Cashman: I know this is gong to sound sarcastic, but it's not. I genuinely want to know where you're coming from on this.

Your points:

Qualified. How? The mayor of Wasilla does almost nothing. The governor has the easiest job of all 50 governors - never has to balance a budget and pays cash to every voter every year - the very definition of welfare. Other than raising a family, what has she done that qualifies her for national office? And don't deflect with "Obama isn't experienced either" - 2 wrongs don't make a right. And let's not forget that she quit her job before her term was up and said "I'm not quitting" in the very speech where she *quit*!

Honest: Now it's turning out that there are serious questions about the role her husband played in state government. And if someone could keep up the ridiculous questioning of Obama's citizenship, the questions surrounding Palin's ethics certainly have more meat to them. I mean, when a panel says "what you did was legal but not ethical", that's a weak defense.

Love's our country: Ok, I'll agree with you there.

What specific qualifications does Palin have?

He had the ability to "EARN" a Nobel Peace Price....surely you jest. A gifted orator....I fear not. Yes he is a good reader. Without notes or a teleprompter he is no more talented than an average trained lawyer.

GOP has incesent partisan politics. Again you jest. Nancy Pelosi is the poster child of partisan politics. She openly admits she is against "anything" the opposition is in favor of...do you call the Dems need to use partisan shenanigans to pass health care reform whether the GOP or we the people like it or not....what? Thank GOD Mass. election came along with a wake up call.

I think others above have said it....just put the name Palin in a sentence and stand back and watch the shrapnel delivery.
Also as said above, it is too bad those who so adamantly are against Palin, cannot find the same thought process to discuss issues.

Since we don't deal in miracles we will just have to live with the faults of we the mortals.

btk

Originally Posted by billethkid

He had the ability to "EARN" a Nobel Peace Price....surely you jest. A gifted orator....I fear not. Yes he is a good reader. Without notes or a teleprompter he is no more talented than an average trained lawyer.

GOP has incesent partisan politics. Again you jest. Nancy Pelosi is the poster child of partisan politics. She openly admits she is against "anything" the opposition is in favor of...do you call the Dems need to use partisan shenanigans to pass health care reform whether the GOP or we the people like it or not....what? Thank GOD Mass. election came along with a wake up call.

I think others above have said it....just put the name Palin in a sentence and stand back and watch the shrapnel delivery.
Also as said above, it is too bad those who so adamantly are against Palin, cannot find the same thought process to discuss issues.

Since we don't deal in miracles we will just have to live with the faults of we the mortals.

btk

Kindly open your own thread if you insist on rehashing the same angry, venomous bombast I specifically requested not be part of this discussion. I'd like to read explanations of the candidate's qualifications. My dear, how is that not discussing the issues?!

Originally Posted by ijusluvit

Just wondering...

How can people be be so enamored with Sarah Palin as they watch her single item agenda unfold, that of non-stop baiting and ridiculing the President?

The latest 'hopey, changy' remarks are adolescent enough, but again today she used that knockout punch - reminding us that Obama uses a teleprompter. She did this while referring to the three words she had written on the palm of her hand to make sure she could remember how to answer a simple question about national priorities.

Let's not even count the past stuff about her questionable practices as governor, mother and VP candidate who could not answer simple questions about national affairs without extensive coaching.
Let's just look at her recent 'campaign'.

Please, anyone out there, explain to me how Ms Palin can be an intelligent, positive, creative, effective candidate for ANY office, much less for President.

(I'm looking for good solid reasons. Please don't criticize me for 1) Having the gall to ask the question, 2) being an Obama lover or a socialist, 3) not appreciating Ms Palin for being an attractive, single-minded, 'breath of fresh air', etc.

To qualify as a candidate she must be a native born US citizen and then be chosen by the party she represents.

[quote=ijusluvit;247700]
Ms Palin is NOT smart. There is simply overwhelming evidence of her woeful lack of knowledge about the country and the world.
Ms Palin has NOT been particularly successful as a mayor or governor. djplong's post is a pretty good summary.
I don't think the Alaskans who know her best would agree Ms Palin always practiced good christian values in her dealings there.
Ms Palin IS conservative, but I don't understand how that EXPLAINS why she is a good candidate for public office. It is as much a qualification as one's height or weight.
Finally, Ms Palin IS UNDENIABLY attractive. In fact one could argue she may be the most physically attractive national candidate person ever. So how is that more relevant than her height and weight?

Ms. Palin is not smart

Describe smart. (57 states, cannot pronounce "corpsman")

Not successful as governor?

By all accounts she was a good governor.

Does not have good christian value?

That is ridiculous.

Sarah attractive

. Don't hold that against her.


How do you describe smart? This president will not say there is a war on terror but said there is a war on junk food. This is also the guy who said the cops acted stupidly because they arrested his buddy.

