News Palin pick an insult to our intelligence

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The discussion centers on the impact of Sarah Palin's selection as the vice-presidential candidate for John McCain's campaign. Initial reactions highlighted her appeal to women, but the conversation quickly shifted to criticisms of her qualifications and the controversies surrounding her, such as her daughter's pregnancy and various ethical issues. Despite these controversies, many supporters remained loyal, attributing her popularity to her charisma and ability to connect with conservative values. Critics argue that her lack of substantial experience and knowledge in complex political matters undermines her candidacy. The dialogue also touches on the broader implications of the election process, suggesting that it has devolved into a popularity contest rather than a serious evaluation of candidates' qualifications and policies. Participants express frustration over the perceived ignorance of voters who support candidates based on superficial traits rather than substantive issues, leading to concerns about the future of democracy and informed decision-making in elections.
  • #151
Since we are making things up about Sara Palin.
She caused hurricane Ike.
She made those two trains collide.
And she is a member of the KKK.

It's got to be eating you all up that people like her for being her.
 
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  • #152
castlegates said:
Since we are making things up about Sara Palin.
She caused hurricane Ike.
She made those two trains collide.
And she is a member of the KKK.

It's got to be eating you all up that people like her for being her.

Wow, she did those things? I'm not voting for her! (And I'm Canadian, so my vote counts double! (actually my vote counts 10 times as much, since we have 1/10th the population... it just doesn't count for anything in your election, hehe))
 
  • #153
castlegates said:
Since we are making things up about Sara Palin.
She caused hurricane Ike.
She made those two trains collide.
She is a member of the KKK.
She is qualified to be Vice President of the United States.
There, fixed it for you. :-p

Astronuc provided a link to an article substantiating his claims, which as close to proof as we can get without FOIA'ing it ourselves.
 
  • #154
LowlyPion said:
But beyond the issue of the Mayor's authority to have acted to demand resignation, one has to question how such rhetorical questions can be asked about taking books off the shelf of a Public Library in the first place.

Perhaps someone can explain why a Mayor would ask such a question? What would she be thinking that such a situation could ever arise to be asking in the first place ... unless of course she was considering that she might actually ask to have books removed?
I recall that Gibson asked her about this and she gave a reason. My memory isn't that good, but I think it was that someone had asked Palin the question and Palin (perhaps thoughtlessly) passed the question on. Unfortunately, I can't find transcripts of the interview and apparently there is a reason for that in this link:
http://mensnewsdaily.com/2008/09/14/a-public-challenge-to-charles-gibson-at-abc-news/"
 
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  • #155
jimmysnyder said:
I recall that Gibson asked her about this and she gave a reason. My memory isn't that good, but I think it was that someone had asked Palin the question and Palin (perhaps thoughtlessly) passed the question on. Unfortunately, I can't find transcripts of the interview and apparently there is a reason for that in this link:
http://mensnewsdaily.com/2008/09/14/a-public-challenge-to-charles-gibson-at-abc-news/"
ALL tv shows are edited, he should know that since he's a big time editor of something I've never heard of. Has he demanded that "edited" interviews with Obama be re-released unedited? No. :rolleyes:

Normally links to something that's not mainstream would not be allowed, but I'll let this pass because it shows how something is "ok" if it happens to the opposition, but cry foul when it's your candidate.
 
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  • #156
Gov. Palin’s Worldview
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/13/opinion/13sat1.html
As we watched Sarah Palin on TV the last couple of days, we kept wondering what on Earth John McCain was thinking.

If he seriously thought this first-term governor — with less than two years in office — was qualified to be president, if necessary, at such a dangerous time, it raises profound questions about his judgment. If the choice was, as we suspect, a tactical move, then it was shockingly irresponsible.

It was bad enough that Ms. Palin’s performance in the first televised interviews she has done since she joined the Republican ticket was so visibly scripted and lacking in awareness.

What made it so much worse is the strategy for which the Republicans have made Ms. Palin the frontwoman: win the White House not on ideas, but by denigrating experience, judgment and qualifications.

