position she's aiming for and be allowed to try anyway--as so many men have gotten to do down through the centuries.

Jeralyn, you don't ever represent (2.33 / 3) (#70)
by kelsweet on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:36:47 PM EST

women in a lawsuit do you? Gawd I hope not, now THAT would be unfortunate.


: I don't handle civil lawsuits (none / 0) (#72)
by Jeralyn on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:40:48 PM EST

I represent men and women accused of serious crimes.

I can't bear watching (5.00 / 1) (#12)
by Natal on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:13:17 PM EST

the video clips of Sarah Palin. I cringe whenever she speaks. At first I thought it was my left wing bias but now realize it's feeling very sorry for her in this position -- mostly her own doing. I'm bleeding heart I guess.

It's not just the idiocy of the (5.00 / 0) (#20)
by scribe on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:19:17 PM EST

words. It's the "I sound like one of the exaggerated Minnesootan women from "A Prairie Home Companion".

I love that show, because everyone knows it's not supposed to be serious. The Vice Presidency is. But with the idiocy she sounds like a bad comedy routine.


Please stop with the attacks on our accents (5.00 / 2) (#77)
by Cream City on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 07:09:13 PM EST

in the Midwest -- and in the Northwest, which is her accent, as it's exactly how my relatives there talk.

Or we will start on the Noo Yawkers, and then the New Joisey growl (what IS that?), and then there is the Bahston sound from Hahvahd Yahd. . . .

After all, you want the votes of millions of Dems who sound like Palin.


Actually (none / 0) (#79)
by Steve M on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 07:50:40 PM EST

it sounds a lot like a Canadian accent to my ear. I guess there's not much difference.

I'm going to have to question your Midwestern credentials at this point, though. Everyone knows Midwesterners have no accent!


: Yes, it is close to a Canadian accent (none / 0) (#90)
by Cream City on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 09:39:00 PM EST

because she is from Idaho. But yes, you're corrent -- you and I and the rest of us Midwesterners have no accent at all, dere.:-)

: canda, yeah (none / 0) (#92)
by connecticut yankee on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 10:05:10 PM EST

Yeah, she sounds a bit like Ontario to my Detroit ears. I have relatives over there who sound quite a bit like her.
They are slightly more nasally. Col Tigh from BSG is a good example of an ontario accent.

Can we still mock Texas accents? (none / 0) (#85)
by coigue on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 08:22:37 PM EST

I wasn't making fun of the midwesterners (none / 0) (#87)
by scribe on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 08:34:33 PM EST

or their accent. I happen to like it. It's just that Palin is such a parody - over the top - of that accent that I cannot stand it because it stands to paint them with the brush of stupid, and that wouldn't be fair to them (even though it would be fair to her).

I used to like Texas accents until Bush came along - I have a client and a couple colleagues from Texas and the different accents from there always said "mannerly gentility", "hospitality", and "go get 'em enthusiasm and problem-solving". Bush has ruined those assocations for me.

The easiest on the ear? To me, from that tail of Virginia in the far southwestern corner of the state, where it, Kentucky, Tennessee and N. Carolina all come together. Or around Louisville.

The most fun to use when you want to mess with people - Pennsylvanian, from Penn Dutch country. That can get impenetrable in a second.


: Nope, ya gotta hear da Yoopers, dere (none / 0) (#89)
by Cream City on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 09:37:24 PM EST

if you want a funny accent -- and fun people. Not Midwesterners, even though the map makes them Michiganders. Yoopers are nearly Canadian, so they're the nicest people there are, dere.
Actually, the easiest on the ear is the Nebraska accent. Ever since Johnny Carson, that's the standard tv accent, so you don't even hear it.
And it's a Midwestern accent, too, of course. There actually are dozens of Midwestern accents, including the Minnesota one you think you're hearing, but that's because the movie Fargo confused you. It used Minnesota accents, although it ought to have used the Dakotas accent. And then you're getting close to the Northwestern accent you hear in Palin -- because she was born in, and her parents are from, Idaho.
So was my mom, so I know the Idaho/Washington accent. And it reminds me of my mom, so it's okay by me and all. (They add "and all" a lot.)

Everyone in Lake Woebegone (none / 0) (#67)
by litigatormom on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:29:31 PM EST

is above average.


: And good looking. (none / 0) (#71)
by MileHi Hawkeye on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:38:36 PM EST

She certainly is a parody of a stereotypical Northern Minnesota resident, only a lot less intellegent.
I'll have to remember to ask my SIL how she feels about that.

