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July 9, 2009
Dahlia Lithwick on Sarah Palin: Lost in Translation Indeed
Absolutely. Yes. Actually, this about sums its up: Decidedly and definitely, doubtless, easily, exactly, for sure, on the nose and positively correct. Check that... this is much better:
Precisely, truly, unconditionally, unquestionably, categorically, come hell or high water, conclusively, decisively, no ifs ands or buts, no strings attached, on the button, on the money, sure as can be, sure enough, the very thing, and (breath) unambiguously and literally... YES!
Lost in Translation Why Sarah Palin really quit us. By Dahlia Lithwick - Slate
Whatever you may think of Sarah Palin, she's widely celebrated as a rare and perhaps raw political talent. She's gorgeous, charismatic, warm, and funny. She has a remarkable ability to connect with her listeners. But--with the exception of a well-scripted performance at the Republican National Convention--it's tough to find an extemporaneous Palin speech, statement, or tweet that contains a coherent message. From her acceptance speech last August in Dayton, Ohio, when McCain first tapped her as a running mate, to her circular and swooping prime-time interviews, Palin's political skill lies in selling a persona but not a message. And in the end, this may explain why she quit. Palin's completely inscrutable resignation speech last week was only the most recent example of a lengthy political communication from her that explained nothing, clarified nothing, and expounded upon nothing, save for the fact that she speaks in riddles and koans. Watch it as many times as you like; you still come away feeling you've been treated to a cozy chat with the Mad Hatter. The media are bad. Those ethics complaints are expensive. Alaska was a great idea. She is not a dead fish. Put it all together and what do you get? A born fighter who has given us no sense whatsoever of what she's fighting for. Had Palin simply quit without giving a press conference, there might have been a lesson in this exercise. Feminists would be free to say there are double standards for women, and conservatives could argue she was too visionary for her time. But Palin's act of explaining her resignation to us in a torrent of unconnected sentence fragments left everyone wondering, What was the point of Sarah Palin? If she cannot even communicate a simple idea ("I'm quitting because ..."), why should we care that she's quitting? That's why the strangest part of the Sarah Palin saga will always be her loathing of the media. She never failed to remind us that she didn't like being "filtered." She only wanted to talk directly to us, her listeners. Yet the reason Sarah Palin continues to have any kind of political force at all in this country is because of the media "filter." The media helped refine and define her Dada statements and arguments into something that briefly sounded like a coherent worldview. Yesterday morning, Gov. Palin excoriated Andrea Mitchell for "not listening to me" in an NBC interview. You have to go back and watch the clip before you can apprehend that Mitchell was indeed listening. It was Palin who was speaking in half-expressed thoughts and internal contradictions. It's too easy to characterize Sarah Palin as an irrational bundle of bristling grievance. But I think it's more complicated than her simple love for playing the victim all the time. If you think of Palin as someone who never felt herself to be fully heard or understood, not truly politically realized in the eyes of the American public, her rage toward the country, the media, and those of us who fail to love and understand her is easier to comprehend. Think of an American visiting France who believes that if he just speaks louder, he will be speaking French. Palin has done everything in her power to explain herself to us, and still we fail to appreciate what she is all about. I'd be frustrated, too, if I thought I was offering up straight talk and nobody was getting the message. Especially if I held a degree in communications. Once you understand that Palin's only actual message is the importance of loving and understanding Palin, it becomes easier to understand why she quit. The more Palin tries to explain herself, the more we all fail to get her. Every time she goes off script, she makes less sense. No wonder she didn't want to do debate prep or be coached by the McCain communications team. Instead of thanking those who packaged, explained, and spun her, Palin resents them. And because she believes she has been crystal clear all along, she's come to resent us, too. The enduring political lesson of Sarah Palin may simply be that for most of her political career she's been lost in translation, without fully appreciating that only in translation was she ever, briefly found. Copyright 2009 Slate | Washington Post.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC
Altogether, completely, en masse, entirely, fully, wholly, as a body, as a group, collectively, in point of fact, in reality, in truth, clearly, say it in unison... EXACTLY!
