George Will on Palin: "She is what she is, and what she is merits no disdain"

The Republican presidential nominee, an Arizona senator, was a maverick, which was part of his charm. He spoke and acted impulsively, which was part of his problem. Voters thought his entertaining dimensions might be incompatible with presidential responsibilities. For example, he selected a running mate most Americans had never heard of and who had negligible experience pertinent to the presidency. This was 1964.

So begins a pretty darn good George Will column from today on Sarah Palin, populism, Barack Obama and our vacuumtastic political moment. I'm a bit more bullish than Will on the policy content of the current backlash, but his Palin take is mine, only better stated.

Make sure to read Nick Gillespie's great Palin musings in our March issue.

Comments

[MNG]

She is way hot I can say (glancing at the notes on my hand).

Seriously though, she's quite hot for her age, I bet she was smoking in her undergraduate days...

And I'll say this about her: too many liberals are ignorant of her early history as governor where she bucked her party and crossed the aisle quite a bit (of course Palin foolishly helped contribute to this by attacking Obama so crudely during the campaign making herself seem very partisan to indies)

[Episiarch]

OK, I've had enough of this shit regarding Palin's looks. She's really not hot. At all. She's not ugly, but damn, dudes, I saw that clip of her doing the beauty pageant, and if that shit motors your boat, your level of taste is powerful weak.

I know a lot of you look like short Ron Perlmans, but fuck, man, have some taste.

[Enough About Palin]

I know a lot of you look like short Ron Rhea Perlmans, but fuck, man, have some taste.

FIFY

[MNG]

Dude Ron Perlman can pull some tang Epi. Are you young to rememer this:

http://www.bing.com/images/sea.....FORM=IGRE#

[ed]

It's a MILF thing, apparently.
And maybe 'cause she's still lactating.

[SugarFree]

Dammit, MNG! Don't put out bait for suicidal Avatar nutbags. They swarm. And will try to fuck you with their hair.

[Episiarch]

Linda Hamilton?!? Oh, MNG, the fact that you just tried to support Ron Perlman in beast makeup because he "got" (it's a fucking TV show, dude) Linda fucking Hamilton is god damn priceless. You couldn't have indicated your lack of taste more severely than if you had expressed a desire for Bea Arthur. And for the record, I wouldn't fuck Palin with Bea Arthur's dick.

[MNG]

You don't think Linda was hot in her day? WTF?

[Episiarch]

And there we have it. If you are someone who thinks Linda Hamilton was "hot", we have no common ground on which to stand.

[John]

She looked okay in the nude scene in the Terminator. She had nice tits. But, that is as far as I would go for the "MNG" position. Once she turned into roided out T2 skelator, there is just no defending her, even on an off night after several quarts of bourbon.

[MNG]

"the nude scene in the Terminator"

That's the version I'm thinking of, and that's how she looked on Beauty and the Beast.

[MNG]

"the nude scene in the Terminator"

That's the version I'm thinking of, and that's the version that was on Beauty and the Beast.

[You are too too funny]

John,did she have two tits ot too many tits?

[Geezer]

It's sad when ages robs us of vital memories like Linda Hamilton's tits.

[Rewrite]

Instapol: Reason Sweat Shirt Girl vs. Palin (scroll up) -- No write-ins but Drew Carey is the third party candidate [Votes for Proressive lady and Beer Wars movie girl also accepted].
Score 1 for Reason Girl.

[John Tagliaferro]

I have to agree with MNG on this, weirdo.

[SugarFree]

Palin is a woman in her mid-40s who has had a bunch of kids, but cares about her appearance and isn't hugely fat.

She's as rare as a unicorn in the fly-over states. This is a lot of her "attractiveness."

[John]

"She's as rare as a unicorn in the fly-over states. This is a lot of her "attractiveness."

You obviously have never spent anytime in such states outside of trailer parks. In the rich suburbs there are tons of former sorority girl housewives who keep their looks quite well and in many cases better than Palin, especially in the South.

[TXLimey]

We farm unicorns here in the fly-over states. It's fucking delicious. You truly haven't lived until you've had beer-braised Unicorn shank.

We'd export the meat to the "important" states but apparently they think there's only one Unicorn left and the only proper use for it is for Obama to ride it around down Lady Godiva style. They've been known to be cranky when their illusions are shattered, so we just keep it to ourselves.

[J sub D]

Sarah has aged better than Jennifer Granholm(D), another beauty pageant winning governor.

[John Tagliaferro]

She has aged better than Hillery too. Hell, Hillery never looked as good as Palin.

[John Tagliaferro]

She has aged better than Hillery too. Hell, Hillery never looked as good as Palin.

[prolefeed]

Palin is pretty hot for a woman her age, Epi. It's fine that she doesn't float your boat -- everyone has their own tastes -- but, speaking as a newly minted 50-something, I wouldn't kick Palin out of bed -- unless she opened her mouth and spoke.

