It's unlikely the name Sarah Palin would mean much to anyone if not for a man named Nick Carney. Long before she stood up to Republican cronies and "the good old boys" of Alaska, Palin stood up to Carney, a colleague on Wasilla's city council. As Kaylene Johnson explains in her sympathetic biography, Sarah, Carney had the gall to propose an ordinance giving his own company the city contract for garbage removal. In Johnson's telling, it was the first time Palin bravely spoke truth to power: "'I said no and I voted no,' Sarah said. 'People should have the choice about whether or not to haul their garbage to the dump.'" Johnson writes that Palin's vote made Carney into a "political enemy"--the first of many, it turns out.
The episode might serve as a compelling, if small-bore, example of Palin's reformer instincts. Except that, according to those who were present, Carney wasn't quite the crooked trash magnate Palin makes him out to be. For one thing, Carney couldn't have proposed the ordinance because he'd recused himself from the matter. The council, in fact, had asked him to appear as a kind of expert witness on the relevant rules and regulations. "I looked at it as we actually had an expert on the council sharing the information," recalls Laura Chase, a fellow councilwoman. "Not ... conspiring over a contract. There was no way that was happening."
So if it wasn't a sinister garbage conspiracy that put Carney in Palin's crosshairs, what was it? At first glance, the two would have appeared to be allies--both had spent most of their lives in Wasilla and had attended the same high school. But, beyond that, they were sociological opposites in almost every respect. Whereas Palin had bounced around several no-name colleges before graduating from the University of Idaho, Carney held a degree from Dartmouth. Palin seemed preoccupied with her family and church when she entered politics. Carney was preoccupied with histories of the Civil War and World War II (he later contributed a self-published book to the genre) and savored the New York Times crossword puzzle. By the time he joined the city council, Carney had traveled to Asia, Australia, and Central America. He'd run the Anchorage office of Alaska's economic development agency and had served as the state's agriculture director. "I'd dealt with larger budgets by far than the city of Wasilla," he recently told me.
Carney had a wry sense of humor. He was fond of joking that he'd graduated from Wasilla High School in the "top 20 percent"--by which he meant he was valedictorian of his five-person class. Sometimes Palin was the only colleague who didn't get his jokes. "I don't think he had too much patience for her lack of understanding," says John Stein, then the town's mayor. In internal discussions, Carney would be relentlessly logical while Palin was vague and intuitive. "Nick had a way of being direct and to the point, something that Sarah was uncomfortable with," recalls Chase. Which is to say, when it came to garbage removal, what Palin seemed to have chafed against was less the substance of Carney's position than what she felt was his elitist, Ivy League bearing. And, over the next few years, she found ways to get him back.
These days, Palin is engaged in this same fight against elites, though on a considerably larger stage. "I'm not one of those who maybe came from a background of, you know, kids who perhaps graduate college and their parents give them a passport and give them a backpack and say go off and travel the world," she recently told Katie Couric. "No, I've worked all my life." That hardly makes her the first politician to run on class resentments--nearly every conservative from George W. Bush to Mitt Romney has sought a bond with voters by attacking the over-educated and entitled. But more often than not these conservatives are elites themselves; hence the spectacle of Yale legacies and Harvard millionaires (and most of the Fox News executive suite) railing against wine-swilling sophisticates.
Palin, by contrast, may be the first conservative politician since Nixon to experience resentment so authentically. For her, it's not so much a political tool as a motivating principle. A trip through Palin's past reveals that almost every step of her career can be understood as a reaction to elitist condescension--much of it in her own mind.
Intellectual rigor. Honest reporting. Influential analysis. Don't miss another issue of the magazine considered "required reading" by the world's top decision-makers. Subscribe today.
COMMENTS (272)
So........Sarah Palin chewed gum at Council meetings?This is the best you could come up with?
Your editors should ask that you return your expense money.
So........Sarah Palin chewed gum at Council meetings?This is the best you could come up with?
Your editors should ask that you return your expense money.
I think that Brian Williams of NBC put it best while speaking to David Letterman.
" It is September 11 and the President of the United States is flying above the country unable to land because we do not know who, or how, our country is being attacked. The Vice President is on the ground attempting to lead the country through the most horrific attack on our soil by terrorist. Who do you want on the ground handling the fate of Americans? Now Dog Gone It...think about that for a minute.......
I think that Brian Williams of NBC put it best while speaking to David Letterman.
