She who laughs last, laughs best: Sarah Palin is THE big elephant in the GOP tent
August 13, 2011
POLITICO describes the effect of Sarah’s personal magnetism at the Iowa State Fair today:
“If there’s any weariness among Iowa voters about Palin’s months-long “will-she-or-won’t-she” dance in which Friday was the latest tease, it wasn’t visible at the fair on Friday. As soon as people noticed her enter the agricultural pavilion to see the famous butter cow — and boy, did they notice — Palin was mobbed.
“She took two hours to walk from that pavilion, past the food stalls about a hundred yards away, and back up to finally exit the fair. The mob grew so big that aides at one point directed her back the way they had come instead of pushing onward, fearing for her safety.”
Let’s face facts: however we feel about her, Sarah remains the biggest elephant in the GOP 2012 tent.
Neither the scorn, snark, ridicule and contempt expressed by so many commenters here, nor the scorn, snark, ridicule and contempt expressed by other bloggers, or by MSMers such as Jonathan Capeheart of the Washington Post, or Lawrence O’Donnell or Rachel Maddow on MSNBC, add up to so much as a straw in the wind.
Sarah will do as Sarah wants to do.
And she has the ersatz charisma and political acumen to make it matter.
Within 24 hours of the eight-candidate Iowa GOP debate, Sarah has captured national media attention simply by showing up to eat fried butter on a stick and pet a cow.
We may doubt it, we may disdain it, we may denounce it, but here’s the fact:
Sarah Palin has clout.
She remains a potent force in behalf of all that could destroy our country from within.
And smug, snarky, ridicule from the self-satisfied left will only make her stronger.
She’s easy to laugh at. I do it myself.
But she who laughs last may laugh best.
That scares me.
I hope it scares you.
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170 Responses to “She who laughs last, laughs best: Sarah Palin is THE big elephant in the GOP tent”
Is she a celebrity or a valid candidate all those people would vote for? Thats the big question in my mind
YUP! It scares the HECK outta me!
Our daughter has already left the country, we are apt to follow her soon, but I don’t know if we would be safe anywhere in the world with this crazy woman (I use that term loosely..) at the helm of our country and her itchy fingers at the nuclear trigger.
I know, many people pooh-pooh her and say she is only a puppet, and I agree with that, but I worry about the people BEHIND her – I worry what THEY will do. And, I also worry about what SHE will do, because she has shown that she doesn’t give a rats’ a$$ for opinions/advice of her superiors…
She may be signing cows and kids heads at the state fair, but until fox dismisses her, she aint runnin’!
I wish I could be so sure.
You have more faith in News Corp. ethics than I do (notwithstanding my friendship with Roger Ailes.)
–Joe
It’s Iowa for gods’ sake, of course the bumpkins were thrilled to see Palin and the Butter Cow in the same room. In fact, for many of these folks just being in the presence of one of these icons would cover a major portion of their bucket lists, but two in the same room? It’s rather amazing that no one had to be hauled out on a Guernsey, oops, I mean gurney 🙂
It shows just how stupid and brainwashed so many of the people in this country are. I’d wish her on them, but not on the sane, intelligent people…
Joe, are you our last hope? If so, make your book tour count.
I think that myself and others refuse to believe that sp will in any way have the last laugh. It is akin to what the comedian recently said about why he doesn’t make sarah palin jokes ( apologies, i forget his name)…….he said to joke about her would force him to believe she is real.
I don’t need to laugh at her. I don’t need to even read about her. I just need you and others like you to take her down. She is the worst of what our country has to offer. I am not being snarky or laughing………I am being sincere.
Some of your posts are just too difficult Joe. She is not real and you know this more than any of us. She is the elephant in the room merely because no one else of import was at the fair. As i pointed out in a reply to your earlier post…………there are a number of political, musical, reality t.v., author, etc. celebs who had they been there could have sucked the attention from sp. YOURSELF included. What would have happened had you been at the fair when she was?
Yes, keep us informed. Yes, share your opinions. Yes, let us read your book. NO, please don’t invite us to believe she is anything more than a fake, a reality t.v. celeb who is nearing her expire date. YES, we will remain diligent to be sure the sp and others like her do not get anywhere near any political office. Please please please don’t jump on the c4p bandwagon of fans who believe she truly has clout.
No Pun intended, but there ain’t no way Jose…………..
What would have happened if I’d been at the fair?
I would have paid admission.
No one would have noticed.
I would not have eaten fried butter on a stick.
–Joe
Celebrities get mobbed in places where there are few celebrities ever seen. That is part of it. And who wouldn’t swarm if the Kardashians showed up eating fried twinkies?
Seriously? If you had it released that “world acclaimed author Joe Mcginnis to attend fair in Iowa” “author of upcoming book about sp”, etc. and then attended with an entourage YES, ALL THOSE REPORTERS WOULD HAVE BEEN AFTER YOU!!! Even if all they asked you was if you thought she would run or asked you what new information do you have in your book……………they would have been there. 1. photogs/reporters NEED to report on something/someone 2. EVERYONE knows about “the rogue” and it’s release date…….as has been noted on this blog before, it has been mentioned several times on msnbc……………what you know about her and what you have to say about her is newsworthy…………at a fair in Iowa and in a metropolis too.
The attempts being made by my posts are not to argue with you………..you do have a few years on me and a lot more experience dealing in the world of “evil” for lack of a better word. I do believe though that you still have more than a glimmer of optimism about human beings. I appeal to that part of you to not give anyone credit unless it is warranted. Sp does not deserve credit for being a p….tease.
I’m definitely scared. I have been saying this for years. My friends laugh, but the fact that cameras and reporters and fans follow her every move only reinforces my fears that she can win the primary and the general election if obamam is still in a slump. That George bush got elected for ma second term …and knowing that people I know even voted for him makes me believe she can get elected. What is it about her. I don’t understand. Why can no scandal bring her down? Anthony wiener’s career blew up within two weeks of one scandal. Two years ofnthis and she
‘s still standing boggles the mind. And the fact that I’m wasting my time in her also boggles my mind.
Lewis Black:
http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/08/lewis-black-sarah-palin-must-be-a-hallucination/
among other places.
““I could not live in this world if I believed she was a real person,” he said.”
Hey, Joe…no pressure but the World is counting on you to bring her down.
Yes, she does scare me, because of the implications for our country if by some chance in hell she should be elected to a national position. Also, because there are quite a few people who think she is smart (although their percentage in our national population is small). I find that VERY scary.
Her favorability numbers are in the tank, even among the teabaggers. Honestly, I would LOVE to see her enter the race and get the nomination and have to face President Obama in debates and in an election. She is unbelievably unelectable, and if the Repubs nominate her, it will guarantee a second term for Obama. Run, Sarah, RUN!
Reading the (mostly negative) comments at CBS, I added mine (copied below)…..and I do believe this bunch of Candidates will be a laughingstock. If I’m wrong then America has been ‘dumbed down’ much worse than I ever imagined.
OHHH please run $arah run and bring us the most entertaining circus of Candidates this Country has ever seen! America so needs a good laugh and your word salad would be a good match to the ‘closeted’ Bachmanns and Perry’s ‘shoot em up’ western show…so go on & steal that old spotlight & bring it on for rill.
BTW….you keep saying you want to bring America back so I’m wondering if we got invaded during the night or your minions found those weapons of destruction that Bush was looking for?????