[skydash]

Are you seriously asking us "dudes" to exercise some taste,when you use such filthy language?? You're an idiot.

[JW]

She is way hot I can say (glancing at the notes on my hand).

How can you read smeared ink?

I addition to her "lack of seasoning," a point with which I heartily agree, she's also an intellectual lightweight.

Folksy, down-to-earth charm is fine, I probably like Reagan more than I should for this reason, but it won't carry the day when a real problem comes up. She *may* be street smart, that remains to be seen, but a leader should be more than that. Obama is the opposite problem, book smart, but painfully street stupid, and it shows. Another victim of a lack of seasoning.

You could argue that Clinton had both qualities in spades, which is what made him a popular and fairly effective president. He was slime of the first order, but he wasn't stupid by any stretch.

[John]

And even Clinton was in way over his head his first two years. Clinton did grow into the job. Perhaps Obama will to, but I doubt it. Clinton is just a lot smarter than Obama.

[Sadistic Eristic]

Clinton didn't "grow into the job". He read the political writing on the wall (hard to miss after 1994).

[John]

Yeah, but it took an amazing amount of shamelessness and bulshit to be able to spend two years doing Hillarycare and BTU taxes and then stand up after one election and say "the era of big government is over". Only a prime bullshit artist like Clinton could have gotten away with that. You have to give the guy credit.

[Sadistic Eristic]

I would if I thought shamelessness was something to give someone credit for.

[TrickyVic]

""And even Clinton was in way over his head his first two years""

Wait. You think Palin's half term as governor is good enough, but Clinton, who did three terms as governor, was in over his head?

[Sadistic Eristic]

Folksy, down-to-earth charm is fine, I probably like Reagan more than I should for this reason, but it won't carry the day when a real problem comes up.

Like, for instance, stagflagtion, the Iran hostage crisis, cold war confrontations, etc.

...Clinton..., which is what made him a popular and fairly effective president. who was so corrupt that he was impeached and who was so unprincipled that he repeatedly caved to Congressional Republicans in order to save his own political skin.

FTFY. Incidentally, Clinton was never that popular personally. Public opinion polls gave him good job approval numbers as one would expect for a President during good economic times, but the same polls did not give him good personal approval numbers. The media routinely blurred the distinction.

He was slime of the first order, but he wasn't stupid by any stretch.

All Democrat politician are geniuses by definition.

[fresno dan]

Need a link to a nude photo (or better yet video) in high definition, with emphasis on the naughty (swelling capable) parts, to render a cromulent opinion. Besides appearances, unusual profiency in particular techniques or skills may also render a designation of "hot" or at least "whoa!"

[FrBunny]

but his ... take is mine, only better stated

This is true of almost every position I've ever taken.

[JOhnny MAckson]

LOL, yeah she is what she is alright! Now if we could just get her to crawl back under the rock from which she emerged!

Jes
http://www.privacy-tools.de.tc

[Geotpf]

Not bloody likely.

In fact, considering that she is the most "Tea Party-ish" candidate on the Republican side, I imagine she most certainly will be the Republican nom in 2012, and then lose more states to Obama than she did as the VP candidate.

[J sub D]

Not a snowball's chance in Muspelheim.

[DLM]

"Now if we could just get her to crawl back under the rock from which she emerged!"

Lonely?

[Jeffersonian]

I find myself in agreement with Will. Palin's got the right idea, but not what it takes to be President. In a race between her and an egregious narcissist who thinks he has what it takes to micromanage entire sectors of the economy, however, I know which lever I'd pull with the hand that wasn't holding my nose.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I know which lever I'd pull with the hand that wasn't holding my nose.

Up until that last word I thought you were going in a whole different direction.

[Jeffrey]

+1

[Almanian]

First, when Will's on, he writes a damned good column. This is one of them. Second, agree with his overall premise. Third, I wouldn't vote for Sarah Palin for any national office - state or local, maybe, depending who else was running, what office it was, etc. etc. Fourth, I think she's steamin' hot.

[John]

Will doesn't really want to face the reality of how much people actually hate his class's guts. He assumes that populism is dead in this country because it hasn't worked in the past. Well, the past is as they say the past.

I really don't think there are any times analogous to this one in American political history. For that reason, "well it never worked that way in the past" really isn't compelling reasoning.

[Eric S.]

What makes this point in time special?

[John]

10% unemployment. A peacetime deficit larger that has ever been seen in US history. The bank collapse. Just to name a few. I think that 2008, rather than being a re-birth of liberal policies, was instead the death knell for what amounts to the 3rd American Republic (the three being pre civil war, post civil war, and FDR Johnson liberalism). Old style liberalism just isn't going to work anymore. We can't afford it. We are going to go broke. For that reason, I think we are going to get a serious populist revolt over the coming years. I don't know what that will mean in terms of policy. But things are not going to go on much longer with blue team versus red team. Things are changing and changing fast.