" It is September 11 and the President of the United States is flying above the country unable to land because we do not know who, or how, our country is being attacked. The Vice President is on the ground attempting to lead the country through the most horrific attack on our soil by terrorist. Who do you want on the ground handling the fate of Americans? Now Dog Gone It...think about that for a minute.......
I love reading all this stuff. The more I learn about McCain and Palin, they more I dislike them. If you take a deep look into their pasts and records, you may be shocked. They have smears, Obama has issues and the ear of the country. The GOP has offered us little to nothing for 8 years. This campaign is no different. Go big O!
I love reading all this stuff. The more I learn about McCain and Palin, they more I dislike them. If you take a deep look into their pasts and records, you may be shocked. They have smears, Obama has issues and the ear of the country. The GOP has offered us little to nothing for 8 years. This campaign is no different. Go big O!
This is the most devastating piece on Palin I have yet read. This woman has no place on the national political scene and it is time for all self-respecting conservative intellectuals to say as much. John McCain ought to be ashamed of himself for pandering to the fundamentalist forces in this country in such a manner. Romney would have been the ethical pander; he at least could reasonably claim to bring expertise to the ticket.
This is the most devastating piece on Palin I have yet read. This woman has no place on the national political scene and it is time for all self-respecting conservative intellectuals to say as much. John McCain ought to be ashamed of himself for pandering to the fundamentalist forces in this country in such a manner. Romney would have been the ethical pander; he at least could reasonably claim to bring expertise to the ticket.
So what are we all to do? All aspire to be ignorant, unsophisticated, backward, clueless, and speak using idiotic syntax and grammar, be inarticulate so as not to offend the uneducated? This is a choice people make...to improve themselves...to be a person of the world, not just small town. America need not be a nation of hicks and clowns...do you want your children to turn out like Palin, or almost flunk out of college like Bush and McCain? Palin is mean spirited, ignoble, vindictive and supremely ignorant as well as close-minded. Most world leaders, especially in the Western World, are educated,
sophisticated and open minded, mostly...imagine her chewing gum at some Summit Meeting and ... view full comment
So what are we all to do? All aspire to be ignorant, unsophisticated, backward, clueless, and speak using idiotic syntax and grammar, be inarticulate so as not to offend the uneducated? This is a choice people make...to improve themselves...to be a person of the world, not just small town. America need not be a nation of hicks and clowns...do you want your children to turn out like Palin, or almost flunk out of college like Bush and McCain? Palin is mean spirited, ignoble, vindictive and supremely ignorant as well as close-minded. Most world leaders, especially in the Western World, are educated,
sophisticated and open minded, mostly...imagine her chewing gum at some Summit Meeting and saying "you betcha" and "doggone it." Where is Jack Kennedy when we need him? The closest we have to that is Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, secondly. No! America needs the best and the brightest! Especially right now. "Wink"
I think the writer should look into the reasons behind the popularity of Sarah Palin as Governor. Couldn't the people in Alaska see through her?
I think the writer should look into the reasons behind the popularity of Sarah Palin as Governor. Couldn't the people in Alaska see through her?
I lived in Wasilla while Sarah Palin was Mayor and still own a home there. Her style has always reminded me of George Bush--surround yourself with a bunch of people who agree, don't ask too many questions and know that you are always right.
I lived in Wasilla while Sarah Palin was Mayor and still own a home there. Her style has always reminded me of George Bush--surround yourself with a bunch of people who agree, don't ask too many questions and know that you are always right.
There is much more here than chewing gum. The Alaskan press has been tearing Gov. Palin up for these sorts of vendetta's and Cheneyesque power grabs and secrecy. Sen. McCain should watch out; she's already starting her next power grab by questioning his handling of Michigan. Good investigation.
There is much more here than chewing gum. The Alaskan press has been tearing Gov. Palin up for these sorts of vendetta's and Cheneyesque power grabs and secrecy. Sen. McCain should watch out; she's already starting her next power grab by questioning his handling of Michigan. Good investigation.
No, Jim, what they came up with is a pattern of stupidity, arrogance and vindictiveness. That's not a good combination in a person, in a vice president it's Dick Cheney.
No, Jim, what they came up with is a pattern of stupidity, arrogance and vindictiveness. That's not a good combination in a person, in a vice president it's Dick Cheney.
This is not about chewing gum.
It's about the difficulty of proving yourself, especially when you are a woman and have no credentials or interest in obtaining them. If instead of seeking the education and training you need, you make friends in high places, use them, and turn on them, convincing yourself that you are right because God loves you...then you might rise beyond your level of competence. That's Sarah Barracuda
This is not about chewing gum.
