Sarah Palin is policy lite, platitude heavy!

I don't think there has ever been a candidate in any election since elections were invented who's been like Sarah Palin. I saw a clip of her on Have I Got News For You where she was outdoing Mrs Malaprop. I then wondered what sort of person would want to support her. Well, if you look at some of the vast array of videos available on the internet, the common expression used is "clueless". Most of her fans believe she "supports the constitution". Yet she doesn't, or didn't here, know of any one of the Founding Fathers.

Now I know it's easy to mock. Easy to criticise. But surely someone in her position should do basic homework in political and historical facts. The more she appears dimwitted the more the mockery continues. I doubt if the Founding Fathers would be that miffed in her forgetting who they were, but I guess they would be gravely offended by her cavalier approach to the attributes that are required for the presidency. Political leadership requires a belief by the electorate that one is a serious candidate. The moment the public gets a whiff of a ridiculous situation, it's like the walls of Jericho tumbling down

Or at least it usually is. What I can't fathom is that so many think she is the right one to take on Barack Obama. There are any number of crazy things she has said since she was catapulted onto the world's stage. But it isn't just her saying odd, peculiar things. Her supporters are equally vacuous, equally mesmerised by clueless thoughts. In some cases it sinks to the level of gibberish.

Very few of those purporting to want her in the White House have any idea of her policies. That's probably because she doesn't either. This isn't even mom and apple pie stuff. There's a slight sinister streak in it all. None of the supporters appear conservative in the true sense as they are ignorant of what they want to conserve. I only hope the Republican Party has regained its self-respect. If not, well, we are all in for a bumpy ride if she ever gets to be be president.

Sarah Palin curries favour with the Indians

"Ooh look! There's India"

Sarah Palin has left Alaska to visit India, a place she definitely can't  see from her kitchen window. She's been chatting up the high and mighty at dinners, galas and conclaves. The Indians seem mightily impressed, but then they are not given to rubbishing people they don't know. Mrs Palin is giving them her cookie charm offensive with such lines as "There is so much in common between India and the US" and "Our ties and bonds are deep. They are driven by free people and free markets and not just by political summits". I doubt if many Americans sit up each morning in bed and think that Uncle Sam has deep ties with India. As for free people and free markets, the vast majority of Indian people scrape by without being driven anywhere.

She loftily tells her audience, "Relations between India and the US are key to our world relations, regardless of who is president". They are expected to interpret this as putting them on the top table. But in reality it's all rather gauche. In fact, it's totally erroneous. The United States isn't going to consult India on everything. It is not key to realpolitik at all. No, far more realeconomik. But she may have thought this too crude a political step to take.

"America has long been famous for (its) rags-to-riches story. Today, India too has the same story. India is no longer a struggling economy." It's true in parts. But mostly untrue. But it sounds great, doesn't it? America has been a mixed bag of a story as has India. Certainly there were a few in rags but most Americans, whether of the colonial sort or the republican sort, have managed quite well. Indians on the other hand have two economies. One for the well-to-do, with many millionaires and the other, much larger, for the rest. Dolly Parton likes to say "we were dirt poor" and she probably exemplifies Palin's comments, but Parton is in the tiny minority. Even the Pilgrim Fathers had more going for them than rags to walk about in.

Sarah Palin means a lot to a lot of people, but does she really mean what she says, says what she means or just says it anyway because she thinks it is so? If she ever did win the presidency I can't think she would make a great president. More a homespun one with ready quip for every eventuality.

Sarah Palin more sure about White House run

Sarah Palin does have one thing in common with the wild animals that surround her in Alaska. She has a tough hide! She's not bothered much about what is said about her. Which in one way is admirable. However, I don't think she stands much credit or merit for being put before the American people as a candidate for the presidency.

She talks about business doing the stuff of government. That government should be wound down. Sounds good, but all business needs a market to succeed. Her simple solutions do not create markets.

She talks about lowering taxes, yet would spend what it takes to fight wars, especially in Afghanistan. So no charity at home, where most think it should start.

She talks about Christian values, yet, as in the clip below, she likens humans to a mother bear. Sort of survival of the fittest. So if you are in any way physically or mentally disabled, then don't complain if you can't get at the salmon too quickly.