[TrickyVic]

""A peacetime deficit larger that has ever been seen in US history.""

Peacetime?

[oncogenesis]

Yes. We may be "at war", but we are certainly not At War.

[SugarFree]

Palin is a Republican. I fail to see, as a libertarian, what about her I'm supposed to be drawn to.

[John]

You really shouldn't be. As a Libertarian you should vote for you 1/2 a percent guy and call it a day. You may not vote for a winner but at least you will have some self respect. Better that than vote for one of the major parties and spend your next four years explaining how they really are something other than what they are.

[SugarFree]

John, we get it. You're a Republican. It's neither entertaining or enlightening for you to tell us every single day.

[John]

What are you so pissey about? I just agreed with you. And like you don't spend every day telling us how you are a Libertarian and hate everyone who isn't.

[zoltan]

+1

Way to get John riled up by admitting a simple fact.

[Episiarch]

She's for small, large-bridge-to-nowhere government, dude!

And a preemptive FUCK YOU to any crypto-Republican asshole fucks who want to try to refute, at length, why she was really not a douchebag politician.

[Pro Libertate]

What's funny was that before her joining the McCain ticket, I thought she sounded like a slightly libertarian governor. I saw an interview with her (way before the presidential campaign), and she made some of the right noises. Really, she's an odd duck--hard to know what she's really about.

In any event, she has some of the same cipherishness that Obama had. Steer clear.

Oh, and Episiarch, she is attractive. Not supermodel attractive, but plenty good. Especially considering that she's well into her 40s.

[JW]

You must forgive Epi's impulsiveness. He is still young and single and without the wisdom of hell marriage and family.

[Episiarch]

No, ProL. Sela Ward was an attractive woman in her 40's. The chick who played McCain's wife on BSG is an attractive older woman. Palin just isn't horrible. There is a difference. Learn it. Know it. Be it.

[John]

It is not fair to compare her to an actress. Sela Ward is not an attractive woman in her 40s. She is a fucking smoking hot goddess in her 40s. The don't call politics "Hollywood for ugly people" for nothing. Palin is a very attractive woman, which makes her a goddess for a politician. But she would be very much below average in Hollywood.

[SugarFree]

Remember what I said to ask me about in the next Palin thread? Behold.

[Tacos mmm...]

I think a lot of people are confusing Palin with Tina Fey. *drool*

[sunny black]

Hmmm...No. That's not it.

[Episiarch]

Holy shit, I thought MNG was bad for Palin and Hamilton, but anyone who thinks Fey is hot...there is no hope for you, dude. Just go get a transvestite hooker and then off yourself.

[John]

Jesus you are harsh. It is not like Fey is KD Lang or something. She is cute. Don't tell me you would kick Fey out of bed if she were the only option. Your standards for women are so high, I kind of wonder if you know, you even like woman. NTTIAWWT.

[SugarFree]

With his "olive oil voice and guinea charm," how can they not?

[John]

He made make me look ridiculous! And a man in my position can't afford to be made to look ridiculous!

[SugarFree]

If you've never read it... he is much, much more repulsive in the book. It's not high literature, but it fills in some gaps left out of the movies.

[John]

I have read it and he is amazingly repulsive. The movie hints at it. When Robert Duval shows up at the house, the little girl is leaving. If you haven't read the book, you feel like something is off but it is not obvious.

[John]

And I liked the book. That movie is always held up as one of the few examples of a bad book making a great movie. But, I thought the book was great. One of the few books I have ever re-read.

[Matt]

help me guys, what book you talkin bout?

[SugarFree]

The Godfather

[prolefeed]

Ditto -- what effing book is so good, so I can check it out?

[Geotpf]

Fey has said in interviews that she doesn't consider herself hot-but that's because she compares herself to the rest of Hollywood. Once she compares herself to the average citizen roaming the asiles at Walmart, she then realizes she actually is hot.

(massive paraphrase, of course)

[prolefeed]

You haven't roamed the aisles of a WalMart in Hawaii, dude. There are smoking hot women there, same as pretty much everywhere else in the state. Some ugly ones, certainly ...

[AlmightyJB]

douchebag politician

redundent. Which is why picking on her specifically and not the rest of of them is annoying. Whenever, I make the mistake of stopping on cspan while channel surfing and I see one of these guys/gals in front of a microphone, I know that the next thing I hear is going to be the stupidest thing I've heard all day. Is Palin an intellectual lightweight? Sure. Does she lie and pander? Sure. But how does that make her her different from the rest of them? I fail to see why she deserves so much attention on these fronts.

[SIV]

She supports jury nullification...

[MNG]

I doubt she would say that now. She wants to be liked so badly it's a bit sad ("all of them"), and jury nullification is controversial, so there goes that.

[Sadistic Eristic]

A little jury nullification can be a good thing now and then.