It's about the difficulty of proving yourself, especially when you are a woman and have no credentials or interest in obtaining them. If instead of seeking the education and training you need, you make friends in high places, use them, and turn on them, convincing yourself that you are right because God loves you...then you might rise beyond your level of competence. That's Sarah Barracuda
Don't be disingenuous, Jim, this article is obviously not about gum chewing. Palin is a frightening, vindictive woman with a limited intellect and apparently no thirst for knowledge. For her to end up as president of the U.S. would be a disaster, not only for this country but for the entire world. I and many others are literally terrified of her making it to the oval office.
Don't be disingenuous, Jim, this article is obviously not about gum chewing. Palin is a frightening, vindictive woman with a limited intellect and apparently no thirst for knowledge. For her to end up as president of the U.S. would be a disaster, not only for this country but for the entire world. I and many others are literally terrified of her making it to the oval office.
Note to self: do *not* piss off Sarah Palin...or Noam Scheiber, for that matter.
Note to self: do *not* piss off Sarah Palin...or Noam Scheiber, for that matter.
This is a well-written article. I appreciate this insightful look at our vice presidential candidate -- and a look at her issues. It describes how a person develops a "chip on the shoulder." And it portrays Gov. Palin as a scrapper. I would enjoy getting to know her personnally. I would definitely not vote for her.
This is a well-written article. I appreciate this insightful look at our vice presidential candidate -- and a look at her issues. It describes how a person develops a "chip on the shoulder." And it portrays Gov. Palin as a scrapper. I would enjoy getting to know her personnally. I would definitely not vote for her.
"Thank God for" Sarah Palin. . . . “It's unlikely the name Sarah Palin would mean much to anyone if not for a man named Nick Carney. . . Carney had the gall to propose an ordinance giving his own company the city contract for garbage removal.” ----Thanks for the ‘expose’ and for clearing up the confusion over the (until now never heard of) one-time Carney Garbage Contract Sandal of Wasilla, Alaska. How much time had to be spent “researching” this “issue?” ----Left-wing “intellectual prostitutes” like Scheibner are actually accomplishing something that I never would have believed possible: ALMOST making it tempting to look back sentimentally upon the absurdities of 1976 a ... view full comment
"Thank God for" Sarah Palin. . . . “It's unlikely the name Sarah Palin would mean much to anyone if not for a man named Nick Carney. . . Carney had the gall to propose an ordinance giving his own company the city contract for garbage removal.” ----Thanks for the ‘expose’ and for clearing up the confusion over the (until now never heard of) one-time Carney Garbage Contract Sandal of Wasilla, Alaska. How much time had to be spent “researching” this “issue?” ----Left-wing “intellectual prostitutes” like Scheibner are actually accomplishing something that I never would have believed possible: ALMOST making it tempting to look back sentimentally upon the absurdities of 1976 and 1992: Plains, Georgia, and the Carter Clan of 1976 and Hope, Arkansas, and the Clinton Clan of 1992! The Clintons at least had both more substantial, and more sinister sounding, scandals. This type of ‘expose’ makes Perot’s 1992
characterization of the Clinton Arkansas Administration as a “mom and pop” operation seem scandalous! Plains and Hope were at least real small towns, now ceasing to exist all across America, post-1971ish, rather than the greater-metropolitan suburban “bedroom community” that Wasilla has been being developed as, post-1991. ----One problem with this psychotic focus upon Palin, the VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, by left-wing writers, such as Scheiber, is that no matter how pathetically trivial (“small-bore,” as Scheiber phrases it) most of the examples of her “executive
experience” are, or how much the left-wing loves to either denigrate them, or blow them out of proportion (such as here), then, at least, as she loves to repeat, ad nauseum, she has some “executive experience.” What bedroom community did Obama have responsibility in actually taking part in the development of? What Carney-like issue did Obama ever
have to deal with? None. He has no such experience, whatsoever. There is not even the ability to compare and contrast the actual administrative actions of the DEMOCRATIC candidate for PRESIDENT with the Republican candidate for Vice President! “Small-bore” for Palin would be gigantic for Obama. ----But it’s in the tradeoff, no? The main problem is that if there is no psychotic focus upon Palin, the VICE
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, by left-wing writers, such as Scheiber, then there would be no Palin-focused distractions from viewing the hollow, empty, mass-communications media ‘creation,’ of Barack Obama (and the other five 'major' candidates). No distraction from the mockery of us American "Human Resources" that the nomination elections were, and this election is. Keep up the good work Noam (the distracting nonsense essays, like this one, of course).