The idea that Americans want leaders who have none of those things — who are so blindly certain of what Ms. Palin calls “the mission” that they won’t even pause for reflection — shows a contempt for voters and raises frightening questions about how Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin plan to run this country.

One of the many bizarre moments in the questioning by ABC News’s Charles Gibson was when Ms. Palin, the governor of Alaska, excused her lack of international experience by sneering that Americans don’t want “somebody’s big fat résumé maybe that shows decades and decades in that Washington establishment where, yes, they’ve had opportunities to meet heads of state.”
. . . .

Bering Straight Talk :smile:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/opinion/14dowd.html
I’ve been in Alaska only a week, but I’m already feeling ever so much smarter about Russia.

The proximity of the country from which William Seward bartered to buy Alaska for $7 million — Seward’s icebox — is so illuminating that I suddenly realize that we would commit a grave error by overestimating Russia’s economic strength. After all, it represents only 2.8 percent of the world’s G.D.P., even though its gross domestic product has ballooned from $200 billion in 1999 to $1.7 trillion this year.

But I overanalyze.

An Arctic blast of action has swept into the 2008 race, making thinking passé. We don’t really need to hurt our brains studying the world; we just need the world to know we’re capable of bringing a world of hurt to the world if the world continues to be hell-bent on misbehaving.

Two weeks after being thrown onto a national ticket, and moments after being speed-briefed by McCain foreign-policy advisers, our new Napoleon in bunny boots (not the Pamela Anderson kind, but the knock-offs of the U.S. Army Extreme Cold Weather Vapor Barrier Boots) is ready to face down the Russkies and start a land war over Georgia, and, holy cow, what business is it of ours if Israel attacks Iran?
. . . .
OK - enough of the McCain-Palin comedy team. When is the GOP going to elect real candidates for P and VP? :smile:

It's got to be eating you all up that people like her for being her.
No - actually it's more like :smile:
 
  • #157
Evo said:
Normally links to something that's not mainstream would not be allowed, but I'll let this pass because it shows how something is "ok" if it happens to the opposition, but cry foul when it's your candidate.
Actually, I agree that the source was of low quality and would prefer that my offending post be deleted. However, the fact is that the interview was edited. Here is another site, also of low quality, that has a transcript of the interview with emphasis on the parts that were edited. The information is available on many web sites, but I can't find any from a reputable source.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/09/13/abc-news-edited-out-key-parts-sarah-palin-interview"
If someone can find a full transcript of the actual interview with or without emphasis, from a reputable source, I would prefer that this post also be deleted in favor of that one.

The practice of editing is not "ok". It is unacceptable to me on behalf of any side of any argument. I hope you will join me in this condemnation of a bad practice. If not, what is the point of requiring that sources be reputable?
 
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  • #159
For instance, here is a report from the (mainstream?) Chicago Sun-Times purporting to contain a full transcript of an interview with Obama.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/844597,transcript031508.article"
Why can't I get a full transcript of the interview with Palin from ABC News so I can link to it in safety?

As a single example of where the full interview changes the meaning of an answer, I point to this exchange which ABC is airing now:
GIBSON: What insight into Russian actions, particularly in the last couple of weeks, does the proximity of the state give you?

PALIN: They’re our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.

The follow up was edited out (I too edited out stuff):
GIBSON: What insight does that give you into what they’re doing in Georgia?

PALIN: Well, I’m giving you that perspective of how small our world is and how important it is that we work with our allies to keep good relation with all of these countries, especially Russia.

So the airhead answer is reported, and the sensible one left out. Rather than start a whole new discussion on just how sensible, I prefer that we agree that the discussion would not be helpful in a campaign of this importance and would not happen if ABC had reported its interview with a vice presidential candidate as it happened.

I have posted one Obama interview, but I don't have an example of a similar act of malicious editing. Evo, can you supply one from this or some other interview? It would strengthen my argument that the practice is unacceptable.
 
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  • #160
jimmysnyder said:
As a single example of where the full interview changes the meaning of an answer, I point to this exchange which ABC is airing now:
GIBSON: What insight into Russian actions, particularly in the last couple of weeks, does the proximity of the state give you?

PALIN: They’re our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.

The follow up was edited out (I too edited out stuff):
GIBSON: What insight does that give you into what they’re doing in Georgia?