Posted by Mikal at July 9, 2009 9:30 AM
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The country is being driven to the brink of a depression by a President who does not understand the basic principal of saving vs. spending money that we don't have (or future generations, more importantly).
The average US per capita national debt is beyond $30k (conservative number). The national unemployment rate is quickly approaching double digits.
Our Vice President puts his foot in his mouth everytime he speaks. Of note 'We under-estimated how bad this economy really was'. This, after running a campaign on the dire state of the US economy and getting Obama/Biden into office to 'FIX' it.
The state of California is handing out IOUs to employees and is WAY beyond the state of long-term financial mismanagement. BUT, good thing the Prop 8 protests were a huge area of focus, right?
The third in line to national leadership and Speaker of the House claims the CIA lies and then hides behind her plastic surgery and any Democratic party member who can create a diversion for her insane ignorance.
The mainstream media are 'enchanted' with coverage of the President's date nights and are unable to ask him crucial questions like "How much did your date night to NYC cost the US taxpayers?" And "Are you kidding... An Air Force One photo shoot over NYC, a city still recovering from 9-11??"
The President is full force ready to spend $1+ trillion on a national healthcare plan that no one in the administration seems to fully understand the details of (sounds like Stimulus Plan, Part II - ie: just jam it down the US public's throats).
Sarah Palin resigns her position as Governor of Alaska after her children were unmercifully ridiculed by the media (ie: Letterman et al) and she and her family have to foot the bill of 18 ethics investigations that uncovered little to nothing. She outlined the taxpayer cost of her role in office associated with defending these allegations - not to mention the emotional toll on her family.
We now have 32 appointed 'czars' who report to ___????
All of these events, and you posted THIS? What will you post when North Korea sends a missile flying into your home?
Hear me clearly when I say this... I couldn't agree with Dahlia Lithwick any more than had I pitched it and then ghosted the piece for her; and that, my concerned nameless friend, was the exact point of posting it here on my blog in the first place.
Posting it doesn't mean that I'm not concerned about other things... it simply means I agree with what Lithwick wrote.
From reading your comment, it seems everything is mutually exclusive in your world (i.e., multiple things are unable to be both true at the same time). Just because someone pens something about one thing and someone says they agree with it, doesn't mean other things aren't equally important. For example...
I think our VP is blowhard who should have been removed from office years ago, but that's not what Lithwick wrote about.
I think what's happening in California is a shame (I'm talking about the budget by the way, not the protests about Prop B-related issues), but again, that's not what Lithwick wrote about.
I think the Speaker is an absolute embarrassment and awful leader, and I could care less what dress the First Lady wore on date night or that she and the President had a date night in the first place. But get this...
I have opinions and concerns about other things too, because I don't live in your mutually exclusive world where everything touched by a Democratic President must be inherently bad for each and every citizen. For instance:
I lost 17 pounds last month... I might blog about that and not about the concerns you raised about a North Korean missile flying into my home. Does that mean I don't care about the issues associated with North Korea? Of course not.
I just had another article published in Entrepreneur magazine... I might blog about that and not about the 32 appointed czars you mentioned. Does that mean I don't care about bloated government and nonsensical political appointments? Of course not.
I've taken possession of a cat that cracks me up with his silly cat antics, and you guessed it... I might blog about that instead of the average per capita national debt, but that doesn't mean that I don't care about the later.
You see, unlike you perhaps -- based on your assumptive writing and tone -- I live in an unmutually exclusive world... a world where thoughtful and consultative dialogue is a good thing, as opposed to the mutually exclusive world in which you appear to reside, where if your point of view isn't addressed to your satisfaction in the one place you go looking for it (here on my personal blog), you naturally and automatically assume we don't hold any similar views, and therefore, I must be entirely misinformed and don't have a care in the world about anything but cats.
The point has been made.
The trends on what to report in the mainstream media (and what they say or don't say when they do report) are disturbing.