[prolefeed]

I liked Palin's style, but when she endorsed the first bailout, she joined a long and sorry list of Republicans who will not get my vote, ever.

Democratic politicians are, by default, on that no-vote list, unless they miraculously reveal themselves as way more libertarian-leaning than any of them actually are.

[eyes on tail]

"I fail to see, as a libertarian, what about her I'm supposed to be drawn to."

Her underage daughter?

[Mike]

Unless Biden has to ride Obama's corpse to victory, I'd say 2012 will be nothing like 1964.

[prolefeed]

I'd say 2012 is gonna be like 1994, unless Obama pulls a Clinton and has a come to Jesus moment about the mood of the electorate.

[guy in the back row]

Don't you mean 1980?

[Alan Vanneman]

"She is what she is, and what she is merits no disdain."

Let me unpack that for you, Matt. Here is what George is really saying:

"Get the fuck out of Dodge, Sarah Palin. Go the fuck back where you came from--Moose Droppings, Alaska or whatever the fuck it is, and eat moose dick if you like. Go back where you came from and where you belong, you damn Eskimo. I mean, did you go to Princeton? I don't fucking think so.

[John]

Wow. That is the first Vennamen post I have ever liked.

[Pro Libertate]

Actually, I disagree. Here's the true meaning of Will's comments: "Alaska has no baseball; therefore, Alaska is irrelevant."

[John]

Bob Costas interviewing George Will on the subject of baseball is about the most vomit inducing experience one can have while watching TV.

[Matt Welch]

My brother played in the Alaska summer league.

[Urkobold?]

No professional baseball, man. The Will has no interest in amateur and semipro ball.

[Sadistic Eristic]

I hear each team only plays 3 games per season.

[prolefeed]

Here is what Will is saying -- "Palin has charm and a personal style that resonates with a considerable portion of the electorate, and she would be a disasterous choice for the Republican nominee."

[Benchwarmer]

My guess is the people who find her hot also prefer porno sites where "loaded up" spectacles are featured.
NTTA...etc. Just sayin'.

[zoltan]

What's that mean? (I can't google search because I'm at work)

[Benchwarmer]

Good on you for not knowing. There are some people out there that have an eyeglass fetish. Couple that with a naughty, though submissive, librarian persona and the porno world has a new category.

Or so I've heard.

[prolefeed]

Are you referring to splooge-spattered glasses, Benchwarmer?

Some guys find glasses sexy. I'm one of them.

[Benchwarmer]

Yeah. That would be the catagory.

Many of my conservative buddies carry the wood for Palin and the glasses seem to be the deal sealer. Apparently, if you're to have a president fuck you over for 4-8 years you should, at least, be able to get a happy ending out of it.

[SugarFree]

Episiarch|8.29.08 @ 11:45AM|#

Hey, she's kinda hot!

[Episiarch]

Oh NutraSweet, I never thought I would see the day when you missed sarcasm. But now it's here, and you can finally call yourself a man-boy.

[SugarFree]

I may occasionally miss sarcasm, but I can see backpedaling as clear as day.

[Episiarch]

Maybe I was drunk? Upon second thought, I was probably on Vicodin.

[Pro Libertate]

Busted, bitch. She only became unattractive when everyone else jumped in.

No wonder you moved closer to Alaska, you Palin groupee. Or gropee.

[JW]

Drunk? Nah. I'm going with gay. WAY too much deflection. And Clay Aiken love.

[Warren]

Fuck George Will
Fuck him with a 3" masonry bit and a 17VDC cordless.

[John]

+1. And his bow tie to.

[Sadistic Eristic]

The best George Will quote evar:

"It is reasonable to believe that Bill Clinton is a rapist."

[sean]

As that Scottish late night comedian said, she has a naughty librarian vibe about her. That may not make her hot, but does make her doable. Nice legs and nice rack too, which don't hurt

[Urkobold?]

THE URKOBOLD HAS A QUERY: HOW LARGE A RACK WOULD THE AMERICAN PUBLIC TOLERATE IN A FEMALE PRESIDENT? IS THERE SUCH A THING AS TOO BIG TOO TAKE SERIOUSLY?

[SugarFree]

I'd say the American public could only handle, at a maximum, 70% on the Christina Hendricks scale.

[Urkobold?]

IS SHE AVAILABLE? FOR, UM, THE WHITE HOUSE, THAT IS. THE URKOBOLD TAKES ALL OF HER VERY SERIOUSLY.

[SugarFree]

Considering that this is her husband, you might have a shot.

[Urkobold?]

WHAT? UNWORTHY! THE URKOBOLD PREFERS TO BELIEVE THAT NATHAN FILLION NIGHTLY TAKES HER LIKE A WOMAN OF HER BOUNTY SHOULD BE TAKEN.

[SugarFree]

If he looks familiar... He was the guy stoned and licking the cop car headrest in Super Troopers.