I told my colleague in San Diego (5.00 / 1) (#13)
by Paladin on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:14:08 PM EST

that because she can see Mexico from her office, she's qualified to handle our foreign affairs. So instead of voting for Obama, I'll be writing my colleague in :-)

And I told my colleague.... (5.00 / 1) (#36)
by alexei on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:43:07 PM EST

that "since I lived in Indonesia from 6 years old to 10 years old", I have much more foreign policy experience than anyone. Or "I have visited, ur, uhm, 57 states with one more, Alaska and Hawaii".


Touche (none / 0) (#48)
by Paladin on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:58:08 PM EST

: No. not touche' (5.00 / 0) (#84)
by coigue on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 08:22:08 PM EST

That isn't the sum total of Obama's experience, and even if it were it's a hell of a lot more than "bordering a state"
We are conveniently forgetting his recent trip to Europe, Iraq, Israel, where Maliki endorsed Obama's plan.
Palin has nothing on his foreign policyexperience, and McCain has nothing on Obama's judgement and temperment (as proven by McCain's economy-endangering stunt in the past two days.)

And because I won the primary through a (none / 0) (#81)
by coigue on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 08:16:54 PM EST

huge public vetting process that included my party electibg me, and debates, and more, I am the Republican candidate...

OH...wait.

Actually, because McCain was desperate for some energy in the campaign he made a last minute gut-level decision to choose me even without a proper vetting, I am the Republican candidate.

Sheesh...you Republicans must really love inarticulate leaders.


Palin doesn't say the bailout (5.00 / 1) (#17)
by Green26 on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:18:01 PM EST

is "about" health care reform.

In answer to a question about why the money is not better spent on health care reform, Palin says the bailout will "help those concerned about health care reform" by "shoring up the economy".

Do you think health care reform, which will be expensive, will be done if the US economy is in the tank?

Hasn't Obama already indicated that he may have to back off some of his spending (I think including health care stuff) due to the current situation in the US?

I see nothing wrong with what Palin said. I don't understand the attempt to twist what she said and to say that she said something that she didn't say.

Oh my (5.00 / 2) (#31)
by Steve M on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:34:31 PM EST

Oh my (5.00 / 1) (#65)
by litigatormom on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:25:25 PM EST

She started talking about health care reform to change the subject and get back to her talking points. And then she exclaimed, "Oh, and it's about job creation too!"

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.


you can't understand it because (5.00 / 1) (#69)
by kelsweet on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:33:11 PM EST

it is twisted beyond recognition. I saw nothing wrong with it either.... but then, I TRY to stay objective. If you notice on TV every single person speaking on behalf of Obama snicker at everything asked of them if it is not glowing. There will never be a straight answer as far as I can see, and SP will never be seen as anything more than a blight to women by women who aren't secure with themselves.


I agree that this is what she said and meant (none / 0) (#54)
by Militarytracy on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:05:42 PM EST

but she is painting the economy with a giant mutha of a brush. She's talking trickle down now and we all remember how wonderful sitting under that icicle was praying for a warm breeze. Perhaps if we spoke in tongues this time filled with the spirit some would get on us.


: The anti-witch ritual (5.00 / 0) (#66)
by litigatormom on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:25:59 PM EST

apparently did not work.

This is unfortunate. (5.00 / 1) (#19)
by indy in sc on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:18:35 PM EST

I don't really take joy in how badly she did with Katie Couric (I mean it's Katie Couric!). I used to think that Palin was a smart, capable woman who was just dead wrong on the issues. Now I feel like she's not only wrong--she's also not so smart and not so capable. Ugh--I'm doubly worried about a potential McCain administration now.

: I agree. (none / 0) (#102)
by coigue on Fri Sep 26, 2008 at 01:58:06 PM EST

To be fair (5.00 / 1) (#22)
by robrecht on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:21:19 PM EST

Here she is telling Katie Couric the bailout is about health care reform and that reducing taxes must accompany tax reductions.

She was saying that "reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief." Just a talking point she has to remember to mention whenever tax cuts comes up.

Nor do I think she was saying that the bailout was about health care reform, but rather that the bailout would help the economy in general and thereby help those who are concerned with health care reform etc.

I'm not saying that she isn't an frightening idiot, she is, but I see no reason to misrepresent what she was trying to say. It's not so hard to figure out.

nice try but that's not what she said (none / 0) (#25)
by Jeralyn on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:26:54 PM EST

the transcript is there, it speaks for itself.