All her rhetoric is simple and rather cruel in all honesty. She sees it as her own reality. Personally, I just see a woman who is hard as nails underneath with not a lot of the caring soul about her. I wish I didn't think like that. She has hijacked the word conservative and given it a thorough going over. Out comes an altogether different meaning. Authoritarian, ruthless and rather dispassionate.

I feel I'm a conservative. I wish to conserve what is good about the human condition and change what needs changing. Maybe I'm oldfashioned. Anyway, she's at home on Fox News. Nobody there got where they are without fangs and finely-toned fingers!

Jewish groups regret Sarah Palin's ignorance of blood libel meaning

The Anti-Defamation League, America's top body for countering defamation against Jews (and others as well) calls Sarah Palin's use of "Blood Libel" unfortunate. It stops short of accusing her of defaming anyone as this was not her intention. However, her remarks have exposed her as an ignoramus (not for the first time) and one wholly unsuitable to be in the higher echelons of the Republican Party.

Apparently Palin had seen the term used on right-wing blogs (probably not that clever) and took to the term. If she thought she had been wronged she has gone about it it all the wrong way. Now she'll have to backtrack rather speedily. She's got foot-in-mouth syndrome. What she needs is a good mentor. Someone to put her on the right tracks. Otherwise she will just become known as some kookie mom-type figure who has a reputation for clueless remarks.

Not exactly what we need in the White House!

Sarah Palin re-emerges with "Blood Libel" offensive

I was wondering why she had been silent. Now, like a shrill volcano, she has attacked as a "blood libel" suggestions that political rhetoric contributed to Saturday's fatal shootings in Arizona. She says it is "reprehensible" and that "journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn".

What she fails to have comprehended is that Loughner was surrounded by anti-government literature in his bedroom. Probably there are any number of similar weirdos with immature political thoughts based on hatreds and angers. She did tell supporters to "reload". She sounded as though the gun and politics were inextricably linked, if only in an allegorical way. Yet she says she is not to blame. Well, not directly so, that is abundantly true. But she must surely see that such language excites the feeble-minded.

In her rebuttal, she declares, "Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not collectively with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of the aisle, not with law-abiding citizens who respectfully exercise their First Amendment rights at campaign rallies, not with those who proudly voted in the last election." What is she trying to say here? That whatever the rhetoric, such criminality as was witnessed on Saturday in Tucson, is nothing to do with the outside world? She must be leaving reason behind. Loughner may not have directly linked her with his actions. But he went out and targeted a politician because of his delusions about the state of the nation. What is being said is that loose talk like hers is dangerous in a febrile political environment. That's all. No reasoned person is suggestion she is the cause. Just that she should acknowledge that her rhetoric is not helpful. In that she has stubbornly and steadfastly refused to concede an inch.

And does she know what Blood Libel means? This Wikipedia entry might help!

Reload, said Sarah Palin, and one nutter did just that!

I cannot for the life of me understand why so many Americans are infatuated with the hairbrain solutions that Sarah Palin offers them. I know she looks and sounds like your average mom dishing out cookies and desserts to adoring kids. But most of what she says publicly has not much intellectual stimulus in it at all. Using metaphors about guns she tells supporters to "target" Democrats. She exhorts them "Don't retreat - instead, RELOAD!" I bet she thought that immensely funny at the time. Perhaps her porcelain smile has been wiped from her face now?

We can only hope that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords makes as full a recovery as possible. She was doing a very brave thing. Meeting her constituents in public. That surely is the stuff of democratic politics. The local sheriff, Clarence Dupnik, speaks volumes when he says, "When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government, the anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous. And, unfortunately, Arizona I think has become sort of the capital. We have become the Mecca for prejudice and bigotry. That may be free speech. But it's not without consequence." It's not free speech with any meaning, just prejudice and bigotry.

The consequence outside this Safeway store (some irony there!) is a grave tragedy for American democracy. The likes of Sarah Palin need to think before they speak. If not all she will be is a common rabblerouser.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1345460/Sarah-Palin-Arizona-sheriff-blames-political-vitriol-triggering-unstable-Safeway-gunmans-massacre.html#ixzz1AXZ5SeBU

Sarah Palin not quite sure about White House run

The last time Sarah Palin looked out of her kitchen window she was very certain she could see Russia. At the moment she is mulling over whether to run for the Presidency next time round. As fevered speculation mounts, she replies that she just wants to "look at the lay of the land". Well, it didn't "lay" in Russia. Maybe her best hope of seeing the lay of the land is watching a goose lay a golden egg. Her policies are best summed up as a golden curate's egg. Shiny shell and smooth with lots of rich texture but with a mixed bag inside. Maybe it's all some kind of a yoke?