PALIN: Well, I’m giving you that perspective of how small our world is and how important it is that we work with our allies to keep good relation with all of these countries, especially Russia.

So the airhead answer is reported, and the sensible one left out.
The piece that was edited out changes nothing, it's just back peddling drivel since obviously she couldn't give a real answer to the question. The "correct" answer would have simply been "none".

have posted one Obama interview, but I don't have an example of a similar act of malicious editing. Evo, can you supply one from this or some other interview? It would strengthen my argument that the practice is unacceptable.
First you haven't provided any "malicious editing". Second, I'm not taking your request seriously. Do you really expect me to find and watch every single tv interview Obama has done? I'll tell you what, why don't you send me a link to an interview of his that shows no edits. :rolleyes:
 
  • #161
Evo said:
I'll tell you what, why don't you send me a link to an interview of his that shows no edits. :rolleyes:
I did. Here it is again. http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/844597,transcript031508.article"
From a previous post of yours, I was under the impression that you knew of a case of editing. Am I now undeceived? Am I to understand that it is "ok" when it happens to a candidate you do not support and not "ok" when it happens to one that you do, even when it doesn't happen?
 
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  • #162
jimmysnyder said:
I recall that Gibson asked her about this and she gave a reason. My memory isn't that good, but I think it was that someone had asked Palin the question and Palin (perhaps thoughtlessly) passed the question on. Unfortunately, I can't find transcripts of the interview and apparently there is a reason for that in this link:
http://mensnewsdaily.com/2008/09/14/a-public-challenge-to-charles-gibson-at-abc-news/"

Excuse me. But that answer sounds absurd. The buck stops with her. She didn't mean to ask it? But she did. And she obviously thought it was an appropriate question (she asked it), without grasping the fundamental Constitutional issues involved?

I'd say her actions indicate quite the opposite. She asked the question and then I would note was very careful not to mention her knowingly unconstitutional reason for dismissal, rather instead chose to be too cute by half and tried fobbing the firing off on she had a right (divine right?) to loyalty test dismissal - where no such "at the pleasure" clause apparently attaches to the town Librarian's position?
 
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  • #163
Hi Guys,

Had a hard time logging in recently. Well I'm here to give you this link to a dissident site, Charles Larson has this to say about McCain/Palin or should it be reversed Palin/McCain.

LOL, http://counterpunch.com/larson09152008.html
 
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  • #164
jimmysnyder said:
I did. Here it is again. http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/844597,transcript031508.article"
We seem to be on different pages here. You were complaining that you thought the editing of Palin's tv interview somehow made her sound dumber than she is. I said that all interviews on tv are edited to some extent, that's just what happens. I've been on tv and a lot more goes on than what gets aired. I am not asking you for a transcript, I asked, since you asked (and no I don't expect you to really do it) to find an original tv BROADCAST of an interview with Obama that was not edited. Unless you can prove that no interviews with Obama or Biden have been edited for content, then Palin's interview being edited for content is no different.
 
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  • #165
Evo said:
We seem to be on different pages here. You were complaining that you thought the editing of Palin's tv interview somehow made her sound dumber than she is. I said that all interviews on tv are edited to some extent, that's just what happens. I've been on tv and a lot more goes on than what gets aired. I am not asking you for a transcript, I asked, since you asked (and no I don't expect you to really do it) to find an original tv BROADCAST of an interview with Obama that was not edited. Unless you can prove that no interviews with Obama or Biden have been edited for content, then Palin's interview being edited for content is no different.
I am agreeing with you. The practice is unacceptable. Your claim that such an interview exists does not require me to find one, I'll take your word for it even if you can't come up with one yourself. But surely you are not saying that since it happened to Obama in the past, it is ok now. It was not ok then. It is not ok now. We shouldn't be discussing my perception that the interview "somehow made her sound dumber than she is". We are doing so because of a practice I can't believe goes on and you tell me is widespread. We are talking about an interview with a candidate for Vice President of the US. That requires a level of honesty that ABC news lacks. I assume that the other examples are also in the mainstream media. Where am I to go for real news, FOX? Give me a break.
 