Hope you got your fill of butter today…how’s your stomach working out fer ya?
Thank you for posting the link. I sometimes get ahead of myself……….
exactly!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And at huffpo there used to be a nauseating quantity of blurbs about sp daily and/or weekly.
NO MENTION of her in Iowa that I can find.
Thank you!!!
peace.
well everybody loves a freak show, and the quitter is the star of the biggest freak show of them all!
One report from the state fair cattle barn noted that $P “alarmed the cows.”
Trust the instincts of our four-stomached friends!
She is running on celebrity, which is a much stronger draw in this country, at the present time, than is political acumen. That for one is scary. The God thing is very frightening as well. In times of hardship even sane-minded people tend to cleave to God, and any candidate at this point that is visible and full of empty promises from God might just have a leg up. The time of christo-fascism in America wrapped in a flag is upon us with the Perrys, Bachmanns and Palins. There are people that have no where else to turn but to faith because their lives are so devoid of any other joy. They are jobless, poor and can’t own a home or have lost a home. These are the people the will turn to faith and flag and any candidate that has the talking points that might make them feel that their lives may improve. They don’t care about solid ideas regarding complicated solutions to what is ailing this country, they just want to vote for someone that says that it is going to get better.
Instead, their lives will remain the same. They cannot wrap their heads around the fact that the GOP is in bed with the money, with the rich, and use the poor disenfranchised bible thumpers to vote them into office, while not having one concern about their well being. The poor christian folks, who are growing in numbers by the day, only want a candidate that believes in God and hates abortion. They never seem to understand that these candidates don’t care about them and theirs, only for the corporate americans that should not have to pay taxes. I’m done with these people and I’m finished feeling sorry for them. If they saddle us with any of the aforementioned candidates they will get what they deserve. They can make fun of Obama all they want while purchasing groceries with their food stamp cards and taking as much welfare as they please. If one of these 3 gets into office their life on the dole will be seriously compromised. Then where do they turn for help? The church?
My same rant has been said many times before by many other commenters and writers, but dammit, why do WE see it but THEY don’t?
It takes a strong-willed person to STOP and avert their eyes away from a ” Train wreck”. It’s Human nature.
Just like NO ONE will ever be accused of turning in to watch Jersey Shore because Snookie will enlighten you and you will come away learning something.
Agreed. People also queue up to see a two headed pig or a cow with five legs.
Joe, I think we will be having the last laugh because in the end she can’t win even if she gets the nomination. She has a base but they don’t represent all Americans. She’s more of a celebrity politician than a real contender for the WH. Believe me, republicans I know can’t stand her and if it was a choice between Obama and Palin they would choose Obama.
Everyone should read “The God Virus”… (explanations, but no solutions, necessarily).
http://www.amazon.com/God-Virus-religion-infects-culture/dp/0970950519
I just saw her on Hannity trying to whip the crowd into a frenzy. Yes she’s scary but I still don’t think she will run. She can only “come out” when she’s either medicated or had ample down time to recover from the last time. She’s a coward in my book. Hiding behind FB and Twitter.
since she first came on the scene, SPAZ hasn’t scared me half so much as her ardent followers have. Now there’s Rick Perry, and the hard-right anti-Obama folks have another like SPAZ to get their juices flowing.
They, not the candidates, are who we need to be watching carefully.
as to SPAZ at the Fair, she is, as others have noted, a celebrity. nothing more. joe, she really isn’t as worrying any more as the media might lead us to believe. the media is the problem.
I’m not so sure. The reporters were positively fawning over her. Did they ask her ANY hard-hitting questions, other than “are you running”? which would of course elicit the coquettish response of “don’t know yet….”.
It positively blows my mind regarding the double-standard applied to Palin. Hillary Clinton was never, ever given such deferential treatment. The fluff answers to what should be hard questions are never followed up in any kind of forceful way. The reporters take her at her every word. If she EVER comes close enough to MY locale, you had better bet I’d be asking ALL KINDS of questions, shouting them out, the types of questions that I WOULD NOT relent on…
Did ANY of the reporters ask Palin today about Mercede Johnston’s serious claims regarding her and her family regarding Track’s supposed drug use, Levi’s visitation with Tripp, the withholding of Tripp from his paternal family, etc. in her Playboy interview? It hit news stands today… and if not, why not?
We all know Sarah uses any & every opportunity to show up for the attention from the press. She announced her latest “appearance” at the Fair, as she announced her last bus tour appearance & movie debut appearance, Rolling Thunder app. …..It’s a way of using the ready made crowds of people & makes her look like all those people are there for her. She reads the blogs, the comments, on sites like this one, huffpo etc. and the comments are brutal! The only good comments come from her bots on her sites. She keeps trying to “prove” she’s popular by using these ready made crowds. Perception is everything.
She is a bad joke now so my opinion is she’s toast & will not be considered as someone to be associated with in this election. Watching video of her at the fair with reporters was like watching a “train wreck”. She’s an embarrassment to women!
There’s a video out there with a reporter having a little confrontation with Todd today.
Well, Joe, it was Iowa after all. I doubt it would happen in CA.
Lewis Black is the comedian who made that comment.
For all of you hoping the Queen of the Dipshits runs, read up on the faux election machines that are well documented on The Brad Blog. He documents the other voter shenanigans as well. Don’t think that we need this circus sideshow so that S&P and the other ratings agencies who grade sovereign debt (not mortgage departments) give the US yet another down grade.
The media doesn’t do its job–they make and break celebrities. Hope she ends up in jail like OJ.
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/39018_Standard_and_Poors_Director-_Talk_of_Default_Contributed_to_Downgrade#rss
I don’t mind watching a train wreck on a small scale, but since the Tea Baggers own this downgrade, think long and hard about whether you want joke politicians running for office:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/39018_Standard_and_Poors_Director-_Talk_of_Default_Contributed_to_Downgrade#rss
You betcha it scares me. I had hoped to live out the rest of my life without our country being overwhelmed by crazies, but I am losing hope. I’m seriously considering hiding in the woods until I die or moving to another country. I’m beginning to see smoke that signifies that our democracy is toast. I do hope that all of you sane people are registered to vote. Do NOT vote on a diebold next year.
No, they wouldn’t have chased him. He’s an aging man; she’s a pretty woman. Enough said.
Author celebrity is different from screen celebrity. At least in the US, book authors are put on a pedestal to some degree, and best-selling authors to a greater degree, but the real star-struck, ga-ga celebrity is reserved for people who appear on big or small screens, including sports icons and rock stars. I see it personally in microcosm: people who know or meet me are impressed that I’ve written books, and get quoted in newspapers, but the only time anyone is ever remotely “gushy” is if they’ve seen me on tv. Someone once quipped that people would gush over a potted plant, if they were told it had been on television.
So, yeah, Palin and even her dull-as-toast daughter have celebrity. Not celebrity that would get noticed in LA or NYC, but enough to draw a crowd in an Iowa state fair. I don’t believe she is a real force to be reckoned with any more because I believe the big-money backers have sized her up as a losing horse, and have moved on to horses that have fewer glaring liabilities (are marginally less bat-sh*t crazy). The one way I think she could still have influence would be as a spoiler — and it’s interesting to think that she just might be crazy/narcissistic enough to try.
She has always scared me, Joe, although what scares me the most is the IDEA of her. The idea that a mentally imbalanced, uneducated, inexperienced, mean-spirited, venal ignoramus could travel so far so fast simply because she photographs well and has charisma. That scares the hell out of me. Seriously; no one would pay her any attentionr if she were fat and homely.