As far as the lie of the land is concerned, well that's nearer to Washington and its far more fenced in and cultivated with an assortment of crops all springing up. She'll need all the help she can get to bring home the harvest.

Will Sarah Palin run for president?

Will she or won't she? Are the tea bags being ordered for the hoped for White House tea parties? Maybe she will have them on the lawn like the Queen and then disinvite people she doesn't like or want to be there.

In this picture she's pointing both ways which is a telling point indeed. I see a halo coming up the back of her. She's not planning on popping over to Birmingham for a quick beatification, is she?

Sarah Palin's radar picks up no signals

Sarah Palin has told Oprah Winfrey that a run for the presidency in 2012 is not on her radar. The thing about radars is that they can pick up extraordinary things. In some cases, the operator thinks there's an extraterrestrial object out there. In any case, it's no good looking at the radar today. Palin needs to keep checking the equipment. I bet she'll find at least a few blips on the screen. One or two neocons popping up, a couple of Alaskan oil workers, fundamentalist Bible-bashers, all kinds. Even detractors blowing her a few raspberries!

The first maxim of politics is "Never say never". She didn't say never, but she implied the radar would and that her radar is working well. "It's not on my radar screen right now", she told Oprah, as if to say it might flicker across the screen at a later date. She'll need to keep the electricity flowing through it as much as she has a growing band of eager-beaver nominators. There could come a time when they all ask "is this the time, Sarah?" and she replies, "Radar Says NO!"

Sarah Palin's comeback experience on Oprah's show

Matthew Continetti is the associate editor of The Weekly Standard and the author of "The Persecution of Sarah Palin which is out this week. He thinks Sarah Palin is at the start of a rehabilitation. I never thought she was that poorly, but hey what do I know. There are some who seriously think that Palin will be serving up moose burgers in the White House in 2013. Mr.Continetti is one of them.

He says -

"Ms. Palin has two problems. The first is that she's become one of the most polarizing figures in the country. The second is that voters continue to worry about her qualifications for the presidency, a concern that her abrupt resignation from office last July intensified.

Lucky for her, both problems are solvable. Since Ms. Palin appeared on the national stage, the left has unfairly demonized her. Blockbuster interviews and book tours will humanize her.
More important than these public appearances is Ms. Palin's message. She needs to adopt a market-friendly populist agenda to strengthen her policy credentials and make her seem less partisan to independent voters. A bipartisan, center-right approach should come easily to her. That's how she won her race for governor in 2006."

He is backing her, if rather cautiously, by suggesting she adopts the kind of campaign that did for Reagan against Carter. It could work. Somehow, though, I feel the American public will be looking around for a classier act and she will have a tough time getting the GOP nomination, assuming she wants it.

Her rehabilitation make go forward with Oprah's help or it may go several paces back. Pity I won't be able to see it!

The Oprah Winfrey Show - A World Exclusive: Oprah and Sarah Palin Meet for the First Time

William Shatner reads Sarah Palin's tweets!

How tweet! William Shatner reading in poetic fashion the tweets of Sarah Palin.

Sarah Palin versus the blogger Shannyn Moore!

Sarah Palin resigned as governor of Alaska to "spend more time with her family" and suggested she did not want to be a lame duck governor. Sounds a feasible reason for going. Mrs Palin has not been without controversy, particularly when it came to using law enforcement officers to give her ex-brother-in-law a fright he'd remember. I never really warmed to her. She boosted the Republican Party's image a bit and she is definitely famous now. Not quite in the Michael Jackson league, but she is certainly known, and not just in America.

So what happens now. Apparently a so-called liberal blogger, Shannyn Moore, has unearthed an investigation into possible wrongdoings by Mrs Palin and that was the reason for going. Mrs Palin is hopping mad and denying it all and threatening to sue everyone and anybody that repeats this cruel innuendo. Legally it's called defamation.

Palin's attorney has already issued a statement accusing Shannyn Moore of "false and defamatory allegations" in writing that Governor Palin resigned because of an alleged investigation pertaining to the construction of the Wasilla Sports Complex. On July 5, 2009, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) took an unusual step of making an announcement that Palin was not under any kind of investigation. But the central point of all this is that Moore suggested that Palin was "under investigation" not that she actually did anything wrong.