So. Are the comments treating this essay, and it supposed insights to Palin, seriously written by employees, or are there really people who are this easily over-excited by the “vitriol and instruction” work of an “intellectual prostitute” like Scheibner?
So. Are the comments treating this essay, and it supposed insights to Palin, seriously written by employees, or are there really people who are this easily over-excited by the “vitriol and instruction” work of an “intellectual prostitute” like Scheibner?
Y'know, in the cut and thrust of local politics, personalities will clash. It is not this story alone that makes me scared of Sarah. No, it is the ungracious enthusiasm, the lack of humility, and the frightening meanness she displayed in her original Convention speech, in the debate after Joe Biden's reference to his very ill son, and in her stump speeches since then, where with transparent glee, she exhibits a sly vindictive tone and a gigantic chip on her shoulder.
It's all too scary for words.
Y'know, in the cut and thrust of local politics, personalities will clash. It is not this story alone that makes me scared of Sarah. No, it is the ungracious enthusiasm, the lack of humility, and the frightening meanness she displayed in her original Convention speech, in the debate after Joe Biden's reference to his very ill son, and in her stump speeches since then, where with transparent glee, she exhibits a sly vindictive tone and a gigantic chip on her shoulder.
It's all too scary for words.
Very well put, Melissa.
This was an excellent piece, but I think I'm going to have to refrain from reading much more on the topic - I'm starting to lose sleep. Utterly terrifying.
Very well put, Melissa.
This was an excellent piece, but I think I'm going to have to refrain from reading much more on the topic - I'm starting to lose sleep. Utterly terrifying.
Ah yes, the facist sex kitten sociopath strikes again - All About Eve, anyone? John McCain looks like a guy who knows he's Betty Davis, and at least he's right about one thing: he is.
Ah yes, the facist sex kitten sociopath strikes again - All About Eve, anyone? John McCain looks like a guy who knows he's Betty Davis, and at least he's right about one thing: he is.
Good reporting. I especially like the sense I got that Palin came in to the profession of politics almost by accident, but these inner forces going on within her drove her to challenge Stein and later play all these vindictive games. Here's hoping we don't have to hear more about her past over the next 4 years..
Good reporting. I especially like the sense I got that Palin came in to the profession of politics almost by accident, but these inner forces going on within her drove her to challenge Stein and later play all these vindictive games. Here's hoping we don't have to hear more about her past over the next 4 years..
Three comments:
1. Palin is by no means "middle class". Her tax returns were supposed to be released last Friday ... seems "joe six-pack" American from Alaska is worth approx. 1.5 million.
2. If you have happened to watch any of the dozen or so videos circulating the web from Palin's campaign for governor, you will notice something remarkable ... Her "folksiness" is gone. Palin is a complete fraud and a horribly self-centered and vindictive one at that.
3. I was appalled at her astoundingly transparent political abuse of "her" baby after the debate ... but I have to ask ... if the downs baby is actually hers ... and it is only a month old ... does it not strike anyone as obv ... view full comment
Three comments:
1. Palin is by no means "middle class". Her tax returns were supposed to be released last Friday ... seems "joe six-pack" American from Alaska is worth approx. 1.5 million.
2. If you have happened to watch any of the dozen or so videos circulating the web from Palin's campaign for governor, you will notice something remarkable ... Her "folksiness" is gone. Palin is a complete fraud and a horribly self-centered and vindictive one at that.
3. I was appalled at her astoundingly transparent political abuse of "her" baby after the debate ... but I have to ask ... if the downs baby is actually hers ... and it is only a month old ... does it not strike anyone as obvious that she has had the most incredibly remarkable recovery from pregnancy of any woman in history? She would have started campaigning the day after the child was born. [cough] Bull...
This is risible compared to Obama:
How could you associate with and be a friend of somebody who speaks ill of your mother, your country, like Rev. Wright?
How could you associate with and be a friend of somebody who wants to bomb your house, your country like Bill Ayers?
How could you associate with somebody like Tony Rezco and claim you are honest?
How could you say you want to seat with dictators like Ahmadinejad who wants to destroy Israel?
Only if you want to rape your mother, you want to bomb your house, you are a crook and you hate Israel.