That's probably what her talking points called on her to say, but she blew the lines...badly.


Listen to it again (5.00 / 1) (#28)
by robrecht on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:29:53 PM EST

Read the transcript again. It's very clear what she means.


More weak Gotcha games? (5.00 / 1) (#30)
by ks on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:34:04 PM EST

So, iow, you knew what she meant but felt it was more "accurate" to translate this (inartful as it is):

"PALIN: Ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up the economy- Oh, it's got to be about job creation too. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions."

Into this:

Nice work.


: the problem is that I can't tell (none / 0) (#40)
by of1000Kings on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:46:39 PM EST

where one thought ends and the next begins...
but hey, at least she doesn't speak correctly like some freaking elitist...
let's go have a beer and shoot something...(obligatory Palin comment)

Here's how she can stay on message (none / 0) (#34)
by scribe on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:39:45 PM EST

and not make a fool of herself. Let the record do your talking. It's not like you'll ever have any original thoughts, Sarah.

Thank you, Barney Frank.


this is scary (5.00 / 0) (#24)
by tarheel74 on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:22:29 PM EST

she is clueless, she cannot speak in a proper sentence, she is incoherent and if elected she can one day become the president very very soon. I am embarrassed and frankly the thought of that it frightening.

Glenn Greenwald (5.00 / 0) (#39)
by CCinNC on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:45:49 PM EST

speculates that she is:

(a) completely ignorant about the most basic political issues -- a vacant, ill-informed, incurious know-nothing, or (b) aggressively concealing her actual beliefs about these matters because she's petrified of deviating from the simple-minded campaign talking points she's been fed and/or because her actual beliefs are so politically unpalatable, even when taking into account the right-wing extremism that is permitted, even rewarded, in our mainstream. I'm not really sure which is worse, but it doesn't really matter, because with 40 days left before the election, both options are heinous.

I'm watching her now on CBS. My shoulders are hunched from cringing.


three she's playing a Quayle part (none / 0) (#45)
by Salo on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:53:29 PM EST

to divert from Mccain's gaffing.


: Speaking of McCain (none / 0) (#61)
by CCinNC on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:13:04 PM EST

He was practically preening on CBS with Couric (in a strangely edited segment) re: putting "country first" by attending to the bailout crisis.

She's overloaded with data (5.00 / 1) (#27)
by Paladin on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:29:33 PM EST

and it's spilling out in the wrong contexts. Under pressure, she can't figure out where to insert the right talking point in the right place. I feel bad for her, but for the country's sake, am very relieved that her cluelessness is being exposed (or more accurately, McCain's recklessness in choosing her is being exposed).

: ya (none / 0) (#35)
by connecticut yankee on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:43:06 PM EST

Yeah, I agree its data overload. SHe's a skilled debater when she knows her material. Not that Im saying she should be VP.
I expect her to do ok in the debate if she can discipline herself and not ramble like that.

Where did Palin say the bailout (5.00 / 1) (#29)
by Green26 on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:32:17 PM EST

was "about" health care reform?

She didn't but it is ok to put words in her... (5.00 / 1) (#38)
by alexei on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:45:48 PM EST

mouth, because "we have an election to win".


we have to put words in her mouth (5.00 / 1) (#42)
by of1000Kings on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:50:51 PM EST

because we don't understand the ones she allows to come out of her mouth...


: ha! (none / 0) (#83)
by coigue on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 08:18:50 PM EST

My God! (5.00 / 1) (#47)
by kempis on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:55:00 PM EST

The clip is not even two minutes and I couldn't bear to watch it all.

Palin apparently gets scared when asked a question and turns into a babbling brook of jumbled talking points....It's like she thinks if she throws enough out there, maybe she'll hit something.

What a total scattershot response. No wonder McCain tried to finagle a one-week delay for Palin. Jeez-O-Man....

Makes alotta sense... (5.00 / 1) (#59)
by kdog on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:10:34 PM EST

In order to make healthcare affordable for your average American, we first need to save an economy that leaves the average American unable to afford healthcare.

She's sharp this one:)

: hehe. (5.00 / 1) (#63)
by Salo on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:23:44 PM EST

Maybe it was a fruedian slip. What is nationaizzed next? Delta Dental and Blue Cross?

geez (5.00 / 0) (#91)
by connecticut yankee on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 10:00:36 PM EST

I just watched more of the interview. I literally put a pillow over my face and started belly laughing. But it wasnt fun laughter, it was a kind of shock mingled with other things.