75% of Americans lean toward conservative values.

Palin is a conservative which is smart of her.

80% or more of Americans are christians.

Palin is a Christian.

United States is based on a constitution.

Palin is a believer in our constitution.

The private sector fuels the economy.

Palin believes that.

Terrorists are at war with us and should not be treated as common criminals.

Palin says that every day.


I could list many more reasons why she is smart but Liberals hear only what suits their ideology and Palin is a threat to that ideology.

Well stated Cashman.

I read this article this morning. It is about misunderstanding the Tea Party.

My husband sent me this link.

http://hotair.com/archives/2010/02/0...the-tea-party/

hit a nerve!!!! "...the same angry, venomous bombast I specifically requested not be part of this discussion..."

Wow!!!! How totally incorrect and off the mark.

Ah-ha! I think I have it. It was not in line with what is expected to be heard.

Very simply, it was a counter point. Last I checked that was still allowed.

btk

Let's see, we've still got a couple of posters bashing the President, but one who seems to be trying, but hasn't yet responded to the question.

Cashman - How can you leap miles from saying that a person who has a label, like 'christian' or 'conservative' etc, embodies the qualities of that label. There are zillions of very bad people with those and other 'good' labels who have committed serious, even outrageous crimes. Bernie Madoff believes in the constitution, he is trying to use it in every way possible to get out of jail!
It's the person, their behavior and accomplishments which count - not the label.

So once again, please EXPLAIN Ms Palin's high qualities and excellent behavior which make her a good candidate for national office.

Originally Posted by ijusluvit

Let's see, we've still got a couple of posters bashing the President, but one who seems to be trying, but hasn't yet responded to the question.

Cashman - How can you leap miles from saying that a person who has a label, like 'christian' or 'conservative' etc, embodies the qualities of that label. There are zillions of very bad people with those and other 'good' labels who have committed serious, even outrageous crimes. Bernie Madoff believes in the constitution, he is trying to use it in every way possible to get out of jail!
It's the person, their behavior and accomplishments which count - not the label.

So once again, please EXPLAIN Ms Palin's high qualities and excellent behavior which make her a good candidate for national office.

`What exactly was Obama's accomplishments before he was elected president?

Cashman: I'll take your points. First, let me state that it's not conservatism that I'm against - I just think Palin is the wrong person to take up the banner. It's like how the GOP was *salivating* over the prospect of Hillary as the Democrat nominee since she was so easy to beat in an election - there was so much to use against her. One could be snarky and say that she was so easy to beat that a junior senator from Illinois with no experience beat her.

75% of Americans lean towards conservative values

Can you expand on that? "Conservative Values" cover a *lot* of ground and, if that were the case, the 'conservative' candidate would win with, presumably, 75% of the vote. Now, mind you, I'm going on my own experience here, but it seems to me that the candidate most likely to 'catch fire' with the public is one who has a touch of both. I'll explain.

Fiscal Conservative - we all want our tax money being spent wisely, not on bridges to nowhere. Oddly enough, despite all the discontent, we are apparently the envy of the world when it comes to compliance rates when paying our taxes. We want to know that we're getting our money's worth and, I think most of us here would agree, there's a lot of waste out there. Heck, my own job has waste in it. But the government appears to want to convert my position from a contractor to an 'organic' position - which means instead of a defense contractor getting paid and paying me, the government will pay me directly - and save a LOT of money in the process.

Social Liberal - By that I mean the sense that we have in this country of "you have your business, I have mine - and we keep our noses out of each other's private matters". In other words, it doesn't matter if I have a gay couple living next door. Doesn't affect me in the least. It doesn't matter if other people are doing things THAT DO NOT IMPINGE ON MY RIGHTS. You know, the old "your right to swing your fist ends at my nose" sentiment. But with that should come PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY (something that seems to be lacking all too much in today's Professional Victimhood ethos).

Maintain a basic social safety net as a TEMPORARY helping hand to people who have fallen on hard times and provide services that promote the general welfare (defense, transportation network, justice system, etc) and you have a good mix.

Palin is a conservative

She's never had her values tested - not as governor. She kept the oil money flowing as welfare checks to the citizens of Alaska, right wrong or indifferent. You could *almost* be a trained monkey and run Alaska because of the oil revenues.

80% or more of Americans are christians.

Palin is a Christian.

Means nothing. Northern Ireland was just about 100% Christian and look what it did for them until recently. What kind of Christian? Perhaps the Seventh Day Adventists who came from a following that believed the world was ending in the 1800s? The Jehovah's Witnesses who've had several end-of-the-world dates? Catholic (which I was raised) who protected and promoted child rapists while telling me I would go to hell for eating a hamburger on a Friday? Any of the evangelical sects that have the head preacher railing aginst various evils, then checking into motels at night to perform those same said evils?