[John]

OMG, What the hell. There is no justice in the world. Success in any field clearly has no relation to ability or any other objective trait. That picture just caused me to give up hope on justice and all that is good. Excuse me while I kill myself now.

[SugarFree]

Maybe he has an enormous schwanzst?cke.

[JW]

Frau Blucher!

[SugarFree]

[neeeiiighhhhh]

[John]

That is worse than Zoe Deschanel marrying that dork for Death Cab for Cutie. At least he was in a crappy band. And everyone knows crappy bands have magical powers over women.

[prolefeed]

Death Cab for Cutie is a decent band, dude.

OK, maybe not for a Republican like you, but for actual libertarians ...

[John]

Whatever.They suck. And that is the gayest name for a band maybe ever. And don't give me the "oh you are just not cool like Libertarians" routine. I have been listening to alternative bands since before those losers were born. And they suck.

[zoltan]

I second John. DCFC sucks. And that's a libertarian's opinion.

[John]

If Zoltan and I can agree on something, it must be true. That true cross spectrum consensus.

[Horde4Lyfe]

Agreed. Extremely GAE lyrics too. I'm more of an old school punk guy.

[zoltan]

Dead Kennedys have some pretty gay lyrics. Cause they're written by a gay dude.

[John]

Same with Husker Du

[guy in the back row]

My dear Mrs Reynolds!!!

[sean]

Even at 70%, she'd have 100% of heterosexual males watching her press conferences and speeches

[Urkobold?]

BENCH PRESS CONFERENCES?

[JW]

She could at least be the Secretary of Bouncy-Bouncy.

[JW]

Wow. I *really* have to start watching Mad Men.

[smartass sob]

Dolly Parton would be too big to take seriously. 😉

[P Brooks]

Ross Perot was a populist in the same way Benito Mussolini was a populist.

I just had to get that off my chest.

_________

What's funny was that before her joining the McCain ticket, I thought she sounded like a slightly libertarian governor. I saw an interview with her (way before the presidential campaign), and she made some of the right noises. Really, she's an odd duck--hard to know what she's really about.

I, too, remember hearing about her "potential". I suspect her early "libertarianism" had more to do with the scope of her authority than any inherent philosophical conviction. This does not, in any way, distinguish her from any other office-seeker.

[John]

I don't think that is fair to Mussolini. I mean Il Duce for all of his faults, did have some grasp of reality. Did he ever accuse the communists of breaking up his daughter's wedding?

[Neti Pot]

Agree Palin is such a loser...

I mean what has she done? Raised a family of 4, been governor of a state, chosen as a VP to a US Presidential candidate, become financially successful, known world-wide, sent many intellectuals into violent headspins, and managed to look damn good into her 40's while doing all this.

Yeah lame.

If she'd only spend more time posting her thoughts and political theories on websites and arguing with others who are so much more enlightened...stupid girl.

[John]

She is dumb as post, except of course when she is being a greedy populist threat to the Republic.

[Neti]

You forgot placing third in the Miss Alaska pagaent, c'mon, don't let your bias show!

[MNG]

How interesting when the "right" turns on someone like Will who has devoted his life to developing conservative thought and falls in love with a lightweight like Palin...

[John]

The "right" turns on Will to the extent that it does because he is a classic dickless Republican more concerned with appearing thoughtful and not stepping on toes than he is about telling the truth. When the bomb throwers come, they are not interested in people who want a different flavor of the establishment.

Will discounts populism because he has it. If there ever really was a "populist revolt" in the Republican party his days of anyone reading or listening to him would be over, if they are not already.

[Sadistic Eristic]

Will who has devoted his life to developing conservative thought

This is the same Will who mindlessly supported McCain, loves baseball and is clearly testosterone deficient.

[Abdul]

Palin's not running for anything.

She gave up the high-responsibility/low pay government work for the low-responsbility/high pay of political celebrity.

[John]

"She gave up the high-responsibility/low pay government work for the low-responsbility/high pay of political celebrity."

You say that like it is a bad thing. Who in their right mind would want to be governor of Alaska when the alternative is giving speeches at six figures a pop, having your own talk show and selling millions of books?

[prolefeed]

Giving up the governorship was a dumb move if she wanted to advance a political career.

If she wanted to make money, though, it was a brilliant choice.

[John]

It was terrible move. Killed her. That is why her books never sold. That is why she can't draw a crowd when she speaks. And no one follows her on facebook. And politicians don't suck up to her hoping she will come and campaign for her.

It was just a horrible move. What an idiot.

[TrickyVic]

If she decides to seek the GOP nomination, prolefeed's point will become obvious on the way to the primary.

[TrickyVic]

""Who in their right mind would want to be governor of Alaska when the alternative is giving speeches at six figures a pop, having your own talk show and selling millions of books?""

A future President.

[DLM]

"She gave up the high-responsibility/low pay government work for the low-responsbility/high pay of political celebrity."

Sounds like smart trade-off to me.