Palin has been beaten to death by the media and has no bearing/impact on American lives. BUT, our current administration in creating a future for Americans that we have only begun to feel the impact of.
Don't you think your readers have seen enough of Palin?
Instead of personally attacking bloggers who you don't even know/drawing assumptions about them, maybe you could post something about Pelosi to create this 'active dialogue' you support.
Just a suggestion.
I disagree with Sarah Palin and the Republican Party in general on nearly every major issue; foreign policy, human rights, and a domestic policy that favors affluent Americans and feeds the Industrial Military Complex, over basic human needs like single payer healthcare and education. As you can see I'm pretty far left.
That said, there are conservatives in the media, in government, and who are my friends and family that can speak intelligently about issues, what they stand for, and why they stand for them. For example, I can respect the fact that my Father-In-Law does not want to see people "abusing the system", while hard-working Americans are paying for it – I get it - I think we all agree this is unfair.
The difference for me is that I have no respect for Sarah Palin and her supporters (really this speaks more to her supporters) because she really has nothing to offer, there is no substance to anything she says. As much as I hate Rush Limbaugh and his political views, the guy has a brain and can articulate an idea.
When did we stop wanting to elect leaders with above average intelligence, who were well-read for example, and whose philosophies and ideas were breaking new ground. When did we trade these qualities in for someone like Sarah Palin?
In television interviews, Mrs. Palin was out of her depth in a shallow pool. She was limited in her ability to explain and defend her positions, and sometimes in knowing them. She couldn't say what she read because she didn't read anything.
Shockingly, she was utterly unconcerned by all this and seemed in fact rather proud of it: It was evidence of her authenticity, she would suggest.
She experienced criticism as both partisan and cruel because she could see no truth in any of it. She wasn't thoughtful enough to know she wasn't thoughtful enough. Her presentation up to the end has been scattered, illogical, manipulative and self-referential to the point of self-reverence.
"I'm not wired that way," "I'm not a quitter," "I'm standing up for our values." I'm, I'm, I'm.
I'm a conservative member of the grand old party and I damn proud of it, and I think the slate author got it right.
Let me ask who would you chose to get a surgery from a person who worked hard and received an Ivy League education, or one who does not care about education (especially science) and drifts and somehow manages to get a degree. She showed her true character, by quitting (cut and run) just like her college years. She couldn’t even give a decent exit speech (her railings against the media was sweet until she did an about face and ask them to go on a fishing trip with her to clarify her “Rambling Rose” comments). She was right for Alaska (with a population of less than 700,000), and her education matches it (journalism degree from the University of Idaho in 1987). But if you think anyone who wants to get our country back on track after the fiasco of the last administration with our economy and the fabrication of two wars then you along with the empty party are completely lost (are you surprise about the election results?). For the previous eight years we put up with a dullard president, but no more, you may try in 2012 but our eyes are open. I have heard that Republicans lost because God was against them, I can only say look at the candidates the Republicans put forward on their national ticket and don’t make the same mistake again. Mavericks, please, more like flash over substance (she quit and he fumbled) and the majority of voters saw it. We both know that she is cashing out, book deal, a show (Radio/TV), speaking engagements, she will keep stringing her followers along as long as she keeps the possibility open for running in 2012.
When she accepted the VP nomination, she knew she needed to bring her professional game up to another level, she never did. She knew that her family would get attacked as did Hilary and Chelsea before her (by even her twin maverick brother McCain in 1998), let face it she knew her family affairs would come out. But now she plays the victim card again, a card she played after those comical first extended interviews that we all enjoyed and SNL immortalized. But for the icing on the cake, she quits, because she does not want to be a lame duck governor, because the lawsuits keep coming, because it was the media’s fault, because seeing Russia from her house finally got to her, because its not fair that Alaskan’s paid her salary while she was running for the VP position, take your pick. So what does she tells us? Dear Mr. President, when things get tough, quit. Dear military men and women, if you are not having fun, quit. Dear son or daughter, if things are not going your way, quit. Sure, I agree when she first was introduced and gave a descent speech, sure the polls went up, but after the extended interviews, they went where they ended, down. She showed her true character, I really hope the book deal, Radio/ TV shows and the lecture circuits make up for what her party has lost by her actions. She may go down in history as the quitter that twittered.