One of these days, a deadly smart but equally ruthless and nasty Sarah Doppelganger will emerge, and then, God help this country.
But as for Sarah, if I’d have been at that fair, I might well have gone over to take a look at her myself, simply to see if I could better understand the phenomenon. So just because she can draw a crowd doesn’t mean that crowd will all vote for her. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself so I can sleep at night…
Reading the above, I suggest we must all be very careful what we wish for. Personally I think she’s hoping at this point to be tapped as Perry’s running mate. Scary as he is, he has a long resume. (Which unbelievably includes being Al Gore’s Texas Re-Election Chair.) And she simply does not have a portfolio. Her job would be to continue to tap into the deep-down hatefulness — it’s her basic resource — which allows her to blithely toss bombs in order to put our President in his “place”. It’s code work and her followers eat it up because she “speaks” for them in a cathartic fashion. With the tinderbox the GOP and its Tea Party subsidiary have constructed this summer, I think we’re in a pretty dangerous place.
I certainly don’t want to see this woman run so that we can enjoy our schadenfreude. Politics tends to offer up too many unpleasant surprises. Hanging chads anyone?
Scarlet, A lot of people in this country can not handle the fact that a black man is the president. I have almost cut off all e-mail forwards from my own brother over this despicable slant, which come from his idiot teabag former neighbor in Oregon. These people will probably never change their point of view no matter what tack I might try to convince them of their wrongheadedness. It’s a painful thing to deal with, but in the end I will choose equality and justice over family.
There was a short statement in MN where of course they are busy promoting either TPaw or MB or both. Who knows who they like
THAT’s not the point.
At some point as our intrepid reporter followed her around with his tongue hanging out she said something to the effect that she wasn’t in the straw poll because there was already a woman in it. She must have been talking about MB but did anyone pick up on what she was actually talking about, OK I know she doesn’t know what she’s talking about but in general was she saying she wasn’t running if MB is running?” WTF?
Especially at a state fair.
Sarah Palin…just another freak of nature.
wow!!! Could that be a sexist comment? How is an “aging man” less interesting than a “pretty woman”??????
Okay, I get what you are saying. I understand what Joe is saying. I also am in the same camp as others here who are noting that this is Iowa we are talking about……….not L.A., not N.Y. Also, fox news has a whole setup there for their broadcast and everyone is “pumped” for that. sp is an extension of fox.
Have that same hannity interview in L.A. and it would not have any draw at all. Have sp show up at an event in L.A. and she would get a passing notice as everyone looked for someone more important and more famous to interview.
As someone astutely said here earlier, she is a celebrity politician. There was clearly a lack of any other celebrity or politician there.
Just like the paps want the first pic of a baby adopted or born into the brad/angie family for the money and fame of being the one to get the picture these reporters want to be the ONE to get her answer to the question of whether she is running. Once that is answered game over. Either she runs and loses or she doesn’t run and loses. Her losses, our wins.
peace.
Fox News uses fear to achieve their ends. Stop this Joe, we don’t need fear as an incentive or an organizing tool. No, I am NOT afraid of Sarah Palin. She is a mentally unbalanced tool. Spreading fear is the LAST THING we need now– Turn On the LIGHTS– isn’t that what your book will do ???
My favorite line from her today was, “I don’t want people to think I’m stringin’ them along.” Duh. She doesn’t want people to think, actually. And thankfully for her bank account, they don’t.
Yes, she scares the shit out of me. That’s how I found this blog.
Our world is a frightening place: an economy that’s in free fall; tornadoes, tsumamis, nuclear disasters, riots.
Sarah Palin feeds the need to feel secure. She has absolute certainty, power, energy, conviction. In a world as risky as it is right now, she is unflinching. That is her strength.
She doesn’t need to make sense. She just seems tougher than anyone else. Her words are empty, her thoughts are shallow, but her bravado is breath-taking. For those “clinging” to religion, or anything else that seems to make sense of a senseless world, she’s Moses. Or Esther.
I suspect “enablers” is a better word.
Joe, I know you are an expert in everything Sarah Palin but to say she has clout is a bit much. Palin is a celebrity first, politician a distant second. If Palin attracts crowds at the Iowa State Fair, it is not because she was the former governor of Alaska or a failed vice-president candidate but because obtained Paris Hilton status. (famous for being famous)
Now Sarah Palin is a persona that is known all over the world but so is Kim Kardashian and if Kim had showed up at the Iowa State Fair, she would gotten the same attention because she is Kim Kardashian just like Sarah Palin is Sarah Palin. This is Iowa. I doubt they get a steady flow of celebrities in their parts so if a celebrity, any celebrity that is on TV or in the magazines were to just drop by, I would imagine Iowans would be giddy to be in their presence and this includes Sarah Palin.
I don’t think it’s clout she has, it’s gall.
“Sarah Doppelganger’s” name is Elizabeth Cheney.
What she learned best, and early on, is how stupid, impressionable and easily fooled the general public is (just ask any ad man). Here’s Andrew Halcro’s recollection of a conversation he had with Palin when they were both running for governor (some may have seen this already).
“On the morning of April 18, 2006, I sat in the Hotel Captain Cook coffee shop with Sarah Palin comparing campaign trail notes. Yes, there was a time when Palin and I could hold a civil conversation, long before she began calling me “dumbass” in her emails… but I digress.
While talking about the trials and tribulations of the trail, she offered up a personal thought that still rings in my ears.”
“Andrew, I watch you at these debates with no notes, no papers and yet when asked questions you spout off facts, figures and policies and I’m amazed. But then I look out into the audience and I ask myself, does any of this really matter?”
I agree.
A good example of this is: a gazillion years ago I had a small speaking role on a dramatic t.v. series. The episode I was in was shot in Denver. There were tons of random people hanging around outside the set and when I walked out, I was mobbed!!! All of them wanting my autograph……….and they didn’t even know my name….LOL!!! My only claim to fame to them was that I was filmed for a t.v. show.
I was completely gobsmacked!!!
I read on one of the reports that she had a GOP fund raiser with her.
She will fill her coffers and the GOP will continue to use her to play the race card, and that will suit Sarah just fine, as she has never gotten over losing to a black man.
If she was not a coward she would have been on that stage last night. But she does know the media and plays them well. Grete said her contract with Fox prohibits appearing on other networks to answer questions,they make things up to cover for her and the rest of the media just enables.Her facebook and tweets were not getting the media play as before, so she had to inject herself in a ready made event to look important .
Yep she’s running and it scares the begeebus out of me…
Though I believe, with Roosevelt, that “The only thing we have to fear is fear, itself,” I’d be a lot more “concerned” if:
a) Her TLC “reality” show had high ratings
b) The Undefeated had shown any ‘box office’ at all
c) Her “One Woman/Nation Tour” wasn’t a huge flop
d) Joe McGinnis had become a plumber instead of an author
Joe, forgive me! I had a neighbor who spelled her name “McGinnis,” so it’s a habit. I know you’re “McGinniss!” Sorry.
There is one thing endangering beyond fear itself. That would be living in fantasy. I needn’t say more.
Here’s what Ben Smith said:
“By the time she trudged up a dirt parking lot to the fair’s VIP area, only ten or so reporters were left, and we’d run out of questions. She looked up, seeming a bit startled by the silence, and drew a few more.”