Who do we know is or is not under investigation. It was said that British prime minister Harold Wilson was under investigation by the British intelligence services. Tony Benn says he was. The FBI may deny or confirm what they are doing, but how do we know it is truthful?

Mrs.Palin, I believe, is incensed with Shannyn Moore, not because of the comment but because she is a blogger and not part of the cosy media establishment. All bloggers are seen as ferrets in politicians' underpants or knickers. This may end up with Palin in court unable to prove anything. She could come off a darn sight worse.

It seems to send out the message that dodgy dealings by politicians (and I'm not suggesting this applies to Mrs.Palin!) will be found out by bloggers and other internet publishers. Seeing that the British House of Commons has been traumatised of late, it is rather odd that any elected official would think twice about the temptations offered by corrupt practices.

Obama's special olympic remark

Barack Obama has been praised for responding so quickly to the supposed upset he caused by alluding to his ten-pin bowling prowess. He said to Jay Leno on the Tonight Show that it was like a special olympics entrant's efforts. Whilst he said the comment he realised his "gaffe". Quick as a flash the pundits were out to sound pompously pious. They wouldn't say anything so ghastly, would they? Butter wouldn't melt there!

I doubt if there is a person on the planet who hasn't said something that he or she regrets. Obama had the good grace to telephone, as soon as he could, the chief executive of the US Special Olympics organisation. It was a heartfelt apology. It was made before the show aired.

Saying sorry isn't easy, but not saying sorry is the mark of the arrogant. Obama is not an arrogant man, so his regret is sincerely made. So it is with some sadness that I hear that Sarah Palin is sitting in judgement over the president. She claims to be a born again Christian, a woman of integrity and American values at her heart. She's also a bit of bitch!

Harsh words? What gets me about these squeaky clean arm-waving proselytisers is that they often rush to judgement. She says she was "shocked" by the "degrading remark about our world's most precious and unique people, coming from the most powerful position in the world". I saw the show. It was not degrading in any way. She is the mother of a young son with Down's syndrome and a comment would be expected. But not one that puts the boot in.

He said sorry. Will Palin have the good grace to say sorry too?

Sarah Palin and Princess Diana are cousins!

The Daily Mail has dug up this information. According to genealogists, John McCain’s White House race running mate is a 10th cousin of Princes Harry and William’s late mother Princess Diana.

Who do we think we are? I'm going to look up my 10th cousins (when I know who they are!) and see who they are. What a surprise!

Sarah Palin and the Trooper Truth!

I wasn't very sure about Sarah Palin when she first came on the world scene, and was effectively introduced to all non-Alaskans. I've met American women like her before. All porcelain smooth looks with an electric current running underneath. On meeting, you could get a warm reception or a nasty shock from the experience.

What this so-called "trooper-gate" tells me is that she is definitely a tough cookie. The investion has found she abused her powers as governor. I think she gets muddled up as to whether she is a hockey mom or a Governor of a State in the union. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. She took against her brother-in-law, big time! So she wanted him to "feel the pain". One way was to get him sacked and possibly to sack anybody who wouldn't sack the sacker. Basically, she let her feelings run away with herself.

Now, however much she may want to deny it, this does have a bearing on the election. As Vice-President, would she do something similar? Would she get someone fired because she had a bad day? It goes to show integrity. It goes to show honour. But above all it goes to show character.

I don't care what she does in her own life, who she mixes with. That's not my business. But politicians aim to be in authority, where they can authorise laws. This puts them in the driving seat. As passengers we are allowed to know a bit about the driver.

Another menacing fact is that, once the McCain camp knew of this, they were all over Anchorage like wasps over jam. They were trying to "contain it". But we don't need this kind of political activity. It would have been better to admit what was happening. I'm against all this subterfuge. Mrs.Palin would score better with me if she just admitted that she got hacked off with her ex brother-in-law. We can all get angry, upset or annoyed in life. Covering it all up is many times worse.

Palin warming to the idea of God's global plan!

Sarah Palin is a bit like the curate's egg. Good in parts. She comes across as gutsy, folksy and someone with determination. But somehow the transcripts of her spoken voice leave something to be desired.

I get the impression she's latched onto the "It's all Nature's effects" viewpoint, because it suits her political stance over oil exploration in Alaska. However, she leaves room for suggesting it's partly man-made. I go along with that. It does seem more than likely that it is a mixture of natural change coming together with man-made effects of pollution and industrial wastage.