Ed Rollins, huckabees campaign manager, said tonight on CNN that they shouldnt have her do more interviews like that.

I thought (my dumb) (5.00 / 0) (#95)
by bluejane on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 11:38:10 PM EST

that unscripted she would be smarter and better educated than this. Talk on Rachel's show with KO that McC might do another "razzle dazzle" play (Tweety's colorful term) and drop Palin and zip in a new VP. Given his deer-in-headlights look which I bet is partly attributable to his realization that in his weakness he had hatched a bad egg with Palin, I won't be surprised if he drops her. Hope not, however, because she's helping to drag him down to well-deserved oblivion. Dangerous as she is (I don't like her religious prophesy zealotry -- we survived this mentality in Reagan and Bush but Sarah could act on her insane ideas to accelerate the Second Coming with a nice fat apocalyptic war with Iran), if McCain drops her it might make her more popular and distract the public just enough for McCain to slip into the WH.

Was (none / 0) (#14)
by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:15:08 PM EST

Was this video edited by CBS or anyone else before release?

wow (none / 0) (#18)
by connecticut yankee on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:18:23 PM EST

Man, that was world class babble. I'm impressed that she, or Couric, didnt start laughing.

Couric's face is a study (none / 0) (#74)
by byteb on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:45:16 PM EST

in self-control.


REally? I thought (none / 0) (#82)
by coigue on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 08:18:17 PM EST

she was was poorly containing her disgust.


Well, Katy's eyes were like lasers (5.00 / 0) (#93)
by byteb on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 10:25:44 PM EST

but she kept a straight face..and given the disjointed blather coming out of Palin's mouth, I giver her a lot of credit...I'd be either laughing or crying if I were the interviewer. ;)


: I read "pissed off" (none / 0) (#101)
by coigue on Fri Sep 26, 2008 at 01:57:41 PM EST

as in ...this is the best the Republicans think a woman can do???

heh (none / 0) (#99)
by connecticut yankee on Fri Sep 26, 2008 at 09:04:05 AM EST

You should have seen Anderson Cooper's face last night after they cut back from a Palin interview clip. He looked scared/confused.


: and that's different from usual (none / 0) (#100)
by coigue on Fri Sep 26, 2008 at 01:56:49 PM EST

how exactly?

It doesn't strike me as ... (none / 0) (#41)
by Robot Porter on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:49:20 PM EST

that bad.

Not as bad as the recent bubble-headed actions of McCain.

And yet for all that I still think McCain could win were it not for the financial crisis.

I think that has doomed his campaign. And there's little he or his VP can do to save it.

And I've been bearish on Obama's chances throughout the campaign. But I think he's the driver's seat now. I hope he's up to the job.

I tend to agree. (5.00 / 1) (#46)
by Salo on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 05:54:57 PM EST

But for the crisi of capitalism that we are witnessing, Obama would probably be losing now.

Politics is a funny old game. It's Obama's to lose after the banking collapse.


Agreed ... (none / 0) (#52)
by Robot Porter on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:04:36 PM EST

and I think you rightly label it as "a crisis of capitalism."

Salo, I've noticed that you're one of the few commentators here who seems to see the long game on this crisis.

Too many people seem to be clinging to ideas that died last week, and aren't going to be resuscitated.

I think people in the financial sector will suffer from something akin to post-traumatic stress syndrome over the next few years.

Tragic in a way. But no one forced them to buy into this con game.


please stay on topic (none / 0) (#60)
by Jeralyn on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:11:55 PM EST

it's Sarah Palin's comments. BTD has many threads on the economy you can put your thoughts on.


: she's a cypher now. (none / 0) (#62)
by Salo on Thu Sep 25, 2008 at 06:22:58 PM EST

Obama's locked it up. He really can't lose the election now.

Brad (none / 0) (#96)
by lynnebrad on Fri Sep 26, 2008 at 02:29:30 AM EST

I like to think of her as entering a sentence with one thought and exiting with another.

: A good way to put it (none / 0) (#98)
by Montague on Fri Sep 26, 2008 at 07:59:36 AM EST

Nicely said!

To be fair (none / 0) (#97)
by Montague on Fri Sep 26, 2008 at 07:58:35 AM EST

She did not say that "reducing taxes must accompany tax reductions" - she said "reducing taxes" as part of a laundry list and then moved immediately into a run-on thought: "and reining in spending must accompany reducing taxes."

What it all has to do with health care reform, though.... That one beats me.