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0811/Palin_feeds_the_press.html?showall
There seems to be a breakdown of what we see on the screen and what we hear by media.
What I see is a frail physical woman, and possibly an individual who needs some intense psychological therapy. I say this because she seems to contradict herself, in many things she says. Her schedules can’t be trusted. She quits things. Isn’t dependable. What’s shocking is that Chris Matthews, etc. still discuss her like she’s a credible contender. Do they not notice that her behavior and her belief that she can carry out a “grass-roots” campaign is crazy? They just enable her further into believing she can do this herself.
She runs to Iowa on short notice and steals the limelight from serious contenders, doesn’t commit, talks to Fox like she thinks she can educate and analyze any situation? They are simply using her.
I wish you wouldn’t remind us that ailes is your friend.
I wont offer reasons why people find palin attractive.
because it just doesn’t matter.
but I do not agree she has any clout in the republican party.
exactly where would she be if it were not for fox and your friend ailes?
see,I find this woman deplorable because of what she represents.
and that truth that people here know is not the truth that fox has presented to their audience.
if she is the danger you claim then we need to hold those accountable that enable her.
but have no fear.
palin will not be running for the presidency and she will not be a political force in this country beyond the people that find running to see her at a state fair a rewarding diversion.
its been clear for quite a while now that she has no support with the powers that be of the party and in fact its hard not to argue they view her as the same loon that we do here.
but I do agree this is a very scary time for thi s country because as I previously commented there were worse people waiting to pick up where her limitations ended.
and that person the man the republican establishment (which includes the MSM) is uniting behind is perry of texas.
its to early to know if obama is being thrown under the bus but I do see evidence that perry will be the next president of this country .
and that should scare the hell out of everyone but the rich and the loons waiting for the end of times rapture that they are positive perry can provide.
The cows were alarmed probably cause they heard her talk about them sitting next to the mashed potatoes.
Ah, Rapture! Texas Governor/Wyoming Snake worked before. Did Ricky Perry change his name from Ricardo?
I Love Lizzie 2012! Every operation needs a brain.
I don’t agree and I think posts like this give her more power, sorry.
I used to be afraid of her but I dont know anyone except the media and her bots who fall all over.
So the media fawns, that doesn’t make her a viable candidate for president.
I haven’t heard a single person but the way wacko right talk about her as a serious presidential contender, have any of you? Most conservatives I know think she is an idiot.
My prediction is that she isn’t running. And if she does run the other GOP candidates will make mincemeat of her.
My God Joe you talk like she is the darling of the country. She isn’t !! Not one single poll has ever indicated that the country wants her. Her favorables are lower than ANYONE in Politics! Anyone!! And since 2008 they have steadily gone down hill. Facts are important too.
So I want to say please educate the country about her Joe and others, but why on earth are you giving her so much power. I think you all help her when you do this, sorry. The book will be great. You spent years on this book so now tell all, but please don’t give her narcissm more fuel by being alarmist. She feeds off this as much as the positive attention.
Just my two cents. If I’m wrong then dinners on me if you Joe ever make it to Phoenix.
She has clout like Britney Spears or Christine ODonnell has clout. She gets a lot of attention because she is a train wreck.
Forget about Sarah at the fair. Look what Michele and Marcus shared while all the other animals were there http://t.co/R994jlM
Ex Cat….In my case it’s been a brother who forwarded anti-Muslim emails and a brother-in-law who baited me with anti-Obama, pro-Palin etc. After a few heated arguments & ‘pay-back’ emails I realized I was coming from lowering myself to their levels with no dialogue happening. So I started using humor & politely asking ‘what Palin’s plan is? My brother quit after I (smiling) asked him how many Muslims in his 75 years have come to his door to sell their Religion to him. My brother-in-law stays away from the subject because my husband and I just smile and say “You betcha”.
Seriously I was getting nervous with the GOP lineup and $arah threatening to run everyday, but then I really looked at the ‘lineup’ and it seems that the only people willing to take a chance against President Obama are a bunch of has-beens, religious fanatics and narcissists. No intelligent person is listed….they are merely mascots for Koch Bros, Ailes, AIP……..
This isn’t a 1st for America…..Go rent Elmer Gantry and it pretty much mirrors the path Sarah & friends are on.
I really don’t believe that this is a big deal. ANY celebrity suddenly popping up at an event would spark a massive rush to them.
What I think is more telling is how blatantly transparent it all is. So she walks in, gets the attention that she wanted, and then leaves. She doesn’t even bother to put up the pretense that she’s enjoying the sights and sounds with her family. How are people ok with someone showing up just to get photographed, but not putting in any other work otherwise?
Also, I agree. Posts like this just gives her power. You know damn well your post will be up on C4P saying “even Joe McGinniss admits Sarah Palin is feared.”
I’m one of the few who actually thinks she’s running, and I do think that she can get the nomination, but it stops there. Pumping her up just becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. She should be getting called out.
Not to mention, it makes it even easier for them to try to write you off by saying that you’re trying to put out a hit piece on her because you fear her. Don’t play into their hands.
In this economy, ANYONE could potentially win, but she is the one with the most glaring flaws. She also would inspire Democrats to come out like no one else. All those apathetic voters who people fear won’t turn out next year would be out in droves.
Plus, she has proven herself to be completely incapable of not getting in her own way.
You are falling for the trap that Palin fans fall into. They believe that because REPUBLICANS love her, that’s how the rest of the nation feels. The rest of the nation rejects her, though she’s always fun to gawk at, as any celebrity is. If I were at the fair, I’d gather around her too. Doesn’t mean I’m voting for her.
The other candidates are far more worrisome.
I don’t know what is going on with your blog, but every time I post I get taken to an old thread with your picture on it. That thread has 117 replies and remarks from July.
This is the URL:
https://www.joemcginniss.net/she-who-laughs-last-laughs-best-sarah-palin-is-the-big-elephant-in-the-gop-tent/JoeMcGinniss#comment-17746
I think it’s because of the “JoeMcGinniss” that’s coming up in the url for some reason.
Good comments!!
omg……….thank you for the lolololololol’s
I was going to say Bristol would attract just as much attention, but after that poor excuse for a book tour, I’m not so sure. Mercede, on the other hand…
You wouldn’t have a financial interest in portraying Palin as a preternaturally charismatic political force of nature threatening the very foundations Western civilization, would you?
Crazy lady sh
they just cant risk it. too much at stake for them.
I agree with you Joe. Sarah still has clout and she is still dangerous. I thought Sarah showed up in Iowa today to steal Perry’s thunder now that he is going to announce (today I believe) for President. And though she wasn’t able to steal all his thunder, she stole enough of it.
We have elected representatives who think that defaulting on our debt is a good thing. These folks were elected, why wouldn’t Sarah be elected? And all the commenters who state that it is Iowa and of course she will get a crowd, I must share with you that my college educated forty-five year old sister lives in New Hampshire and she absolutely loves Sarah Palin (she voted for Huckabee in the 2008 New Hampshire primary).
I have been horrified at times by Sarah Palin (especially when she told a reporter her account of the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere), but I do not laugh at her and say she cannot win. She can win – look at the 86 members of Congress who were just elected with Tea Party backing.
For those who say she would never beat Obama, I would say that the Republicans are working very hard to tank our economy for political purposes. They know if the economy is still in the tank in the fall of 2012, it is President Obama who might be toast.