United States is based on a constitution.

Palin is a believer in our constitution.

ALL countries are based on a Constitution. Ever read the one for China? It's a fascinating read. George Bush said he believed in the Constitution yet repeatedly violated it (in different ways than people say Obama wants to violate it). Palin won't get to be judged on this, though.

The private sector fuels the economy.

Palin believes that.

Any sane person does. Even the most flaming liberals I know believe that. It's just what you do with said private sector where the arguments start. Do you let them run free and unregulated in some sort of Objectivist Utopia? The financial collapse showed the folly of that. Most people I know might not agree with everything the FDA does, but they want someone inspecting the meat so that we find out problems that result in meat recalls, not people dying and THEN having an investigation start.

Terrorists are at war with us and should not be treated as common criminals.

We've managed to do exactly that to several hundred terrorists. They're behind bars and aren't escaping. If there's one thing we're good at here in this country, it's building prisons.

Look, I agree with MANY conservative principles. I just think Sarah Palin is the WRONG person to be leading the charge. A lot of people will dismiss her because of the things she's done. She's no Ronald Reagan.

Hey Donna2

Your last post, you whiffed again. Not even counting a couple of mulligans, that's strike three. You may return to the bench now.

(still looking for someone who can hit in this 'lob pitch' thread!)

Originally Posted by ijusluvit

Hey Donna2

Your last post, you whiffed again. Not even counting a couple of mulligans, that's strike three. You may return to the bench now.

(still looking for someone who can hit in this 'lob pitch' thread!)

It is hard to hit a home run when you start a thread with a spit ball.

Originally Posted by ijusluvit

Back to my question. Can someone EXPLAIN why Ms. Palin is a good candidate for important public office?

First, I will not state that Sarah Palin is the best-qualified candidate for national office. She well may be so on the basis of her record and accomplishments, but there are other qualified candidates such as Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton.

Now, let's look at her responsibilities as governor. Some have stated that she was governor of the smallest state in the union. Au contraire mon fraire. She was responsible for the largest state in the union. Not in population, but in size, coastline (greater the entire coastline of our Atlantic and Gulf states put together), bio-diversity, and difficulty in communications/transportation. She succeeded in helping Alaska towards better communications and transportation.

The objection that she took advantage of income from private enterprise rings while developing much needed energy seems specious.
That our governor should be equally effective in saving the taxpayers money would seem to be a good thing.

Sarah Palin as a part of the McCain team advocating getting needed energy from all potential sources including drilling for oil and natural gas, nuclear power and clean goal. Obama is slowly coming to realize this need. His beloved solar and wind power are not going to meet the need. A day late, a dollar short and far from dealing in reality. Palin knew what needed to be done from the start – I’m far from sure that Obama has figured it out yet. No legislation has been introduced supporting these actions.

Yes, Sarah Palin is a straight thinking, action oriented person who might well make a good President. She is, in many ways, a later day Teddy Roosevelt.

Teddy Roosevelt?!?!?! The man who led the charge up San Juan Hill? The man who practically INVENTED the National Park system?

The latest figures I could find for the population of Alaska were just over 686,000. Compare this to my home state of NH at 1.3M. We manage to get by without a sales or income tax and have a lot of people moving up here from Massachusetts expecting services to come with them. I'll put Governor Lynch (whom I don't agree with very often) agains Ms. Palin any day of the week when it comes to having to get a job done.

In other words, the population of Boston - just the city limits, not the metro area. This population is spread over an area half the size of 'the lower 48'.

So let's look at Palin's experience. On the Wasilla City council for 4 years, mayor for 6. Lost an election for Lt. Governor in '02 and chaired the Alaska Oil and Gas Coservation Commission from 2003 until she resigned in '04. In '06, she became governor and resigned in '09. It still puzzles me as to why she resigned. I still can't get over her saying "I am not quitting" in the very speech where she said she was quitting.

To compare her to Teddy Roosevelt isn't exactly an apples-to-apples comparison. You're comparing a 200-year-old oak tree to an acorn. Take a look at the two Wikipedia pages. Even if you ignore the section on Palin's controversies (which are flagged as "may not be neutral") the differences are striking.

I think so many people have jumped on the Palin bandwagon because they're looking for SOMEone to carry their torch annd while Palin has the 'looks' and the charisma, she doesn't (to me) seem to have the substance to back it up. Let's face it, isn't that some of the same criticism going to Obama?

That being said, I don't know if ANYONE can run the gauntlet that the press puts up. I mean, if Jesus Christ himself were running for office, the press would be running investigative stories into who his 'real' father was, who was Joseph covering up for, was Mary telling the truth and why is his inner circle of advisors entirely male?