  • #166
castlegates said:
It's got to be eating you all up that people like her for being her.
Actually, I think people like her for being like them - a shallow, god-fearing creationist with no academic caliber and no real interest in the world beyond the immediate surroundings.

Incidentally, it's the same crowd that's been crazy about GWB too.
 
  • #167
At first I was thrown by the reaction to Palin, but it is important to remember that people are reacting to an idea, not the person. We have had two years to get our bearings on Obama. We have had two weeks for Palin. Already we see the facade cracking, and even a peak behind the facade reveals an empty space.

This just requires a little time to bring her into focus, but it is a job that needs to be done. Sure, the far right is going to love her. That's a given. But the independents are another story, and that's who they need.

Barring any last minute surprises about Obama [and major screw-ups on his part], I predict that McCain has already seen his best day of the race.
 
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  • #168
On a different note, I found this excellent observation on a political forum. "Politics Forum.org"

Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 2:49 pm
James Fallows explains why this is an issue. Quote:
Each of us has areas we care about, and areas we don't. If we are interested in a topic, we follow its development over the years. And because we have followed its development, we're able to talk and think about it in a "rounded" way. We can say: Most people think X, but I really think Y. Or: most people used to think P, but now they think Q. Or: the point most people miss is Z. Or: the question I'd really like to hear answered is A.

Here's the most obvious example in daily life: Sports Talk radio.

Mention a name or theme -- Brett Favre, the Patriots under Belichick, Lance Armstrong's comeback, Venus and Serena -- and anyone who cares about sports can have a very sophisticated discussion about the ins and outs and myth and realities and arguments and rebuttals.

People who don't like sports can't do that. It's not so much that they can't identify the names -- they've heard of Armstrong -- but they've never bothered to follow the flow of debate. I like sports -- and politics and tech and other topics -- so I like joining these debates. On a wide range of other topics -- fashion, antique furniture, the world of restaurants and fine dining, or (blush) opera -- I have not been interested enough to learn anything I can add to the discussion. So I embarrass myself if I have to express a view.

What Sarah Palin revealed is that she has not been interested enough in world affairs to become minimally conversant with the issues. Many people in our great land might have difficulty defining the "Bush Doctrine" exactly. But not to recognize the name, as obviously was the case for Palin, indicates not a failure of last-minute cramming but a lack of attention to any foreign-policy discussion whatsoever in the last seven years.

Thats the way it appeared to me also.

One
 
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  • #169
Evo said:
I am not asking you for a transcript, I asked, since you asked (and no I don't expect you to really do it) to find an original tv BROADCAST of an interview with Obama that was not edited. Unless you can prove that no interviews with Obama or Biden have been edited for content, then Palin's interview being edited for content is no different.
I have no transcript for this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5fydONgwA8"
It purports to be live and so it might not be edited. It's from MSNBC.
 
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  • #170
jimmysnyder said:
I am agreeing with you. The practice is unacceptable.
I think so too. And if you thought that was bad, try this for size:
CBS splices McCain interview clip, expunging his false claim on surge timeline and falsely suggesting he gave different answer

On the July 22 edition of the CBS Evening News, while airing portions of an interview she conducted that day with Sen. John McCain, anchor Katie Couric removed a part of his response in which he falsely asserted that the 2007 U.S. troop surge "began the Anbar awakening." In fact, the so-called Anbar awakening reportedly began in September 2006, months before the surge was even announced. Couric had asked McCain, "Senator [Barack] Obama says while the increased number of U.S. troops contributed to increased security in Iraq, he also credits the Sunni awakening and the Shia government going after militias, and says that there might have been improved security even without the surge. What's your response to that?" But rather than airing McCain's direct reply, including the false claim that the surge "began the Anbar awakening" -- an agreement by some tribal leaders in western Iraq to accept U.S. aid and cooperate with anti-Al Qaeda operations -- Couric aired comments by McCain spliced together from three separate statements he gave during the interview, one of which responded to a different question. Couric gave no indication that these comments had been edited in any manner, nor did she otherwise note McCain's falsehood.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200807230001
 
  • #171
Good catch Gokul!
 
