Robert Parry over at The Smirking Chimp has a wonderful post, Neocon Desperation is Showing, about the VP debate. Without doubt, it is the most incisive and informative article I've read about the debate. He basically refutes the spin which Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard wrote in his article entitled “Comeback.”
Of course, it would have been quite a feat to positively spin the following Palin gem:
“Nuclear weaponry, of course, would be the be-all, end-all of just too many people in too many parts of our planet, so those dangerous regimes, again, cannot be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons, period. Our nuclear weaponry here in the U.S. is used as a deterrent. And that's a safe, stable way to use nuclear weaponry..."
It must have had them rolling in the aisles, not only her mispronouncing the word nuclear four times but with that ridiculous "be-all, end-all" expression.
Parry again:
Palin’s “shout-out” to some Alaska school kids and other folksy chatter might have charmed some casual voters, but Palin’s casual style – masking a shallowness of knowledge – might have been unnerving to many other Americans who are in the mood for some gravitas.
What do you think? Can you really imagine this small-town personage actually performing the role of the Vice President?
I think there are wonderful people in both our smallest towns and our largest cities. I don't know why Palin (and by extension the entire party) would champion the former as the "best our country has to offer".
ReplyDeleteAlienating such a large population of our country to appease small-town voters just seems foolish. And yet it often works.
it doesn't work with quite everybody:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinycatpants.wordpress.com/2008/10/03/ive-seen-it-all-in-a-small-town/
and the last part of this one:
http://tinycatpants.wordpress.com/2008/10/06/political-thoughts/
FWIW, i grew up in a small town --- tiny village, more like --- left it, and am never going back. but that was a small town in another country, on another continent, with a very different culture. even so, some things about small towns do seem universal...
Govermentium (Gv) has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.
ReplyDeleteThese 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.
Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second to take from four days to four years to complete.
Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2-6 years; It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes. This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass.
When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.
I found the "be all, end all" comment amusing, too. Like saying "nookyoolar" weapons are the "bees knees" or "cat's pajamas."
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a small town, too. And, though I don't know for a fact, I'd be willing to bet that my sister-in-law is probably a HUGE Sarah Palin fan.
She and my brother are borderline evangelical.
They used to belong to a Lutheran church. I'm not sure what the denomination of their current church is, but they've gotten way Jesusier since the switch.
Still, even my brother was "undecided" last time I talked to him. We still like to rib e/o, though. When we hugged goodbye, I said "Vote Obama!" just as he said, "Remember, vote McCain!" :)
Great one, Tom.
ReplyDeletethe GOP wouldn't dare schedule any more unscripted TV time for Palin, that should tell you something... oh well, it was fun while it lasted
ReplyDelete