So, I am certainly not afraid, but I am worried about the future of our country. I had never heard of Sarah Palin prior to her selection for VP, but once I googled her on the day I heard her name, I became very concerned that McCain might get elected. I have had my eye on the Queen ever since because I do believe she is a very dangerous woman.
No one has been able to bring her down yet. She still has the teflon coating. No pressure Joe, but I and many others are really hoping your book can put a kink or two in Sarah’s armour. I am really hoping you have something in your book about why Sarah’s house seems to be built with a lot of the same materials that were used in building the Wasilla hockey arena – both were built around the same time I have read.
In the interim, I am still waiting to laugh. When she announces (and I think she will), I might cry.
I agree Lisbeth, my husband is a member of a VERY conservative country club in SE IN. Everyone in it but 3(my husband being one) are uber right wingers and not one of the takes her seriously or thinks she has a brain cell in her head. Sure, they all would love to get into the sack (barf) with her, but have her run their country? Not a chance.
She has a certain celebrity, but as Ben Smith said once they see her people move on. It happened in Iowa and it happens everywhere she goes. People love to look at train wrecks but after a while it gets sickening and in order to keep sane, you move on.
Agree! Gall is the word.
At the Fair while doing Hannity interview she said the super congress of 10, instead of 12 and she said it 4 times. She’s never prepared except for her makeup!
Most of the reporters had dispersed as did the “crowd” so she went to the VIP tent to shake hands. A poser for sure, that’s Sarah.
No fear here about Sarah Palin. But she should really be crapping herself at what those in the GOP will secretly do to her. It’s going to get ugly. And forget about republicans not hurting other republicans.
From what I hear, she won’t see it coming. And isn’t nice how Sarah goes where the crowds are because she can’t draw them all by herself anymore?
lewis black.
those cows knew that she is a crack shot when confronted with tethered animals.
would’ve made me nervous, even.
What on EARTH is she wearing? Did she lose her luggage and borrow Piper’s shirt? Geez.
Thank you. A bit of sanity helps.
That is the only thing keeping me sane. I felt very depressed at the reaction of the media towards Palin but the one thing I do believe in, is that the GOP will not let her anywhere near the presidency. You can be sure Romney via Schmidt, has the goods on this dimwit. None of the other candidates will want anything to do with her – she tanked McCain’s chances and they won’t forget that.
Beth, my biggest hope — and I gotta believe, Republican insiders’ greatest fear — is that she will enter as a third-party candidate, and splinter the nutcase vote. I also don’t believe she has a snowball’s chance in heck of being elected President, but I do believe there’s a real chance the country will elect someone even worse, like for example Perry. Ironically, this leads to a troubling question: whose interests would most be served if Joe’s book, or any of the others coming out this fall, are damaging enough to be the TKO for Palin’s aspirations? (And yet there remains a small part of me that is also desperately hoping this woman will be exposed, once and for all.)
A readier question for any reporter simply possessed of natural curiosity: “Where is Trig?”
@nswfm, this is what scares me. Those voting machines. The ‘results’ in Wisconsin? I don’t believe it.
Sarah Palin’s appearance at the Iowa State Fair is an AGM*, pure and simple. She hates it when anyone else takes the spotlight. She fired up the Bus ‘o’ Matic and got to Iowa as fast as she could.
*AGM = Attention Getting Mechanism
thank you.
To: AKPetMom:
Re: “It’s Iowa for gods’ sake, of course the bumpkins were thrilled to see Palin and the Butter Cow in the same room. In fact, for many of these folks just being in the presence of one of these icons would cover a major portion of their bucket lists, but two in the same room? It’s rather amazing that no one had to be hauled out on a Guernsey, oops, I mean gurney :-)”
Have you ever been to Iowa? Don’t buy into the stereotypes that you get by looking at the more bizarre things that happen at a state fair: fried anything on a stick, celebrity on a shtick, etc. They do not represent Iowa.
Sarah Palin only ‘appears’ to have clout because a few media people still pay attention and try to booster her image. A video on Politico, for instance, titled “Sarah Palin mobbed at Iowa Fair” or some such nonsense, got my curiosity up — I wanted to see this so-called mob — so I watched it. Sarah Palin was not mobbed. She was walking thru a crowd that hardly noticed her aside from no more than twenty at best, if even that and that is really stretching the number of people gawking at her — mostly males, of course. I would bet dollars to doughnuts that a handful were her security detail, too.
Is Sarah running?
If Palin does run, and that is a big IF, I suspect she will run as the T-Party candidate or under some other “independent” party. She has dropped hints before, but this quotation is intriguing:
Palin pledged to run a different kind of campaign IF she jumps in:
“Each campaign that I’ve ever run in these 20 years of elected office has been kind of unconventional, right, Todd?” Palin said, turning to her husband. “I’ve always been outspent 2:1, 5:1, 10:1. I never won any polls heading into election night but usually won the election.” “It would be unconventional and very grass-roots, very grass-roots,” she said. “I wouldn’t be out there looking for hires out of that political bubble that seem to result in the same ideas, same old talking points, the things that Americans get so sick and tired of hearing and kind of suffering through. We want new! We want new energy, we want conviction and passion and candidness, even if through that candidates make mistakes.”
It is probably another fake-out ,as she is wont to do, to keep the attention on her, but Sarah is not serious … She is just not willing to do the hard work… With only 5 months left to set up a national campaign headquarters and campaign offices, get volunteers, a ground game strategy and familiarize herself with the ins-and-outs of the states that hold caucuses — i.e. Iowa — and which have regular voting, (Texas is the only state that has both), not to mention gathering delegates, super delegates, super volunteers, etc… And that is only a fraction of what needs to be done …
Palin wants the glory, but is not willing to work for it. She wants prestige and money and attention, nothing more. If she were to actually run and did not win, she would lose all that. No I doubt seriously Palin has any intention of jumping in the race. If she does then she is a bigger fool that I had imagined — something I did not think possible. LOL.
Joe Iam looking forward to reading your book. Just a couple more weeks … 😉
Joe, you are giving $arah way too much credit. $he loves the attention, $he loves the money. $he doesn’t love the hard work. $arah is pretty much a lazy person. $he extends the least amount of effort for the largest pay check. $he is not running for anything. I think America, and that includes Iowans, see her for exactly what $he is…. a Koch tease.
I have noticed that also. I thought it was just me.
In my blog list, it doesn’t matter if I click on Joe’s blog title (usually would go to a blogger’s home page with a list of current articles to click on) or the specific post title (usually goes to a blogger’s specific post with the comments visible).
It always jumps to the comments from a post way back in March. Joe, can this be fixed before your book comes out?
Ack. Forgot to say, after I submit a comment, it always jumps to the March comments! Not to the post I just commented on! Then I have to route myself back to where I was.
A lot of the comments here appear to assume that getting one’s self elected is the only way to wield power.
Grover Norquist was never elected to any public office and yet his “vote” on the debt deal was worth a few dozen (elected) members of Congress. Karl Rove has had his hands on the levers of power in ways that few elected officials can dream of. Then of course, Roger Ailes… 😉 Even from the grave, a zombie version of Ronald Reagan dominates the republican primary field.
The list goes on. Sarah doesn’t have to actually get elected or be in any public office to do damage; she is plenty capable of throwing (figurative) firebombs through the open windows of the halls of power, and her whole schtick right now is to remind the world – or at least the Republican primary field – of that fact.