  • #172
Gokul43201 said:
I think so too. And if you thought that was bad, try this for size:
The mainstream media have gone mad. Why do we continue to insist that our links are to the mainstream?
 
  • #173
jimmysnyder said:
The mainstream media have gone mad. Why do we continue to insist that our links are to the mainstream?
Perhaps because they're still not as mad as the rest?

Thing is with these interviews, while there may be a heavy dose of editing, the news agency will typically provide an unedited transcript (and expect us to be happy with that). But the overwhelming majority of people will not go about looking for transcripts.
 
  • #174
Gokul43201 said:
Perhaps because they're not as mad as the rest?

Thing is with these interviews, while there may be a heavy dose of editing, the news agency will typically provide an unedited transcript (and expect us to be happy with that). But the overwhelming majority of people will not go about looking for transcripts.
I went about looking for transcripts. I could not find it on ABC, but was forced to go to the madder ones. In so doing, I took the chance that my post would be deleted on the legitimate fear that the transcripts posted there might undergo editing as well. After all, they were highlighted. Perhaps I just didn't look hard enough on the ABC site.
 
  • #175
Gokul43201 said:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200807230001

So Katie is bowing to the McCain people to edit out his senility?
 
  • #176
You can trust The News Hour on PBS.
 
  • #177
It's the same reason why when I read a news article, I google for all of the major news sources as each tends to differ in what they choose to edit out.

Some of the non-mainstream sources I've found tend to edit in personal opinion and make it confusing as to what the main news story really was. Not to mention the often misleading sensationalist title.
 
  • #178
jimmysnyder said:
I went about looking for transcripts. I could not find it on ABC, but was forced to go to the madder ones. In so doing, I took the chance that my post would be deleted on the legitimate fear that the transcripts posted there might undergo editing as well. After all, they were highlighted. Perhaps I just didn't look hard enough on the ABC site.

The Transcript of the Palin interview looks decidedly more complete than the alleged sections edited out.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=5782924&page=1

This is the ABC link to the transcript, and sections I saw reported earlier as edited out are clearly there.
 
  • #179
There is a new (to me, anyway) investigative journalism start-up operating as a not-for-profit entity, and their staff is about as mainstream as they come.

ProPublica is led by Paul Steiger, the former managing editor of The Wall Street Journal. Stephen Engelberg, a former managing editor of The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon and former investigative editor of The New York Times, is ProPublica’s managing editor.

Lead funding for this effort is being provided by the Sandler Foundation, with Herbert Sandler serving as Chairman of ProPublica; other leading philanthropies also providing important support. A Board of Directors and a Journalism Advisory Board have also been formed.

According to them, the "Bridge to Nowhere" project was not killed by Palin, and it is still actively under consideration by the Alaska DOT.
http://www.propublica.org/article/palin-administration-still-pursuing-nowhere-project-913/

Roger Wetherell said:
"What the media isn't reporting is that the project isn't dead," Roger Wetherell, spokesman for Alaska’s Department of Transportation, said. In a process begun this past winter, the state’s DOT is currently considering (PDF) a number of alternative solutions (five other possible bridges or three different ferry routes) to link Ketchikan and Gravina Island.

The DOT has not yet developed cost estimates for those proposals, Wetherell said, but $73 million of the approximately $223 million Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Rep. Don Young (R-AK) earmarked for the bridge in 2005 has been set aside for the Gravina Access Project.

Here is a PDF image showing the bridges and alternate ferries under consideration. Note that the date of the map is May 16, 2008. The Gravina Access project is alive and well.
http://dot.alaska.gov/stwdplng/projectinfo/ser/Gravina/images/alternative_11x17_v4.pdf
 
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  • #180
LowlyPion said:
The Transcript of the Palin interview looks decidedly more complete than the alleged sections edited out.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=5782924&page=1

This is the ABC link to the transcript, and sections I saw reported earlier as edited out are clearly there.
I saw this article but passed it by because of this paragraph at the top:
ABC News said:
The following excerpts are from the ABC News exclusive interview with Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in Fairbanks, Alaska, conducted by "World News" anchor Charlie Gibson on September 11, 2008
Excerpts is the issue.
 

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