Hello Rod Webber... Apparently you must be trying to forget the ivy-leaguer who is currently filling the role of President of the US..
Flat out, I did not vote for Obama and I know exactly why: his platform of spending scared the shit out of me and now it is coming to fruition. It doesn't matter to me (and many) if he got his degree from high-Falutant Ass U or U of Kansas. The leadership experience, decision making ability and spending policy is the key to my vote.
So, I turn it around and ask a liberal like yourself: When did voters like yourself stop placing emphasis on leadership experience and a proven track record to stand up and defend the citizens of the US as a (future) US President?
Based on recent approval ratings of our current Administration, this ground breaking philosophy of spending money we don't have while sapping a shrinking tax base is working out GREAT.
This country needs common sense and simple spending principles right now. We are NOT getting that from the ivy-league, spendthrift pretty boy behind the teleprompter.
So, if you feel the better route for you to take right now is beat Sarah Palin into the ground, that's your choice. However, you are missing the huge boulder chasing you down the mountain that is about to flatten you and the rest of us: Our #1, 2 & 3 in the US national leadership chain of command.
To the person who wrote "Hello Rod Webber"...
Is the problem really the #s 1, 2, and 3, or is the problem the whole lot of them (i.e., the United States Senators and U.S House of Rep members who play partisan politics in order to satisfy party mandates, corporate and special interests, and their own person agendas, save nothing whatsoever for the tax payers who placed them there in the first place)?
I believe it to be much larger than the President, Vice President, Speaker of the House issue. Congressional leaders are so out of touch and caught up in a game of who is right and who is wrong that they fail realize even a modicum of their potential.
Personally, I'd like to see us focus on the broken system, not just the people running the system at its highest levels.
Mikal -
We are ALL to blame. Raise your hand if you voted in the last Presidential election - there is your answer.
Voter participation in the last Presidential mid-cycle election? Questionable.
You say #1, 2 & 3 are the not the big issues? The tone at the top is driving the DC climate. When you have executive leadership who does not even take the time to read the major (or create) bills being passed in a majority congress at NASCAR pace these days, we have a FRIGGIN' BIG problem.
Shit, Pelosi and her lackies drafted the larger version of the passed stimulus bill.
If the Executive leadership does not keep these power-hungry Washingtonites in check, who the hell will?
My buddy and I looked at all of these posts were like 'WHAT?'
The gang here on this site bites on the crap MSNBC, NBC, CBS and ABC throw against the wall everyday. Pick a Conservative punching bag and beat the living daylights out of it instead of asking big questions about the serious stuff. It's a great diversion tactic and Palin fits the liberals' profile for this kind of insanity.
Newsflash....PALIN IS NOT OUR VP!!! SHE IS AN ELECTED OFFICIAL IN THE STATE OF ALASKA WHO IS RESIGNING!! The gang here is pouncing on her like she affects Ron's, Benito's and Paul's everyday life. Come on, do these folks live in Alaska???
Palin is not our problem these days. The people IN OFFICE at a NATIONAL level are.
It's like you folks are riding your 'green' bicycles with horse blinders on, humming a John Denver song, riding through neighborhoods with foreclosed homes 'owned' by unemployed parents with TVs playing Obama a speech on the next trillion tax payer dollars being spent (with teleprompter assistance) and Joe Biden next to him making stupid comments.
THEN, a Palin comment gets thrown in the bike's path and the folks here jump on it like a lion pouncing on red meat. What?? Looks like bucko on the bike is missing the bigger issues.
Yes, Mikal, let's work on fixing the system. Let's start with the real one that exists RIGHT NOW and skip the pretend version.
The guy who posted first said to start a discussion on Pelosi. Good advice! Mikal, this topic is a bunch of Oscar Meyer bologne.
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