Obama is the wrong choice.
This is risible compared to Obama:
How could you associate with and be a friend of somebody who speaks ill of your mother, your country, like Rev. Wright?
How could you associate with and be a friend of somebody who wants to bomb your house, your country like Bill Ayers?
How could you associate with somebody like Tony Rezco and claim you are honest?
How could you say you want to seat with dictators like Ahmadinejad who wants to destroy Israel?
Only if you want to rape your mother, you want to bomb your house, you are a crook and you hate Israel.
Obama is the wrong choice.
why does palin always seem to think she has middle class cornered?
I was thinking about palin and mccain....the palin/mccain slip....the comment about michigan...it seems like she just waiting for him to croak. mccain should watch his back.
why does palin always seem to think she has middle class cornered?
I was thinking about palin and mccain....the palin/mccain slip....the comment about michigan...it seems like she just waiting for him to croak. mccain should watch his back.
Thanks for this article. Great reporting and really well-written.
Then again, I'm one of those over-educated people that has no place in Sarah Palin's America.
I think we should split the country. Educated elites move into one half and the Palin/Bush crowd move into the other. And when the Palin crowd want medical help or need a lawyer or really require any kind of professional expertise, we'll just say "sorry! Elites only."
(Oh and we're taking all the Starbucks too).
Thanks for this article. Great reporting and really well-written.
Then again, I'm one of those over-educated people that has no place in Sarah Palin's America.
I think we should split the country. Educated elites move into one half and the Palin/Bush crowd move into the other. And when the Palin crowd want medical help or need a lawyer or really require any kind of professional expertise, we'll just say "sorry! Elites only."
(Oh and we're taking all the Starbucks too).
So much about her has been bogus I'm skeptical. Still she does seem to be vindictive. What I've read of her history I think her judgments of people are more often right than this article gives them credit, but they are judgments and she has done vendettas.
However there's a clear element of saying that people who did not go to the Ivy Leagues really should defer to "their betters" who did. The one PhD guy mentioned who she opposed, who actually did turn out to be crooked, is mentioned almost grudgingly. Kind of "okay on occasion 'your betters' can even be not that good."
This is also more education-resentment than class-resentment. It's not clear any of these people were from a different eco ... view full comment
So much about her has been bogus I'm skeptical. Still she does seem to be vindictive. What I've read of her history I think her judgments of people are more often right than this article gives them credit, but they are judgments and she has done vendettas.
However there's a clear element of saying that people who did not go to the Ivy Leagues really should defer to "their betters" who did. The one PhD guy mentioned who she opposed, who actually did turn out to be crooked, is mentioned almost grudgingly. Kind of "okay on occasion 'your betters' can even be not that good."
This is also more education-resentment than class-resentment. It's not clear any of these people were from a different economic class. However Obama went to private schools where they were of a different class than him. Class resentment is what Obama is about in spades. The whole "middle class" refrain and taxing the wealthy to the hilt is all about class war. He's just more impersonal about it.
Jim's first comment above is a perfection demonstration of the Palin method. Bravo!
Jim's first comment above is a perfection demonstration of the Palin method. Bravo!
I fully agree with Melissa. The current witch hunt she's on against Sen. Obama is a clue that she hasn't moved from the vendetta stage. When other politicians are worried about her winning and what she will do to them, it's time for the public to sit up and take notice. This woman will destroy America.
I fully agree with Melissa. The current witch hunt she's on against Sen. Obama is a clue that she hasn't moved from the vendetta stage. When other politicians are worried about her winning and what she will do to them, it's time for the public to sit up and take notice. This woman will destroy America.
Don't worry folks; Sarah Palin is well into self-destruct mode. Was it P.T.Barnum or H.L.Menken who said no-one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public? The one area where the American public is undoubtedly smart is in its strong desire not to have political leaders who are as ignorant as it is. In their guts they want to be led by intelligent and accomplished people. They may have an aversion to elites who are a constant reminder of their ignorance and inferiority but they have an even greater aversion to fools. Sarah Palin is a fully paid up member of this American public. An average member with much to be average about.
Don't worry folks; Sarah Palin is well into self-destruct mode. Was it P.T.Barnum or H.L.Menken who said no-one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public? The one area where the American public is undoubtedly smart is in its strong desire not to have political leaders who are as ignorant as it is. In their guts they want to be led by intelligent and accomplished people. They may have an aversion to elites who are a constant reminder of their ignorance and inferiority but they have an even greater aversion to fools. Sarah Palin is a fully paid up member of this American public. An average member with much to be average about.