I agree. I think she doesn’t know or care that this is not like 2008 where she was plucked from Alaska after the hard primary work was done and the already established campaign of the actual candidate had all the responsibilities. She remembers clothes! Shopping! Fame! Applause! Adoration! Makeup artistes! Hairstylists! Pageant waving! Do what comes naturally! Be naaaaasty!
I think she is waiting for the giant clusterfuck that is the Republican primary clown car circus to implode at their convention. And I’ll bet that, surrounded by fast food wrappers and red bull cans, she dreams of walking onto the stage to roars of applause as she graciously accepts the RNC’s desperate pleas for her to please please be their candidate, the only one that can save them!
When she is in a cranky mood, I think she dreams paying back all the establishment types on her enemies list by mounting a third party campaign, knowing that it will split the Republican vote, thereby showing them her “power” (to, uh, lose?).
She is lazy, incurious, unwilling to work or to learn and has no interest in governing. But a monster was born when she walked out on to that stage to the roars of applause nearly three years ago. She is a malignant narcissist of such magnitude that she makes Mussolini look like Frances of Assisi.
Look at that old ratty bra strap on her shoulder, she went all out to impress Iowans. Joe just finished reading Fatal Vision and loved it, I saw the tv movie as a kid and didn’t understand how someone could be like that but I have met far too many charming sociopaths in the years since. Great book, can’t wait for The Rogue!
The media Sarah Palin hates, gives her all the attention she wants. If people would stop reporting about her and taking her picture and writing about the massive crowds that surround her, she would not look so great!
Some of those people surrounding her, might love her others might dislike her, and want to give her the evil eye or laugh at the queen of nonsense. How many people attended the fair that day? How many people really swarmed her? And out of those people how many would truly vote for her?
Scared. No! We all need to continue doing out part in exposing her for who she really is. I look forward to your book Joe. Sarah will someday be exposed for who Sarah Palin really is. A Liar who likes to destroy and not create!
Is it simply a matter of ethics? Is Fox not bound legally?
Why would Perry hook up with Palin when he saw what happened to McCain?
I’m with you Emily.
Theater of the cheap and tawdry kind: carnival, and sideshow not midway, at that.
If she “runs” her way, that will be a late entry walk-on as a VP on the ticket of one of these idiots so desperate that he’ll believe she’ll take him across the finish line. Problem is, who would that be?
I agree that we are overlooking some of the obvious signs that she is struggling to get herself together to meet even sporadic demands. Her style choices are erratic and inappropriate in many instances, and her personal hygiene appears to be deteriorating as well. This is a well funded celebrity who turns out in public in cringeworthy condition: hair, clothes, poor fitting shoes, even the shocking condition of her feet in yesterday’s photos. Many times in her Fox appearances she behaves as if she is medicated to an eye-glazing, lid-drooping, consonant-slurring level. Other times she seems enraged and barely in control of her speech, which seems manic in its rate and content.
Her mental health issues are, and have been for some time, on full display. I try to extend to her the understanding and compassion someone in such need of help deserves, but I struggle with the terrible effects of her behavior and speech on so many others and for so long.
liz cheney resembles miss piggy in the looks department so don’t count on that.
I love that picture that accompanies your blog post. Notice the man in the yellow shirt. He sure seems to be enjoying the “show.” The little peak of her bra strap must have been equally stimulating….Nice touch Sarah. Anyone know what trinkets she has around her neck this time? The keys to the bus so that Todd can’t run away this time?
I believe you are spot on. She remembers only the glory but doesn’t comprehend the difference, that such a late (and unvetted) entry cannot now be replicated, simply not possible. Her “malignant narcissism” needs what it needs. That is all.
Why am I convinced that only curiosity seekers follow her around. There is no way that crowd of people would actually vote for her in an election. She makes so many mistakes and says so many stupid things. I personally think they want to be the first to see her make a fool of herself in the same way a crowd would follow a circus clown. The other republicans that were in the debate don’t make them laugh or allow them to be in shock and that is why so many didn’t follow them around the fair. Sarah Palin is the freak of the fair.
That comedian was Lewis Black.
The media is seeking a scoop to capture Palin if she announces. Palin plays the media like chess pieces
I have considered it was orchestrated To lure the media to the tent and possibly Palin’s Iowa supporters were alerted to organize. A throng of people does not pass the smell test given the lack of attendance for her movie, poor turn out for the book signing and disastrous bus tour.
Tose were just Iowans there to see the cows.
Hah! I meant to type “Those”
The cows were alarmed, and the people who came to see the cows were entertained by a celebrity. Big excitement at a fair int he midwest.
Agree gypsyrose. I was travelling with a famous person – movie celebrity – and not in Iowa, but AZ, and hanging around the set watching the movie being made (t.v.). The crowd of onlookers there knew who was travelling with the “star”, came right up to me asking for my autograph. People of a certain mindset will take the crumbs of “stardust” just to get as near to that celebrity as they can. Its not rational. It IS juvenile and immature. I think it is a need for attention that has never been filled in a healthy way. Too many people are inflicted with this lack.
I think Rick Perry has the Christian Mo-Jo as shown by this.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320742384750+&viewitem=
He is not to be trifled with.
You need take a better look at Mrs. Toad Palin, friend. It’s a little thing called Stagecraft.
As an Iowa Democrat who worked door to door in the midst of an Iowa Winter to help make Obama our President, and who has consistently worked to make sure Tom Harkin returned to the Senate — two thoughts: 1) Don’t judge Iowa by our crazies, and 2) our crazies are crazier than most.
Thanks Melly!
No fan of birdbrain but one must admit she started out with a lot more natural good looks than liz cheney has ever had. Folks like you and I see the ugliness shine through but her rabid dolt following don’t…she’s a c*cktease and men including some of the media fall for it. cheney doesn’t rely on her looks nor does she flirt, she’s a smarter uglier evil womanof the same ilk as winky.
i always wonder why people mention rachel as the default “snark on the left” person, when, in fact, she actually feels the EXACT same way about sarah palin as you have laid out here. just THIS WEEK, sans snark, she reiterated her belief that sarah palin would run, and we needed to be worried.
@ Melly–What do you mean ” what happened to McCain”? She happily did the dirty work. “Pallin’ around with terrorists”, community “organizer”, ‘rill” Americans (wink, wink) — the grab bag is bottomless for her. And it gave McCain the bounce his campaign had been lacking. She and Perry are a match made in heaven for the increasingly theocratic right-wing GOP who now own a permanently-seated Tea Party in Congress.
I don’t think she’d be his first pick (or pick at all), but that’s what she is aiming for at this juncture. More fame whoring for the cause, her personal brand stays alive and the dollars keep rolling in.
But he didn’t win.
Anyone see Perry give his speech today? Now that scared me! We cannot let the fringe right take over our country! We just can’t and we all can play a role in it. Joe, you are going to have all these media appearances. That gives you a voice. Even if Sarah doesn’t run you are getting the info out about Dominionists. Most people have never even heard of Dominionist Christians. Ask around and you will see that. And, all the GOP running are DominIonists except Paul, Huntsman and Romney. When I listen to their vision for America, it scares me. Like they think freedom of religion only applies to Christians! There are so many scary things and I think the far right is behind Perry.
Scary! The only good news is he’s Bush 2 and maybe dumber, but Bush won two terms!
