Sweet Little Lies
Politicians lie. (So do bloggers; I said I wouldn't write about this today.) And they use the facts to their advantage. I get that. Still, Sarah Palin has some nerve, emerging from obscurity to spread this BS:
Brainier Republicans -- even brainy-but-crazy ones like Ben Stein -- are bristling. This clip is amazing, if for no other reason than it contains this line:
Listening to [Obama] speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or even a reform, not even in the state senate.Um:
At last count, sponsorship of 820 laws in Illinois, and authorship of 152 bills and co-sponsorship of 427 in Washington. The 2007 Ethics Reform bill alone cannot be dismissed as simply non-existent. . . . At her first press conference, why not ask her why she said that Obama has never passed a single reform, when he passed the 2007 Ethics Reform, described by many as the most sweeping package of its kind since Watergate. Of course, she doesn't know. She was given this speech. But she should be asked to respond to the question of why she said something patently untrue to the entire country.And this question of executive political experience. They hammer it so mercilessly, you'd think that legislator John McCain has some.
Brainier Republicans -- even brainy-but-crazy ones like Ben Stein -- are bristling. This clip is amazing, if for no other reason than it contains this line:
(Palin's) gonna have to be like that business in the Superman movie, where the little Superbaby was traveling through space and they were giving him a tape of all the knowledge in the world for him to absorb.
posted by JMW at 11:53 AM
4 Comments:
I know it's hard, but please keep writing like this.
We can take it. It's informative and makes us tough and even more determined to keep the morally bankrupt Republicans out of power.
The interesting observation isn't that politicians lie, but that we let them get away with it. Why? Because as supporters we want to believe them -- especially when we're told what we want to hear.
That's a human trait, of course, not a uniquely Republican one. But Bob Altemeyer, a social psychologist from the University of Manitoba, argues pretty convincingly that certain personality types, which tend to skew right-wing, are more likely to eschew reasoned arguments and swallow whatever they're fed by the politicians they like.
The larger social implication: If liberals are more likely to cynically question politicians' motives, even when the politicians pay lip service to liberal ideals, then politicians will be more inclined to pander to right-wingers.
Kind of depressing, really.
"of course she doesn't know. She was given this speech."
How many of these speeches at these conventions do you think were written by the speakers? Would you point that out on the Democratic side? "Of course Obama doesn't know, he was given that speech." Typical liberal hypocrisy.
Dezmond,
Obama writes most of his comments and speeches---most definitely his major speeches, such as his announcement speech, his discourse on race and Rev. Wright, and his acceptance speech. Yes, he has talented speech writers who assist...but it's a valid point that Palin didn't write this. She presented it. And, by most accounts, presented it well. But to me it's a bit like a "singer" versus a "singer/songwriter". They both have talent, but I have a lot more respect and admiration for the person both crafting their ideas AND delivering them. If Obama was simply handed a speech to read, I feel pretty confident both John and I would have less appreciation for Obama. I'll tell you what...when Palin finally starts accepting questions from the media (to this point she hasn't), I think we'll learn a lot more about her own beliefs...in her OWN words. To this point she hasn't spoken for herself.
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