Fascinating piece...and while I despise Palin and just about everything she stands for, let us not forget that class resentment applies to the left as well as the right. Unfortunately, our political system is such that it's difficult for a progressive to reach a position of prominence without a hallowed Ivy connection -- and if you're black, it's virtually impossible. (One doubts Obama, Patrick or any other black politician of note today would be taken seriously without an Ivy imprimatur.) There are plenty of intelligent, effective people in America who don't have ties to elite schools, but as we devolve into a mere meritocracy, they are gradually being shut out of the power process.
Fascinating piece...and while I despise Palin and just about everything she stands for, let us not forget that class resentment applies to the left as well as the right. Unfortunately, our political system is such that it's difficult for a progressive to reach a position of prominence without a hallowed Ivy connection -- and if you're black, it's virtually impossible. (One doubts Obama, Patrick or any other black politician of note today would be taken seriously without an Ivy imprimatur.) There are plenty of intelligent, effective people in America who don't have ties to elite schools, but as we devolve into a mere meritocracy, they are gradually being shut out of the power process.
The article isn't altogether unsympathetic, a reason to take it more seriously than if it were a mere hit-piece. What it does show is Palin's inability to acknowledge conflict of interest when applied to herself, while at the same time she eagerly uses it to bring down opponents.
The article isn't altogether unsympathetic, a reason to take it more seriously than if it were a mere hit-piece. What it does show is Palin's inability to acknowledge conflict of interest when applied to herself, while at the same time she eagerly uses it to bring down opponents.
C'mon people, Sarah seems to a paranoid-type personality, but she's not the only one in politics who does, by a long shot; and she is definitely not evil. But, the case could be made, with her proneness to pursuing vendettas against people she feels threatened by - another characteristic of the paranoid political m.o. - could really be destructive, that she would be irrationally destructive in office.
C'mon people, Sarah seems to a paranoid-type personality, but she's not the only one in politics who does, by a long shot; and she is definitely not evil. But, the case could be made, with her proneness to pursuing vendettas against people she feels threatened by - another characteristic of the paranoid political m.o. - could really be destructive, that she would be irrationally destructive in office.
What will really seal it for you is reading the McCain story in Rollingstone, dated October 16, 2008.
What will really seal it for you is reading the McCain story in Rollingstone, dated October 16, 2008.
She has a lot in common with her running mate. I first met John McCain in Florida in 1958. I was one of his instructors. He was a brash inexperienced cocky young man. Now he is a brash arrogant cocky old man with someone just like him but is also an absolute know nothing half a heart beat away. If that doesn't scare hell out of you nothing will.
She has a lot in common with her running mate. I first met John McCain in Florida in 1958. I was one of his instructors. He was a brash inexperienced cocky young man. Now he is a brash arrogant cocky old man with someone just like him but is also an absolute know nothing half a heart beat away. If that doesn't scare hell out of you nothing will.
Highly-educated social liberals (like myself) should take to heart that the resentments that Palin is moved by and shares with many others start with attitudes of superiority and entitlement. The article does a nice job in conveying that the people Palin vindictively goes after were in fact too quick to look down their noses at her. She was recruited to the City Council because unlike the other members she represented a major base of political power in Wasilla. And then when she expresses viewpoints representative of that base, she is dealt with "impatiently". You reap what you sow. Intellectual effort and achievement, by itself, is not a moral virtue, no more than working hard to make ... view full comment
Highly-educated social liberals (like myself) should take to heart that the resentments that Palin is moved by and shares with many others start with attitudes of superiority and entitlement. The article does a nice job in conveying that the people Palin vindictively goes after were in fact too quick to look down their noses at her. She was recruited to the City Council because unlike the other members she represented a major base of political power in Wasilla. And then when she expresses viewpoints representative of that base, she is dealt with "impatiently". You reap what you sow. Intellectual effort and achievement, by itself, is not a moral virtue, no more than working hard to make a lot of money, by itself, is not a moral virtue. Lots of comments here about what a third-rate intellect Palin is. Ok, so why'd she come out on top in Alaska? Do you expect the world to bow to your authority because you got good grades in school? Who's being dim-witted here?
Great article. I wish someone would write about why it took Ms. Palin six years and five colleges to obtain her undergraduate degree.
