I agree the amount of flack heaped on Palin sometimes gets excessive but she is a public figure who has been very deliberately trying to maintain a prominent profile. Getting mocked is part of the territory. At the sametime I find some of the defenses of Palin by supporters to be rather ridiculous too. I was listening to Mathew Continetti who wrote "The Persecution of Sarah Palin" the other day complaining how it was a sign of media bias against Sarah Palin that Tina Fey made fun of her.
While that could make sense on the surface, do you really think they got off to the same start? The best education the nation can provide versus one of the worst-educated (on paper at the very least) public servants to ever consider national office. I suppose that's just not important to some people. But a lack of demonstrated book smarts and intellectual curiosity is a complete dealbreaker for this voter. One could dismiss me as biased, a snobby pseudo-intellectual, but I don't see how one can really run a nation without the demonstrated ability (and interest) to assimilate large amounts of information quickly.
rocketsjudoka I agree the amount of flack heaped on Palin sometimes gets excessive but she is a public figure who has been very deliberately trying to maintain a prominent profile. Getting mocked is part of the territory. I agree that its part of the territory and it seems she is handling it better these day..or maybe I should say, I'm handling it better these days. :grin: At the sametime I find some of the defenses of Palin by supporters to be rather ridiculous too. I was listening to Mathew Continetti who wrote "The Persecution of Sarah Palin" the other day complaining how it was a sign of media bias against Sarah Palin that Tina Fey made fun of her Yes, the ridiculousness of some of Palin's supporters is evident. But as a conservative, you should see some of Obama's supporters. Grass is still green no matter what side of the fence you're on and supporting your own looks the same no matter who's side you're on. vlaurelio she could also said "I respectfully decline because I don't think this is the right time" etc... Would you? I mean, really, would you turn the VP position down? Especially if the presidential nominee thought you were worthy? Here you have an opportunity to do something really good, or great, and you know all you need is good people around you to accomplish it, to help with the details. Would you really walk away from that? You mean you wouldn't want to TRY? Unless, unless you think yourself better than Palin and since you have no aspirations of leading the country, so shouldn't Palin. Tell me I'm wrong. B-Bob While that could make sense on the surface, do you really think they got off to the same start? The best education the nation can provide versus one of the worst-educated (on paper at the very least) public servants to ever consider national office. This is not very inspiring to the local populace who might have designs on being something bigger than they are now. You're telling them that they have to be book smart on paper before even being considered by you. I know, I know, you're talking about the presidency here and the requirements/factors are different. But still, give me humble common sense over arrogant educational guesses. (no, I'm not placing those attributes on our President or Palin...it's just how I feel sometimes when education or the amount education gets thrown in my face) I'll admit something else here, I'm probably biased toward dirty fingernails than sharp pencils. Hence the bile that creeps up every time I hear that somehow an education is going to make someone a better person or leader. I suppose that's just not important to some people. But a lack of demonstrated book smarts and intellectual curiosity is a complete dealbreaker for this voter. One could dismiss me as biased, a snobby pseudo-intellectual, but I don't see how one can really run a nation without the demonstrated ability (and interest) to assimilate large amounts of information quickly. I'm going with the idea that Palin was under the control of her handlers and the McCain team. I'm willing to wait and see how she does on her own for a couple of years, without handlers screaming "rogue!".
i think that's where the difference lies. from observing her, it's not even like palin has much "street smarts," in my opinion. as far as better education making someone a better leader...agree to disagree, i guess.
Disagree, but the ideology you espouse above is becoming terrifyingly commonplace. True, it does not necessarily make you better, but it damn sure means you're more prepared, more disciplined, and more cognizant of the causes and effects of your actions. Education trains you to be better prepared for the world. Doesn't always mean it works out that way, but I'd rather see a person with a good education, particularly where they excelled at it, than the latter. Arguing the opposite is tantamount to "Joe the Plumber for President", which is just a silly idea any way you look at it.
RocketRaccoon, Appreciate the reply very much, and I like the dirty fingernails versus pencil lead or what-have-you there. Ideally, I think a pres. has a lot of both, but that's been hard to come by after 1900 or so. And yes, I don't want to throw education in the face of anyone, and that's a good caution. Real life experience can be just as good or better, but someone better really bring it, with spoken and written evidence, of smarts (however they were honed.) Even the quotation from Major (where was that from, Major?) scares me all over again. But, cheers on a Friday, in any case!
Of course and during the campaign I said several times i worry more about Obama supporters than I do Obama. We are talking about Sarah Palin at the moment though.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,575754,00.html HANNITY: You mentioned in the book about how Jimmy Carter was weak as it related to the hostage crisis. We have a crisis now with an Iranian regime, with a Holocaust denier as president, that wants to annihilate Israel, wipe it off the face of the earth. How do we prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons? PALIN: We have allies who are as concerned about Ahmadinejad's actions as we are. We need to be working closer with France and with Britain and start, not just considering but seriously taking steps towards the sanctions that we hear all about but we never see any actions towards. Cutting off the imports into Iraq of their refined petroleum products. They're reliant — 45 percent of their energy supply is reliant on those imports. We have some control over there. And some of the beneficial international monetary deals that Iraq benefits from, we can start implementing some sanctions there and start really shaking things up and telling Ahmadinejad nobody is going to stand for this. From her appearance with Sean Hannity. He didn't even blink an eye. Sort of like basso, who also thought it was a great approach. I guess Iran and Iraq are all the same to them.
Your first line is an opinion and I'll accept it. (its friday and I'm tired of debating opinions ) But I really hope you "un-guess" your second line and agree with me and a country full of Sergeants, platoon leaders, squad leaders, store managers, etc. You're looking at leaders from the top down, while I look at them from the bottom up. You look for the paper, while I look for dirt under the fingernails. It's neither wrong nor right, but please don't discredit my dad because he didn't have a college education. (I made it personal but you get the idea) He was a grand leader of men for 21 years and would tell you an education does not make you a better leader. He would have made more money if he was an officer but it would not make him a better leader. (I would hate to guess how many Lt got shot in the back in Vietnam) The point is a leader is not defined by his educations but by his deeds
Depends on what you're leading. If you're leading a military, then yeah, military experience matters the most. If you're leading a group of scientists trying to design a nuclear bomb, then education does matter a whole lot. If you're a running a nation, solid foundations in history, law and economics, for example, are pretty useful.
I see your point but "leader" in the discussion of sarah palin refers to POTUS. your dad seems like he's a great guy and a decorated veteran, but it doesn't mean he is qualified to lead the free world. right? edit: my apologies, RR. i see you were talking in generalities - i wasn't trying to say that education makes someone a better leader in every situation.
Just for fun, the video: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OM7Xhg0WIbU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OM7Xhg0WIbU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Basso, here's a hint: "I'm not sure I can tell you the difference in ____ & ____." <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/c9PwWkV4HQ4&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/c9PwWkV4HQ4&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
I understood that quote to mean that Iraq was importing a lot of refined petroleum from Iran and that we could make Iraq join in our boycott of Iran and dry up one of their customers for refined products. That would kind of make sense, even if it isn't a good idea. As for the "beneficial monetary deals," I can't make that one sound better.
