The L.A. Times says Palin’s way too stupid to understand the Christian philosopher Pascal:
Actually, the hand most obviously working throughout “Going Rogue” is [collaborator Lynn] Vincent’s. The narrative is sprinkled with literary and philosophical references that one somehow doubts sprang from the copious pages of Palin’s diaries, including the role of Blaise Pascal’s philosophy in her girlhood conversion from Catholicism to Evangelical Protestantism.
“One somehow doubts,” ma’am? Meaning what? — No, no, we know what you mean. You mean what Chris Matthews meant, when he bashed Palin for working with a collaborator: “they’re admitting she can’t write!” — She’s stupid. Just say what you mean instead of masking it in patronizing innuendo.
One somehow doubts that any of these people cared as much when Hillary Clinton worked with multiple ghostwriters for her Living History tome. And why should they? Hillary Clinton is smart, people! Goodness. That boob Palin couldn’t possibly understand the Pensees or have had any passing interest in philosophy.
If only we could get more smart Democrats like Obama in office to “create or save” more jobs in non-existent Congressional districts.
November 17th, 2009 at 1:30 am
I gave Palin the benefit of the doubt at first, but I really do think she is dumb. She has provided plenty of evidence to support that she is dumb, but very little evidence that suggests otherwise.
Why has it become so outrageous for a conservative (speaking of myself) to speak ill of dear Sarah? Just because she is a favorite target of liberals and the elite media does not somehow mean she must definitely be worthy for all conservatives to defend.
I don’t like her–politically or personally.
There…I am “out of the closet.” I’m glad I got that off my chest.
November 17th, 2009 at 1:34 am
I think it’s the way that she speaks. Especially to someone who’s a partisan of the city — like myself — her accent is foreign, even grating. But read what she’s actually saying — or imagine Obama saying it. And then you’ll feel differently.
November 17th, 2009 at 1:44 am
I partially agree with Alex. She doesn’t sugarcoat things the same way urban types like Obama do so her errors are certainly more obvious.
I think Palin should be content that she, unlike many of them, has a soul and should keep it rather than go somewhere that’s never going to be her game (national politics). She’ll never get the same passes other political elites do, and so her lack of knowledge will prevent her from getting her way into political power.
Again, that’s not a bad thing for her – she unlike them actually has someplace better to be.
November 17th, 2009 at 1:49 am
3 – Someplace better to be? Where? With her kids? Obama is a father of two young girls, you know.
November 17th, 2009 at 1:53 am
Geez, that L.A. Times piece is one big sneer in the form of a book review. I’m no Palin fan, but that’s bad form.
I don’t think Palin’s dumb, by any stretch. I think she’s not well-read and intellectually incurious; the latter bothers me more than the former. My problem with her speaking isn’t the accent at all; it’s the trailing off, the grammatical inaccuracies, and general lack of articulation. My wife and I call it “Palin blather.”
I actually like her quite a bit, instinctively and personally.
November 17th, 2009 at 2:30 am
Ummm yes.
Unless you have lived under a rock the last 15 months Sarah Palin is nothing if not dumb.
And she is proving it all over again with this book thing which is turning into a disaster with her lies and more embarrasing interviews. Did she not think that maybe Team McCain would have kept records?
Yes dumb dumb dumb.
November 17th, 2009 at 2:37 am
Palin couldn’t even name mainland newspaper or one Supreme Court decision she disagreed with! So excuse us for being sceptical that she knows what philosophy means let alone has a favourite philospher! Looks Sarah obviously has street smarts to become the gov of Alaska however small it may be but she has no intelligence and I can’t believe that you don’t know this AK. Surely it was a big reason why you despised her so much until your alleged conversion a couple of months ago. It can’t just be because she is an attention whore like you
.
November 17th, 2009 at 3:20 am
The refusal to name a Supreme Court case was utterly baffling. I think by then, she’d just said “Ugh, f**k this interview” in her head and gave up. It was especially weird given that she’d publicly spoken before about other Supreme Court decisions that she opposed.
Hey hey hey! Being an attention whore will get me far in the mainstream media, Heath!
November 17th, 2009 at 5:37 am
True mate
.
November 17th, 2009 at 7:22 am
“Sceptical“?!
Ow, my ayes!
It’s painful to read this fowl language sneaking south of the 49th Parallel, invading our shores and corrupting our impressionable yutes.
November 17th, 2009 at 7:51 am
We have a bunch of smart guys on this website. I wonder if any of them will ever get elected to anything so they can show off their brilliance.
November 17th, 2009 at 8:37 am
We will definitely welcome Sarah Palin into OUR camp. Don’t underestimate her, folks. She’s would be 10 times better as President than Obama…
Wake up, folks! Unite the Party!