[Jamie Kelly]

If you would NOT fuck Sarah Palin when she showed up in your bedroom with a bottle of Stohli and a stack of "Cum Queens" DVDs, then you need to check yourself into the hospital. And that includes you women.

[prolefeed]

No need for hospitalization. Simply admitting you are gay (if a man) or straight (if a woman) would suffice.

[Horde4Lyfe]

😀 Agreed.

[JR]

Concur - though I fail to see the need for the DVD. A pizza would be nice though (like Monica brought Bill).

[P Brooks]

Jamie Kelly? I thought you were dead.

[Jamie Kelly]

Well, I did break my neck (C1 vertebra) last July after crashing my motorcycle while dead drunk. True story.
Relapse: It's what's for dinner.

[Urkobold?]

JAMIE KELLY DEAD? NOT AT ALL. HE FEATURES PROMINENTLY IN THE URKOBOLD'S LATEST SEX TAPE, INVOLVING SARAH AND BRISTOL. HE'S THE CAMERAMAN WHO OCCASIONALLY IS SEEN ON TAPE.

[Sadistic Eristic]

I can't say that I am particularly impressed with Will's column.

In particular, his quoting of the percentage of people who don't think that Palin is qualified to be President is probably more of an example of the effect of media coverage on public attitudes than anything else. What would the same numbers be for Obama if he were asked in every interview whether or not he was qualified and if pundits endlessly insisted that he was not while harping on his every misstep?

Shouldn't "he supports the ideals of the American system of government" be part of the criteria for judging a candidates qualifications? On that basis, Obama is unqualified in a big way.

Will also claims that highly educated whites don't support the Republican Party and suggests that this is due to the Party swaying toward populism. Isn't it conceivable that, if Will's assertion about highly educated whites is true, that it is due to highly educated Republican whites becoming alienated from a party which has shown no regard recently for the principles of limited government?

[John]

And of course "highly educated whites" are so alienated from the Republican Party that the Republicans have gone three for three in statewide elections in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts in the past year. Is it Wills opinion that those three states lack educated whites?

[John]

The column is typical Will; warmed over conventional wisdom that is a year or more out of date.

[Jamie Kelly]

Jamie Kelly was banned from Reason.com for a while because he used the "N" word. Obviously, whoever banned me was a Negro darkie spear-chucking hatemonger.

[SugarFree]

WTF? They tolerated LoneFuckWad and his racist garbage for years.

[Warty]

So we've had TAO banned for outing Lonewacko, Lonewacko banned because I called him a child molester, and Jamie Kelly banned for using The Worstest Word In The History Of The World's Worst Words. And anon-o-bot soldiers on.

[alan]

Well, obviously the hall monitors are not up tight feminist or else there would hardly be any of us left. Seriously, for the 'N' word? I don't use it, but so long as it is all over the airwaves, in songs like 'Golddigger' (whoo that ages me), it is bullshit to ban you based upon the idea there exist a common cultural standard to be upheld.

[JW]

Nihilist? NutraSweet? Narcophilia?

Welcome back, you smooth talker.

[SugarFree]

Why are all your guesses about me?

[JW]

Hey, I left out neurofibromitosis didn't I?

[Pink Cosmotarian]

"Raaaaacist!!"

[Xeones]

Careful, Jamie! You're gonna get us all reported for racism again!

Also, welcome back!

[P Brooks]

"niggle"?

[alan]

Not hot, reasonably attractive though. I would do Palin so long as I could gag her first.

She meets my first criteria that being a skinny ass. Other than that I don't care if she looked like K D Lang in the face. Well, maybe not K D Laing because she could be the slightly less swarthy identical twin of my former truck driving lesbian aunt who is now a nun. So, there are other reasons why I wouldn't fuck K D Lang but looks has nothing to do with it.

Have you noticed the Kelly Ripa ads with the 'I dream of Jeanie' soundtrack? Now that to me is a perfect ass. Seriously, she has to be a size 1 or 0, and they are still baggy on her butt.

[John]

I can't go for the skinny ass adolescent boy look. I would fuck Christina Hendricks or Scarlett Johanson a hundred times before I would so much as touch Ripa. The chick has no body.

[alan]

Not a no body, but a very tight body that bangs like a firecracker, and stabs you in the gut with those meatless glutes. MM, good times.

Whereas, Scarlett Johanson does nothing for me. She has a vacuous look in her eyes which is always a sign that a girl is dead in the bed. It would be like fucking a blow up doll which I guess would be okay in a pinch, but still, I would be pretty much on my own doing all of the work if SJ was on the receiving end.

[John]

Generally gorgeous chicks are dead in bead. They don't put out much effort because they don't have to. Usually your moderately cute kind of funky chicks are the best in bed. They are adventurous and are just flawed enough to know that they have to put forth some effort.

[alan]

The best sex I ever had was with the ugliest girl at my college. She was half Cuban, and half Jewish and looked like a female version of Gilbert Gottfried in the face, and she wore her hair in Beatles mop.

