Sarah Palin discussing foreign affairs with Glenn Beck is sort of like Lindsay Lohan discussing sobriety with Paris Hilton. Unsurprisingly, when asked about the Korean crisis, Palin opined that “We must stand by our North Korean ally.” Even Beck intervened to correct her, and she seemed to barely register that she had misspoken.
Everyone misspeaks occasionally in public. But Mediaite points out that:
John Heilemann and Mark Halperin in their book Game Change said that 2008 McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt was appalled at her ignorance, saying:
‘She knew nothing. She had to be taken through World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and Palin was not aware there was a difference between North and South Korea. She continued to insist that Iraq was behind 9/11; and when her son was being sent off to Iraq, she couldn’t describe who we were fighting.’
So there is evidence that the confusion is long term and more than a slip of the tongue.
In fact, I wonder whether Sarah Palin is dyslexic. If she were, it would explain her obvious aversion to reading and her difficulty remembering what she has read.
Now, now. Dyslexia is a learning disability with which many absolute geniuses have lived.
The only affliction from which Sarah Palin suffers is a severe case of The Stone-Cold Stupids.
I would be more likely to vote in Tina Fey than Sarah Palin for President. At least I could get some laughs from intelligent humor rather than roll my eyes every time this ignorant woman speaks.
“I wonder whether Sarah Palin is dyslexic.”
Of course, as they say: “If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.”
Palin could be as thick as a brick.
This would tie in nicely with what British philosopher John Stuart Mill had to say:
“I never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative. I believe that is so obviously and universally admitted a principle that I hardly think any gentleman will deny it.”
I think it’s worse than her not knowing, or not remembering. It looks to me like she just doesn’t care.
The attitude that the US is #1, the greatest country in the world etc. is a mantra the tea party and their supporters keep repeating, if not in words, then in essence. That attitude can easily lead to situation where a “Tea Party” President will just send in the military to “straighten out” anyone not walking their line.
So true and whenever these obvious weaknesses are pointed to her supporters in GOP and Tea parties ,some have even said that this lack proper education i s actually huge positive. And mark you she has an 80% support in GOP and the right.
I would not be surprised if she wins GOP POTUS nomination.
Both of my adult children are dyslexic, and both are brilliant. They read, they think, and they are well informed. Please do not confuse dyslexia with whatever it is that handicaps Sarah Palin. What is more disturbing than Mrs. Palin’s limitations is that she has so many fans.
Nicely said, J.H. My first thought was that calling Palin a possible dyslexic is an insult to dyslexic people.
Uh, no. One of our kids is “dyslexic”. He knows all this stuff. He knew Shiite from Sunni at age 12 or so, and could carry on a decent conversation with a pair of profs from MIT and Wellesley. My best friend from high school, he’s dyslexic, he can keep this straight. And a friend, colleague from graduate school, and former business partner (and still friend!), he’s dyslexic, and HE can keep all this stuff straight. (And I know these guys are dyslexic, because I helped them by proofreading their work.)
My money is on (selectively) dumb and incurious, much like a recent former president. If she thought this stuff was important, she would either remember it, or care that she had forgotten (I have a terrible memory for names, but I think names are important, so I end up apologizing a lot).
“Mark Halperin in their book Game Change said that 2008 McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt was appalled at [Sarah Palin’s] . . . ignorance, saying:
. . . ‘when her son was being sent off to Iraq, she couldn’t describe who we were fighting.’”.
Well, neither can those who are now, or those who have for more than nine years in Afghanistan and more than seven years in Iraq, “been able to describe who we were fighting”. Such ignorance seems to be a condition precedent for election to the job she seeks.
That’s why she’s so popular; millions of people are like this.
Check it out: what percentage of Americans read a book after they graduate from high school/college?
“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.” – Mark Twain (1835-1910)
Can’t read, but vote. WTF
Re Sarah Palin, North Korea, and feel good Thanksgiving: Please do not insult dyslexics. Many brilliant and successful (as defined by society at the time) people are believed to have been dyslexic, including Pablo Picasso, Cher, Nelson Rockefeller, John Lennon, Winston Churchill, Leonardo da Vinci.
I would say that Sarah Palin is intellectually deficient and lacking in any curiosity about the world beyond her nose, which combined with being a right-wing Christian (hard to know what is the cause and what is the effect in this case), is a sure fire combination for not understanding anything about anything of significance.