November 17th, 2009 at 8:53 am
“We will definitely welcome Sarah Palin into OUR camp.” With respect, I for one do not wish to join your camp, but I will vote for your guy against Mr. Obama in the general election.
November 17th, 2009 at 9:43 am
The question is relative…dumb compared to who? If you rendomly lined up 100 adults plucked out of a high school basket all game, Sarah Palin would be smarter in some things than over half of them. So, in that respect, she’s not dumb, or more properly said, not stupid. I would say, however, that over half of them would know more about foreign policy than she does, and would know how to keep their foot out of their mouths better than Palin. So, in that respect, she’s not the among the sharpest axes in the shed. If she were to be elected President, she would be the least knowledgeable on a wide variety of subjects as any President ever. Even having said that, I’d much rather have her than Obama.
November 17th, 2009 at 10:07 am
Over half?
She’d almost certainly be smarter than 90 of them.
People have an extremely poor sense of intelligence. Half of the population has a double-digit IQ, you know. That’s the way IQ tests work; they purportedly measure immutable traits. I’d probably peg Palin at around 120 on the standard scale. (Matthew E. Miller and I, both around 20 years old, being in the 130′s, for comparison.)
November 17th, 2009 at 10:11 am
“She’d almost certainly be smarter than 90 of them.” BINGO!
November 17th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Palin seems to be of average intelligence, but the real question is whether she has the combination of wisdom and judgment we would hope to see in a national leader. I don’t think she even comes close to a minimum standard. You can take any number of decisions she’s made over the course of the last 2 years, and she’s just not meeting the bar.
November 17th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Yes Alex, the mean IQ is 100 with a standard deviation of 15. Only 16% of the population has an IQ of 115 and over. You’re right, I think she would be smarter than over half of them overall, probably not 90% of them as you assert though, but that’s just an opinion. I do know this much…. over 90% of the commenters on this site, and 100% of the FPP could articulate more knowledge on subjects such as foreign policy, and what TARP was all about. Perhaps the reason she was for TARP is that she didn’t have the foggiest idea what it was about.
November 17th, 2009 at 10:36 am
4 Alex, yes with her kids. I am equally disrespecting of both Obama and Palin for putting their careers ahead of their kids.
November 17th, 2009 at 10:37 am
And I don’t think that either needs to stay home with their kids. But as President, would either have any time to give to their children? Not likely.
November 17th, 2009 at 10:39 am
I am just positive that Palin’s secret passion is to come home from a long weekend of moose hunting and curl up on her bear rug with a six pack and Blaise Pascal.
November 17th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Okay I AM CONVINCED that some of these Romney supporters are liberal trolls trying to stir up descension. They post as conservative republicans and republican Canadians and then all they do is bash everybody except Romney. They do it all day long as if it is their job…
…okay I got the conspiracy theory out of my system.
November 17th, 2009 at 10:54 am
Like Palin, I’ve had 5 kids. No way in hell would I get on a plane and travel 12 hours if my water broke in Texas, and my baby was going to be one-month premature. I would find the nearest large hospital, and check out my baby’s status.
Palin’s water broke in the morning, she stayed through lunch, delivered a speech, hopped a plane for an 8 hour flight, not telling the flight attendants her condition, then drove for a few more hours – travel time alone totaling 12 hours. She passed right by the large hospital in Anchorage, as well, in favor of po-dunk Wasilla hospital.
Anyway, it is a perfect example of Palin’s lack of judgment. Tell me honestly, men: imagine your wife and baby in the same position. Would you and your wife do anything remotely this reckless?
There may be no better words to describe Palin than reckless and narcissistic.
November 17th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
23. Palin’s pregnancy story is one of the most bizarre an inexplicable things I’ve ever heard. I’m certainly not joining Andrew Sullivan on the Trig-conspiracy express, but it’s just completely inexplicable behavior. And somehow this is supposed to demonstrate that she’s “tough”? Reckless and foolhardy, more like it. What reasonable person endangers a pregnancy like that, ESPECIALLY when they know they’re carrying a special-needs child?
November 17th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
24. But no one stops to think about it. It’s off limits. I’m not on the Trig Truther train, either. But there sure are some honest questions.
As many know, my youngest child also has DS. My full term delivery with her was touch and go for a while, with my doc getting a little nervous. All my other births were easy and routine. It’s nothing to mess around with – especially one month premature.
November 17th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
What’s Martha’s IQ?
November 17th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Grant,
I hope I’m smart enough to not put a preemie DS baby in jeopardy.
November 17th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
I am just positive that Palin’s secret passion is to come home from a long weekend of moose hunting and curl up on her bear rug with a six pack and Blaise Pascal.
Clearly not a secret.