But, man did she put out and then some.

[JW]

You're supposed to take it up to that point, and then just back it off a bit. You never go outside the flight envelope. That's just asking for trouble.

[John]

We have all had those kinds of experiences if we are lucky. I was watching the Olympics the other night. And there was some female snowboarder with pink hair who won a bronze. She has a big nose and is at best cute. But she has the hot athlete body and just has this look about her that says she fucks like a rabbit. There is a lot to be said for women like that.

[zoltan]

Yes John, because women who enjoy sex do so because they think they're flawed.

Excellent logic by the men at Reason, yet again.

[John]

No Zoltan. It is not that gorgeous women don't enjoy sex. It is that they really don't care if you enjoy sex. Not so gorgeous women don't have that luxury.

[Sadistic Eristic]

The key is to find a woman who

1. has low self-esteem.
2. lacks impulse control.

Such women can be beautiful or ugly and they are all a PITA to be around, but they are fun in bed.

[zoltan]

Yeah, SE, because not only are the flawed women the ones who have fun in bed, it's the ones with bad self-esteem and poor impulse control.

Damn y'all must fuck some ugly chicks--or boring hot chicks with no confidence.

NTTAWWT.

[alan]

Usually the type you describe is humble enough to be pleasant company even out of the sack. The worst is the upper middle class, well educated woman who has had everything handed to her who tends to believe her narrow list of priorities and opinions are the inviolable truth. She tends to cook like she reads recipes from Cosmo and fuck like she is taking dictation from Julia Childs.

Back in my office drone days, I had such a female boss who once told me to button my shirt on a casual Friday. I reported her to her boss that her remark was insensitive to my cultural heritage, as we Latins take pride in modest displays of chest hair, and if they didn't wont a problem she should keep her mouth shut. I was joking, of course, but man did she hate the idea that umbrage was a two way street.

[TrickyVic]

3. drinks

[zoltan]

That must just be gorgeous women with men then. And all that voyeuristic porn must have been fake too.

[alan]

Zoltan, how could John's point have possibly gone over your head. Disembodied AI?

[zoltan]

His point was that women who think they are flawed enjoy sex, while beautiful women (or women who think they are) don't. What exactly else do you think his point was? Of course many beautiful women enjoy and put in effort into sex, because it is actually fun.

Then again, you all are old and crusty and still have to deal with a really weird generation of women who are retarded about sex. But hey so are the men.

[alan]

His point was more is expected from ugly women. True of any generation, and universally recognized by those who inhabit meat space.

[alan]

Yeah, SE, because not only are the flawed women the ones who have fun in bed, it's the ones with bad self-esteem and poor impulse control.

Damn y'all must fuck some ugly chicks--or boring hot chicks with no confidence.

NTTAWWT.

No, I just refuse to get my self esteem wrapped up in the idea it is somehow dependent on the quality of tang I'm poking. Too many dudes do, and that is just another path leading to emasculation.

[zoltan]

The worst is the upper middle class, well educated woman who has had everything handed to her who tends to believe her narrow list of priorities and opinions are the inviolable truth

Ugh, anyone from this class sucks.

[R C Dean]

If only they would, zoltan . . .

[JW]

There is very little that is hotter than a woman who looks very proper, is well educated and not lacking in class and taste, acts with modest decorum in public, and then getting her behind closed doors only to find out just how big a freak she really is.

It's the librarian effect on steroids. More fun than any man should be allowed to have.

[JW]

This site has some of those women. *VERY* NSFW and fun.

[zoltan]

Those bitches are ugly!

[Jamie Kelly]

Chicks who don't get much cock really crave cock. It's not that they're oversexed -- it's that they're under-fucked. Goddamn, they take their poundings well.

[P Brooks]

"narcissist"?

[P Brooks]

"numbskull"?

[Scott66]

I am not sure I would call Palin a populist because the truth is always a defense. When she says that the those in Washington are screwing the rest of us, she is correct.

And Will seems to miss the point that even though Obama is an elite his message is the traditional populist one - the greedy rich and evil corporations are screwing the rest of us.

[P Brooks]

Jamie Kelly was banned from Reason.com for a while because he used the "N" word.

"Kid- Have you rehabilitated yoreself?"

[John]

Yes, the Reason self criticism sessions with the Jacket are known to be foolproof.

[Boo Boo]

She seems to have been a competent governor. If managing the day to day affairs of domestic policy are what you want then she was actually a good choice. Alaska could have been run like the worst sort of third world oil exporting nation, it wasn't. Which is precisely why she was resented and vilified. As to her being a liberterian, name some examples of Alaskan government tyranny unrelated to her managing Alaska government employees.

Barack Obama was chosen as he had a solid block of support among blacks and white liberals mostly voting on his skin color. He was also a great asset to the pentagon as he bought a few years of European cooperation that McCain would not have gotten. I have relatives in Europe and can testify that he snowed them.