Great article. I wish someone would write about why it took Ms. Palin six years and five colleges to obtain her undergraduate degree.
the article was pretty light on facts and heavy on hearsay. personally i think palin could be a contemporary fascist and we need more than innuendo to bury her. the type of people that support her don't care what some berkeley liberal thinks - we need the real skeletons in her closet in order to stop her.
the article was pretty light on facts and heavy on hearsay. personally i think palin could be a contemporary fascist and we need more than innuendo to bury her. the type of people that support her don't care what some berkeley liberal thinks - we need the real skeletons in her closet in order to stop her.
My God in heaven, she sounds as wacky as some of the patients I helped treat as a therapist! The primary difference, it seems, is they were institutionalized. An apparent incipient paranoia and a blooming persecution complex, mixed with her obvious sense of inferiority, makes for a truly scary scenario for us all should she actually be elected along with Johm McCain. What a country!
My God in heaven, she sounds as wacky as some of the patients I helped treat as a therapist! The primary difference, it seems, is they were institutionalized. An apparent incipient paranoia and a blooming persecution complex, mixed with her obvious sense of inferiority, makes for a truly scary scenario for us all should she actually be elected along with Johm McCain. What a country!
Sarah Palin is attempting to begin an age of “Palinism”- similar to McCarthyism. Her goal is to incite Americans towards a fanatical level of hate, fear, and suspicion in order to persecute those who do not share her extreme right wing views. She is the epitome of a radical. I truly believe McCain regrets choosing her as a VP.
Sarah Palin is attempting to begin an age of “Palinism”- similar to McCarthyism. Her goal is to incite Americans towards a fanatical level of hate, fear, and suspicion in order to persecute those who do not share her extreme right wing views. She is the epitome of a radical. I truly believe McCain regrets choosing her as a VP.
Jim Wilke wrote: "So........Sarah Palin chewed gum at Council meetings?This is the best you could come up with? Your editors should ask that you return your expense money."
Only proves that you, and anyone who would vote for Palin, has their "amp set on eleven". (I hope that Pop culture reference is not to intellectual for you, Jim. I do want you to get my point.)
Jim Wilke wrote: "So........Sarah Palin chewed gum at Council meetings?This is the best you could come up with? Your editors should ask that you return your expense money."
Only proves that you, and anyone who would vote for Palin, has their "amp set on eleven". (I hope that Pop culture reference is not to intellectual for you, Jim. I do want you to get my point.)
It's no secret why the people in the McCain campaign chose Sarah. She's happy to lie about an opponent in order to get ahead. She did it on the Council, she did it as Mayor, she did it as Governor & now she's more than happy to do it as candidate for Vice President.
WWJD? Lie? I think not.
It's no secret why the people in the McCain campaign chose Sarah. She's happy to lie about an opponent in order to get ahead. She did it on the Council, she did it as Mayor, she did it as Governor & now she's more than happy to do it as candidate for Vice President.
WWJD? Lie? I think not.
It is exciting that you took the time to travel to Alaska to dig up dirt. Now why not go to Columbia University and find spmething/ anything about obama , Why won't he release his transcripts? Why does no one there remember anything about him. Why won't his roomate even give an interview? His time at Columbia and before are a dead zone that no one seem to notice.
It is exciting that you took the time to travel to Alaska to dig up dirt. Now why not go to Columbia University and find spmething/ anything about obama , Why won't he release his transcripts? Why does no one there remember anything about him. Why won't his roomate even give an interview? His time at Columbia and before are a dead zone that no one seem to notice.
Their is, of course, a significant conservative politician whose class resentments were honestly won more recently than Richard Nixon.
Dick Cheney (though he was accepted to Yale).
Their is, of course, a significant conservative politician whose class resentments were honestly won more recently than Richard Nixon.
Dick Cheney (though he was accepted to Yale).
Nice piece of journalism. The analogy to Nixon is insightful. It was probably unncessary to point out that Nixon, however, had brains.
Nice piece of journalism. The analogy to Nixon is insightful. It was probably unncessary to point out that Nixon, however, had brains.
Jim, I guess you only read the last sentence?
Jim, I guess you only read the last sentence?
"Deuser was not your average small-town lawyer. He'd attended law school at the University of Minnesota and had worked for a prominent Anchorage firm."
Ummm, how many small town lawyers do you know? This sounds EXACTLY like a typical small-town lawyer to me. At least until Podunk Community College puts in a law school or they start selling JDs at the feed store.
"Deuser was not your average small-town lawyer. He'd attended law school at the University of Minnesota and had worked for a prominent Anchorage firm."