I can’t wait for your book. I was glad to hear a few months ago that you talk about Sarahs religion because it’s way out there! Perry is Sarah in a skirt and Sarahs smarter then him but he’s the one they are backing. Chew on that for awhile.
Bravo! Well articulated.
Yeah friend, what happened there?! Our old-school Eastern Seaboard perception Iowa, well… let me say say it thus–I can’t help misidentifying Steve King as being from Idaho!
Was there a nerve gas attack there, or what? It just doesn’t compute. Shade of Bachmann representing a district from sensible Minnesota… I mean, as a Pennsylvanian showing a Senator Toomey I can’t be proud, but this is the same as it ever was. My impression is that Iowa and Minnesota are reflecting a shift, one of most ominous aspect.
Rick Perry just annnounced. It’s gonna get ugly ’til, and then when, he chooses a running mate. Maybe this will redirect wutzerface’s focus from Obama. Or something…
Regarding Pat Toomey
More’s the pity, our alternative was an accomplished manager and theorist: Congressman Joe Sestak.
Sorry, I’ve seen grifters operate before, and this woman has all the textbook hallmarks. She’s gunning to stay a permanent celebrity who can keep conning her stupid supporters, not to be the next president. I also still don’t think she has the guts to seriously run for president.
I agree. Fox has been breaking the law for years now; does anyone honestly believe they would face some sort of consequences for keeping Sarah Palin on the Fox dole if she ran for president? But, as I note in another post, I don’t believe she will run. I just don’t think the Fox contract is proof of that.
@Melly–No, but he regained some traction that he’d completely lost. I’m not saying Palin would do anything but drag a ticket down. She doesn’t seem to believe that though. I do think she knows she’s completely incapable of governance.
Also 2008 was going to be Obama’s year. 2012?–as I said–“hanging chads anyone?” The economy will be the “decider”.
OMG! C’mon people, have we already forgotten her dismal book tour with her grifter in training daughter? It was a complete FAIL. And her bus tour – did you guys forget the sign someone stuck on the side of her bus and the Paul Revere FAIL? Have you forgotten her polls and her complete lack of ethics, intelligence and the books already written and others on the way? The prostitution issue with toad, the lies, more lies and lies to come….her family’s incredible baby making talent while one dysfunctional daughter has made hundreds of thousands preaching abstinence while almost getting laid on stage with DWTS, the Troopergate affair, the blood libel, her record as governor, Frank Bailey, the newest lawsuit against her for harrassement, Levi and fake pregnancies. Christ, I don’t have enough time to go on about this ridiculous woman. And joe’s book will not deliver us from this skanky woman and her family – why would it? Joe’s book will draw attention just because of who he is but don’t kid yourselves. The only freaking reason she’s still around is because we overreact and get all scared and dramatic. Screw her. She’s not going to win any election – period. There’s millions of people that do not read the blogs, do not fear her or even think about her. Sometimes i think my friends and family are all crazed and up in arms like me over the palin circus. But they arent’. I found out that many people i know don’t give a crap what she does – she’s viewed as an idiot. There will not be a “Ah-HAH” moment that finally determines once and for all that she’s an idiot and her career is over. She’s been over for a long time. Do any of you really believe she’d get the votes to win a presidential election/?? The reason she makes the news is not based on her ability to lead or because she stands out as a presidential candidate. She’s in the news for the same reasons all reality show types are in the news. And when they come up with another retarded way to entertain us, then she’ll become box office poison – which I must remind you – she just did a few weeks ago. I think Joe just wanted to stir the pot by suggesting she has clout and maybe we should be scared. I’m not scared. No way in hell this crazy, medicated woman would get even close. Joe’s book won’t be a game changer. Everyone that follows her will reject his book. Everyone that can’t stand her will read his book and it will bring more attention, more talk show blah, blah, and speculation over a woman that has the brains of a rock. So, I’m looking forward to Joe’s book but in no way shape or form is his book going to drive a stake thru her. Not showing up at movie theatres even after her team of bots ordered them to go – the shine has worn off the palin bling. She’s already toast. It’s over, it really is.
Sorry, Mr. Mcginniss, but I respectfully disagree. Looking forward to the book in September.
Todd i told u to pack my pushup bra:
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2011-08/349988880-13141621.jpg
Joe, ,you don’t spend your life jumping up and down wherever there’s a camera screeching “Look at me!” .
Yes, but that link didn’t show the picture of Marcus trying to look like he doesn’t enjoy what he’s eating. This one does. 😉
http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/2011/08/seriously-michele-bachmann-seriously.html
lol, that’s perfect: “Bush, but dumber.”
The fried whatever on a stick is fair shtick. It’s done at many, many state fairs.
She’s just a publicity hound; in other words a bitch by definition.
All that star power, and she couldn’t even get 35 write-in votes in Iowa. The person who came in the 10th spot had 35 votes, so we know that Palin got less than that.
Stop buying into the Palin folks delusion. People like to gawk at her. That doesn’t mean they want her to be their President.
Strike hurting insert killing. No hyperbole, 15 years ago cost my appendix. Ouch, this “sucks.”
Time was, I could talk too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPyrH-uQUxU
And sing! http://www.myspace.com/crossthesexline
Is she comparing hers to the guys moobs in the photo? What a bunch of hicks
I’m wishing you the best. Try some 400 mg of Motrin. It has always worked pretty well for me. Also, if you buy a couple of bulbs of garlic and cut into one clove (one of the sections on the bulb) and hold it to your tooth that’s hurting, it should subside after about 5 minutes. It’ll sting like crazy at first, though.
Ah, somehow it took this reply to remind me I have clove oil here! Now all I have to do is find it…
That stuff works, spendy though it be… and doesn’t mess up the head like painkillers do; and yes I swear by anti-inflammatories (for me, ibuprofen works fine). The only remedy this stage, however? Dentures (preceded by several extractions, also pending… that’s just how poor, and extreme, I am now). They must be good plates too, for I’ve done Work with my direct utterances, even if y’all don’t know it or if it sure hasn’t brought me–well, wealth enough to fix my dreadfully Anglo odont.
Point of non-interest: the sooner done, the more natural teeth I keep and so much the better.
yes and she was in dixon illinois and had ONE reporter there and about 20 people there, who happened to be there anyway. AND redstate has a post saying sp isn’t running for president and includes video footage of the interview the reporter had with her that backs the headline. yes, i was surfing and luking at c4p to see how they were going to spin mb’s win of the ames straw poll. sp wasn’t even mentioned in the list of candidates who were in the poll and/or who was written in. the last place was taken by someone who got 35 write in votes which means if sp got ANY votes at all it was less than 35. of course o4p and c4p is trying to spin it that they didn’t push for a write in vote. if her showing at the fair was of so much import and significance to the voters, would she not have had tons of write in votes? rick perry who hadn’t even declared his candidacy yet got enough write in votes to place well…………….as scary as he and that is!!!!
peace
A potent force? Though I am not fearless, may I point out that Sarah Palin, with her 24 hr news cycle spotlight, didn’t even register on Ames. That means she received less than 1%. No, her name my not have been on the ballot, but all of those people mobbed around her for 2 days and not even 167 of them, would write her name on their ballot.
So when Hannity called out to the crowd at the fair and asked if Palin should run–they yelled, ”NO”.
It seems Sean almost wet his pants . . . . . He’s probably in shock, still.