Further, being able to bank on her stunning looks would support any reluctance to struggle with learning. Let’s face it, Sarah Palin is where she is because she’s Hot, her noises about abstinence notwithstanding. And that, my friend, speaks to the all-pervasive sexism and sexual exploitation rampant in these United States.
Finally, ask your typical high school student about North and South Korea. Thanks to the lack of importance given to education by our ‘leaders,’ all they would know is that one of them is Bad. Hence our Sarah becomes Everyman/woman.
‘John’
P.S. Er, I think your Pilgrim story needs to consider the sequel: it has something to do with the genocide of Native American people. And that, my friend, speaks to the possibility of aggression against any people who have land desired by another people, including the cultural groups represented at Heartsong. Although it is nice that they got together.
I’m sure an expert, thorough, and careful examination of Sarah Palin would reveal the extent and causes of her behavioral and intellectual shortcomings, and note that such shortcomings are not unusual in the general population.
However, a much more urgent inquiry is needed to determine how, in a modern, sophisticated, nuclear armed nation such as the USA, Mrs Palin could attain enormous political strength and be a politically viable choice for the Presidency. I’m guessing that that the answer to that riddle is that there is no connection between political popularity and the capacity to govern (please put the other half of my governor term in a doggy bag). We’ll be slipping and sliding on snake oil till we can insert some interdependency.
Dyslexia is not the problem. It is severe myopia.
John McCormack, online editor of The Weekly Standard, defends Sarah Palin. He writes:
He seems to be saying that since she “got it right” 8 seconds before, her calling North Korea our ally is just a slip of the tongue, and not a sign of something more serious.
The problem with his argument is this: what Palin said does not show that she “correctly identified North Korea as our enemy”, and may actually support the idea that she did indeed confuse North and South Korea. When applied as a verb, the word sanction means “to give effective or authoritative approval or consent to”, and could refer to South Korea’s threat of “enormous retaliation”. Of course, the word sanction is a contronym, and can also mean “to penalize, especially for violating a moral principle or international law”. However, consider the context: Palin would like America to sanction an action that Korea (North or South) “is going to do”. In the real Universe, North Korea has already done it’s shelling and killing, while South Korea is the one promising retaliation.
Furthermore, when one sanctions (as in consents to or approves of) something, it is invariably an action or a policy; whereas it is an entity which one penalizes or disciplines. Put all this together, Palin’s choice of words suggest that she was advocating approval and consent for the future actions of an ally which she called North Korea, and only realized her mistake when the interviewer corrected her.
Am I making too much of Palin’s language use? After all, this is the year 10 A.W. (Anno W), and it may be too much to expect conservative politicians to know the difference between nouns and verbs, or to be able to put together a coherent sentence anymore. It also may be that Palin is the Shakespeare of the 21st century, and has the right to change the meaning of words (and create new ones) as she goes along. But even if one accepts an open verdict on what Palin meant, John McCormack seems to have been caught spinning to protect her from her own words.
The guardians of the principles of the conservative movement used to count among their number the likes of the late William F. Buckley Jr., who used crystal clear thinking and language to present their ideas with élan and honor. Today it is populated by hacks scrambling to provide cover for linguistically challenged politicians, their “stream of consciousness” style of communication, and the idiocracy that America seems to be heading towards. Hope the handbasket is comfy.
What about Sarah Palin being right ? North Koreans might be accointed to the neo-cons, to the military industrial complex, usw, as they happen to take pleasure in spoiling any chance to have peace in the “Pacific” (forgive the pun) area ? Then, Mrs. Palin would have disclosed a national security secret.
Calling Sarah Palin stupid is insulting….to stupid people.
The problem is not a television personality but a President who has a terrible foreign policy and is as militaristic as I can imagine.
Being dyslexic deserves compassion and understanding. Dyslexia doesn’t excuse one’s philosophy based on wanton ignorance and pandering overly simplistic answers and beliefs, often to the willfully ignorant and simplicity seekers.
Palin has to get smarter to be an idiot.
John Lofton, Editor, TheAmericanView.com
Communications Director, Institute on the Constitution
Host, “TheAmericanView” radio show
Recovering Republican
JLof@aol.com
Simple point beyond dyslexic v. stupid question: Palin is all about being looked at and heard, and nothing to do with listening or understanding. Everything else follows from that.
Sarah Palin is a breadth of fresh heir and a refudiation of all that is incontenential, along the lines of our Fondling Fathers. Amen!
I’m perfectly willing to believe that Palin is both incurious and ignorant, but I wouldn’t quote Steve Schmidt as an objective source on the subject.