Where she doesn't do herself any favours, is when she suggests that nothing should be done except to accept that things and people should adapt to these changes without the necessary self-controls. I think she'd rather drill for oil than reduce emissions.

That leads on to suggest that McCain and Palin are not singing from the same hymn-sheet. More here.

"Can I call you Joe?"

The vice-presidential debate appears to have struck the right notes all round. It seems the main purpose of these debates is for the candidates not to make any gaffs. It's OK to speak prepared stuff, so long as you don't fluff your lines. Sarah Palin acquitted herself quite well. She was assured and spoke in reasoned tones. She still hasn't got any proper answer about leaving Iraq. Roughly translated, she just says, "How long is a piece of string?". Joe Biden also came across OK. No sexist jokes or superior putdowns. He was a good supporting act for Barack Obama.

So it doesn't really lead us anywhere, except to say that Palin didn't help to implode McCain's campaign, as some pundits were predicting, or secretly hoping for.

Palin is 'failin'!

I'm hoping I'm not becoming obsessed with Sarah Palin, but everywhere you look concerning the US Presidential election, her name pops up. It's a bit like shooting ducks at the fairground.

I was looking around for a take on Obama and found an interesting article by Wayne Brown of the Nation News from Barbados. Wayne thinks Sarah Palin is 'failin' and he paints a fairly accurate picture.

When she was picked by McCain the whole world went "Sarah who?" and then they started reading up on her. Having done that, they've made an opinion. She has galvanised Democrats into standing firm and she will probably not attract the independents. But the big question is, as Wayne puts it, will she cause Republicans of a less conservative viewpoint to peel off?

He says, "It's a fair guess that even moderate Republicans will increasingly develop immunity to her charms as they get a better look at the 'replacement president' John McCain is offering them." Replacement President? Now that's the crucial issue in the whole campaign. Americans do have to ask the question "Do I want her as president?" Unlike previous contests this is a bit more of an obvious conundrum.

Palin's electoral success due to witchhunter's prayer!

The forthcoming US Presidential election is not only vitally important to Americans but to the rest of the world too. Sorry thing is that I don't get a vote. However, I get a say through this blog! Because it is important to me. After all, the spivs and speculators of the sub-prime fiasco have helped destroy one British bank and almost toppled a second, not to mention other businesses going bust by the day.

So I am a bit concerned about who may end up in the White House. If Sarah Palin does, will she bring her witchhunter clerical friend with her as spiritual advisor? For me, it's getting more bizarre but maybe that's what it's all about.

Her friend is Thomas Muthee, a pastor in the pentecostal church Palin attends. She claims this cleric, who founded his ministry with a witchhunt against a Kenyan woman who he accused of causing car accidents through demonic spells, prayed so hard she won the Governorship of Alaska! She says, “As I was mayor and Pastor Muthee was here and he was praying over me, and you know how he speaks and he’s so bold. And he was praying “Lord make a way, Lord make a way. And I’m thinking, this guy’s really bold, he doesn’t even know what I’m going to do, he doesn’t know what my plans are. And he’s praying not “oh Lord if it be your will may she become governor,” no, he just prayed for it. He said “Lord make a way and let her do this next step. And that’s exactly what happened.” Wow! And she became Governor!

What next? Appears God is getting ready to intervene - He's invading Alaska! It's all too much for me.

Sarah Palin's Alaskan Armageddon

Todd Palin seals his lips!

The husband of John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, has refused to give evidence in the "Troopergate" investigation of his wife's alleged abuse of power as governor of Alaska. Troopergate is the name given to this alleged scandal over accusations that Sarah Palin sacked the state's public safety commissioner because he refused to fire her former brother-in-law, a state trooper. I don't think I'd like to get on the wrong side of this woman. Unlike the easily-pleased gathering at the Republican Convention, I sense she may be a little like fluff around cold steel. I hope I'm wrong, because if not, and she gets elected, John McCain is in for a hard time!

Meanwhile, as the investigation gathers slight speed, state senators have claimed that unco-operative witnesses are effectively sidetracking the probe until after US election day. Perish the thought!

Todd Palin was among 13 people subpoenaed by the Alaska legislature. Are the others so tightlipped? Come on Sarah, own up, tell us what happened and let this all die down.