I used to strain to understand Palin, I have finally accepted that I can not. I can not get beyond how a person could have zero sense of shame, responsibility, or empathy. Obviously it’s possible, but me brain just refuses to accept it. The media, her pimp, is only slightly better. I’ve pulled the plug on our cable and I love living without it. I wish America would pull the plug on Palin.
Outside of your book, which I am very eagerly awaiting, or a major break in Babygate I just do not want to give my time to Sarah. I believe in President Obama and I will be a soldier in his reelection campaign.
There is a lot to do …..time to get all hands on deck.
This is a terrific blog and a great online community…thanks for so much fun and insight.
For today anyway (August 14), Michelle Bachmann is having a laugh. And I am sure Sarah, who stated a week or two ago that she had more executive experience than Bachmann, is throwing cans on the bus.
I saw Chuck Todd interview Congressman King from Iowa, whose words seemed directed at Sarah. He said that Michele had worked hard in Iowa and that you can’t just get off the bus in that State and expect folks to vote for you. Iowans want to meet you in person and ask tough questions. Seems reasonable enough.
The comment earlier about Sarah being in Dixon, Illinois and having only one reporter there was interesting. Did Sarah think that the reporters would all leave the Straw Poll to follow her bus? Does she expect that reporters will follow the bus today now that the Straw Poll is over? Will the reporters follow her now that the Straw Poll is over? I hope not.
I heard Sarah was going to Truman’s birthplace, which was interesting. Why would she want to visit Truman’s birthplace. Doesn’t Sarah know that Harry was a Democrat who tried to get health care for all Americans? Probably not I would guess as she (while not stupid) doesn’t seem to know much about history (or English for that matter). But Sarah seems to be good at math; she can count all the contributions to Sarah Pac.
thank you for that sanity Lizabeth. I found this writing by Joe to be very disturbing. I, like you, respect his writing talents, investigative skills etc. but after reading your comment feel I’m not the only one that wholeheartedly disagrees with his premise in this instance.
well put
totally agree
just think of how palin would have two handedly stroked one of those puppies had she been made aware of the pic of michele and the attention it garnered yesterday!
agreed. hubby comes from an extended family of very hard core republicans. two years ago they loved palin, today they scoff at her & change the subject if her name comes up. keep in mind these folks are from western NY and half-heartedly defend carl paladino, the right-wing thug that thought he could be gov of ny, but are sane enough to know palin would destroy in hope of regaining the white house & quite frankly they find palin to be be stupid and unhinged.
I agree. She is over. It is all about celebrity for Sarah now. Just to keep the bank account afloat. Toad might consider taking back that slope job.
Once again an outstanding comment Sharon. If there was a “fan” button at this site I would be one of your biggest fans. Reading your comment made me feel much better, thank you!
My guess is Palin expected a strong write-in presence in the Ames Straw Poll. I am sure she is not happy with Perry getting the write-in votes. Sarah wants to be elected without doing the work, without the organization and expects the crowds she drew in 2008 to vote simply because of name recognition.
Implants. Expensive but worth it.
The fear comes from those festering thoughts that if she suddenly educated herself, or if she suddenly behaved and spoke rationally, or began dressing appropriately or had a happy family…that she could turn things around because of the ready-made press spotlight on her. And really, she could have. She had an unbelievable opportunity to become Prez, if she had only (fill in blank). So that’s what keeps me on edge and on alert. That and the fact that after all the things you listed, Sharon, she still pops up like a whack-a-mole, looking the worse for wear but still popping up. That’s why we need the books, the documentaries, the lawsuits to keep on coming, cuz you just have to keep whacking away at her.
Intellectually I agree as well. The one wrinkle is the depths of the NPD Queen pathology. For Palin, the limelight is literally a drug: she will always be itching for that next fix. Right now her celebrity will provide that, whether or not she runs. But how long will her star shine, if she disappoints her most rabid ‘bots-base by not running, and just as her shiny looks are fading fast (and the semi-legitimate grandchildren start to pile up)? Also too, remember the depths of the obsession with Obama, who commits the unpardonable sin of outshining the Queen on a regular and spectacular basis. With every fiber of her being she wants to outshine him; to have the last laugh. So I don’t expect her to run, but it wouldn’t shock me if she does.
please everyone don’t be “scared”- fear begets fear. the GOP’s main reason for letting her stay out there, is for that very reaction. imo. if you get scared then they win. the only way to knock the GOP out of the ring is to support what is good, and focus on that solely, if you can’t… make it your primary focus. repeat, do not fear. the GOP uses a form of hypnotism and SP is part of the brainwash used to create devotion on one hand and fear in the other. study her from an intellectual position, not an emotional one.
Oh yes people would. 20% of the Americans are lunatics. Look at any poll about any topic (Elvis is still alive, we faked the moon landing, 9/11 was a Jewish conspiracy, etc) and a reliable twenty something percent of the population believes it. There are enough crazies out there who would vote for her. Not enough to ever win a general election but certainly enough to win the primary if there are sane candidates who split the vote.
Joe, I agree with you. I think anyone who continues to dismiss Sarah Palin is sticking their head in the sand. And I also think you have something good up your sleeve that will knock her back hard and fast. I have faith in you, I don’t think you are a bullshitter, and I truly cannot wait for your book. I am so sick of the indifference of Americans to the corruption of our government and the MSM’s complicity in it. I want to see America’s eyes opened wide and I want to see them finally realize that everything is NOT okay and that they need to stand up and say NO MORE!!!!
@ Susan- You are so right. We love to read the blogs to keep an update on SP and the rest of ’em, but they could easily “win” if we are so distracted and not paying attention to our groundwork for Obama/Biden 2008. That is what the GOP are hoping for!
Scared? No. Vigilant? Yes. Concerned? Yes. Spends time and energy for viable candidates and causes? Yes. Keeps sense of humor and ability to be devil’s advocate while talking to people “on the fence” politically? Yes. Scared of Sarah? Never. Keeps an eye on her? Yes, unfortunately.
Joe, I am only a little surprised by your statement. You go up and down, back and forth – just like most of us who know her do. You’ve met, studied and written about seriously mentally unbalanced people – so you recognize Sarah as one of the worst. However, I’ve known her longer and she will destruct her image – it just takes time.
I rarely read comments – much of the “left” who spends time commenting on blogs does not make me proud of them. Someone who knows Sarah well blames this all on her – and I have to disagree as we are all owners of our own minds and manners.
Todd Palin answers woman who calls Palins a “sellout” at Sarah Palin Iowa event (VIDEO)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=95350
Reply
Yes, she probably did expect that. It’s because she truly does not understand the vague and wandering nature of the people she attracts. They’re easily persuaded to just about anything, but the persuasion must be continuous as their attention is vague and wandering like their minds.
Ow. Ow ow ow ow ow! Ouch.
Check that. It like Shrilly Dealy is following a manual, gutless wonder She be.
Yeah, implants would be nice. Progressive bone loss preclude those however.
I chose the simple poor life, for the straightfoward expedient of intellectual freedom, and I can’t regret it in the least since physical labor is all that’s maintained my very life (and freedom from blood thinners and stents). I didn’t budget for teeth though, woeful neglector I be. That’s regrettable.
I realize this thread is pretty much dead, but I’d still like to insert this for the record. I think Joe is correct–there is plenty of reason to worry and I believe more with Perry now in. Perry might well turn to Palin as running mate.
http://www.americablog.com/2011/08/james-moore-why-rick-perry-is-headed.html
i thought that was Winston Churchill