What 'domestic policy' qualifications did McCain or Obama have? McCain never ran anything in his life, his military carrier was as a lone gunman flying an airplane. I doubt he interacted or commanded anyone in the Navy. He may have had an informal command as a prisoner. McCain had a multi generational understanding of military culture, a definite plus. Obama had exactly zero on his resume. Palin actually had 'domestic policy experience' An executive position, actually hired and fired bureaucrats (and is still resented for the firing part). McCain (military family, academy and pilot, prisoner, Senator), Obama (student,activist,Senator), Palin (student, tv personality possibly with her own staff, Governor).

Her recent escapades seem sort of like an attempt to duplicate Nixon's comeback. Sadly she is doing silly stuff like endorsing Rick Perry.

[Geotpf]

She's a big fish in a small pond trying (and failing) to move up to the major leagues. Back when she was just governor of Alaska and not a whole cottage industry, she had about a 90% approval rating in the state. Nobody ever has a 90% approval rating. That means you have everybody in your party, everybody indie, and a large majority of the other party supporting you. That's unheard of.

Of course, this 90% approval rating, combined with a blatant gender play attempt to win over ex-Hillary voters, is why McCain picked her. But McCain and his team didn't bother to do proper due dilligance (probably due to the 90% rating-she looked like a sure thing) prior to picking her. If they, you know, actually met with her or something, they would have realized double quick that she wasn't ready for prime time and ran for the hills. But McCain and his campaign team were a bunch of dumbasses, so they didn't bother.

[P Brooks]

anon-o-bot soldiers on.

PBUH

[Old Mexican]

Sarah Palin received a written lashing from "conservative" blogger in the WSJ for endorsing Rand Paul (among other truly horrible crimes against humanity, it seems):

http://online.wsj.com/article/.....TopOpinion

Excerpt:

Though it hasn't attracted wide attention, nothing Mrs. Palin has done recently has been worthier of notice than her endorsement of Rand Paul, now running in Kentucky's GOP senate primary. Dr. Paul, an opthamologist and radical libertarian [emphasis mine], holds views on national security and defense that have much in common with those of the far left [again, emphasis mine]. Not to mention those of the considerable body of conspiracy theorists, antigovernment zealots, 9/11 truthers, and assorted other cadres of the obsessed and deranged [once again . . .] who flocked to the presidential candidacy of his father Ron Paul, the congressman from Texas.

See? Sarah Palin makes a faux pas for endorsing a person that holds views that are also shared by conspiracy theorists, 9/11 truthers and other deranged individuals - including, it seems, anti-government zealots (Wow! I was mentioned by category! I feel so warm inside!)

Oh, and also the "far left", it seems. Looks like among the principles of the conservative movement, accepting the warfare state unconditionally is included...

[Harpoon]

Actually I still don't understood how Obama was more qualified than Palin? Two years in the Senate a lot of which was spent running for campaigning. Before that he was a f*cking state legislator for god's sake. Just look at all the amateurish mistakes he's been making.

[DLM]

It's irrelevant if Obama was more qualified that Palin or not (he wasn't). What matters is if he was more qualified than McCain. Palin was selected as *vice-president*. However, I think the main issue was whether it was a better idea to have a Democratic President or a Republican President with with Congress already controlled by Democrats. You know what happened. We got the same screwups as we did in 1992-94 and 1976-1979. When has it ever been a good idea to have the Presidency and both houses of Congress controlled by the same party?

[Jamie Kelly]

My ban was instituted and enforced by none other than Nick Gillespie.

[Jamie Kelly]

All because of a joke that is told even among African Americans:
Q. What do you call an urbane, intelligent, well-spoken, Harvard-educated black man who becomes the first African-American president of the United States?
A. Nigger.

[Jamie Kelly]

*awaits reinstituted ban with baited breath*

[alan]

All because of a joke that is told even among African Americans:

Not just told, but Malcolm X has been attributed as the author of that joke.

[JW]

If you're going to get the ban hammer, it might as well be from The Man. That's going in style.

[P Brooks]

baited breath

Sushi for lunch?

[Vlad "Dracula" Tepes]

Oh, *Palin.* I thought I heard someone say they wanted *im*-palin'.

My mistake.

[robert]

What planet do you right wing crackpots live on. The Bush Adminstration and yper-capitalist class brought American to its knees through a 30 year policy of deregulation, privatization and greed. Your policies almost caused a depression. Stop blaming others. And now not learning the lessons of history, the crackpots are back on the march for more. Too bad the financial world does not revolve around the right wing ideology, egghead economists and pimps for business. The economy is global, and the right-wing world view is mired in past when America was the number one economy. Get your heads out of your domestic economic sand box. America has competitors, and they do not read Ludwig Von Mises and stale economics. They launch SWF and industrial policies to capture key industries and resoures.