Ummm, how many small town lawyers do you know? This sounds EXACTLY like a typical small-town lawyer to me. At least until Podunk Community College puts in a law school or they start selling JDs at the feed store.
Substantive article. Sadly, it is partly typical of the self-satisfied progressive insofar as it casts the unintellectual Sarah Palin in contrast to supposedly educated superiors. The one aspect of brand-consciousness liberals can't seem to overcome is education. Elite school = educated. What silly nonsense. The fool who equates schooling and learning should be pitied. Alleged educational bona fides are often used as bludgeons by the so-called liberals of our distant isles of comfort and complacency. It is sad, really, since many who attend Ivy institutions have never and will never have the faintest notion of intellectualism or thirst for truth of any kind accepting that which can be displa ... view full comment
Substantive article. Sadly, it is partly typical of the self-satisfied progressive insofar as it casts the unintellectual Sarah Palin in contrast to supposedly educated superiors. The one aspect of brand-consciousness liberals can't seem to overcome is education. Elite school = educated. What silly nonsense. The fool who equates schooling and learning should be pitied. Alleged educational bona fides are often used as bludgeons by the so-called liberals of our distant isles of comfort and complacency. It is sad, really, since many who attend Ivy institutions have never and will never have the faintest notion of intellectualism or thirst for truth of any kind accepting that which can be displayed on a resume in the form of a certificate with vague implications.
I find Sarah Palin detestable as well. But one does not need to be a prig to find her that way.
Palin's brand of anti-education thinking makes the movie "Idiocracy" look frighteningly like a documentary.
Palin's brand of anti-education thinking makes the movie "Idiocracy" look frighteningly like a documentary.
If you think that this 4 page article was about chewing gum, it should be no surprise that you might just be the same kind of person who doesn't understand why Sarah Palin is unqualified for the highest or even second-highest office in the United States of America. Just like Sarah, you skip the hard parts of the reading, ignore the facts of the matter, and focus on the tiny things you actually can comprehend.
If you think that this 4 page article was about chewing gum, it should be no surprise that you might just be the same kind of person who doesn't understand why Sarah Palin is unqualified for the highest or even second-highest office in the United States of America. Just like Sarah, you skip the hard parts of the reading, ignore the facts of the matter, and focus on the tiny things you actually can comprehend.
There have been many popular politicians, that proved later to be devastating to their country. Look in the history of the first half of the 20th century.
(Written from Germany)
There have been many popular politicians, that proved later to be devastating to their country. Look in the history of the first half of the 20th century.
(Written from Germany)
So Jim...you read the entire article and all you could glean from it was chewing gum? Or did you just glance at the last few paragraphs and post a comment based on that glance?
Yes, her chewing gum is a trivial issue...and that's exactly the point that is made in the closing paragraphs: that someone might feel their career threatened because at some point they suggested to Governor (at that time, Mayor) Palin that she not chew gum during a city council meeting.
Given the various vendettas Palin has undertaken, as described in the article, such fears may not be unfounded. That's the point of the chewing gum reference.
So Jim...you read the entire article and all you could glean from it was chewing gum? Or did you just glance at the last few paragraphs and post a comment based on that glance?
Yes, her chewing gum is a trivial issue...and that's exactly the point that is made in the closing paragraphs: that someone might feel their career threatened because at some point they suggested to Governor (at that time, Mayor) Palin that she not chew gum during a city council meeting.
Given the various vendettas Palin has undertaken, as described in the article, such fears may not be unfounded. That's the point of the chewing gum reference.
It's a shame Ms. Kilkenny didn't go on to support a recall of Gov. Palin when Palin was mayor; it would have saved us all from the petty, small-mindedness and ignorance that now threaten our entire nation.
Are you imagining a VP with the power of Cheney, the morals of Kissinger, the vengefulness of Nixon and the intelligence of a slug?
Can the Governor be recalled in Alaska? I think you Alaskans should get started on that, now you know more about the woman you're dealing with.
It's a shame Ms. Kilkenny didn't go on to support a recall of Gov. Palin when Palin was mayor; it would have saved us all from the petty, small-mindedness and ignorance that now threaten our entire nation.
Are you imagining a VP with the power of Cheney, the morals of Kissinger, the vengefulness of Nixon and the intelligence of a slug?
Can the Governor be recalled in Alaska? I think you Alaskans should get started on that, now you know more about the woman you're dealing with.