Dennis the Peasant

Some Brilliant Observations...

From Richard Murphy at Tax Research UK:

Do turkies vote for Chrsitmas?

We may never know if turkies vote from Chrsitmas, but we have confirmed that at least one turkey can't figure out how to use his blogging software's spelling checker.

From Jed Lewison at DailyKOS:

Sean Hannity once again proves that he's the guy who put the 'a' in moron, this time by pushing the bizarre myth that earlier this week President Obama called the U.S. "a Muslim nation."

Now Jed here uses a spelling checker - he calls it a dictionary - but unfortunately for him it was written by Joe Biden.

From Pam Geller at Atlas Shrugs:

Little did America know that Obama's objective would be a conversion of this nation to "the largest Muslim country in the world"

Do you get the sense that this earth shattering secret would have gone undiscovered if Pammycakes had been picked to be on Real Housewives of New York City?

From Paul Mirengoff at Powerline:

In her thesis, Sotomayor punctuated her radical nationalism by referring to the United States Congress as the "North American Congress" or the "mainland Congress."

Horrors. Next, Paul reveals that it was Sonia Sotomayor (hey, I spelled it right!) - not Tony - who killed Bernardo at the dance...

From Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Dish:

It's a wrenching testimony to the ordeal so many bi-national gay couples deal with - and to the bigotry and fear which conspire to tear so many families apart.

So who does he criticize? The Democratic President who's gone completely spineless on every major GLBT issue out there? Of course not... He raps Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, who never supported GLBT issues in the first place. Duh.

From The Department of Deep Thought Department: Punditry Department...

From Amanduh of Pandagon:

Gary Kamiya has a good article up at Salon about how McCain is reviving the culture war with Sarah Palin, and how frightfully enduring the culture war seems to be, able to revive dead Republicans that are besieged by ill-advised wars and economic ruin. 

Several things come to mind. First of all, does the above sentence make any sense? Second, if something is enduring, why would it need to be revived? Thirdly, is Amanduh suggesting that the McCain campaign has adopted some sort of Night of the Living Dead campaign strategy? Finally, what happens to all those dead Republicans once they've voted? Do they march back to their graves, or what?

From Mary Mitchell of the Chicago Sun-Times:

Sarah Palin makes me sick. I hate that she was able to steal Barack Obama's mojo just by showing up in rimless glasses and a skirt.

Perhaps Obama could put on rimless glasses and a skirt and get his mojo back. If some middle-aged soccer mom could cop Obama's mojo just by putting on rimless glasses and a skirt, it seems to me that perhaps Barack Obama's mojo wasn't worth a shit in the first place.

From Bob Herbert of the New York Times:

While watching the Sarah Palin interview with Charlie Gibson Thursday night, and the coverage of the Palin phenomenon in general, I’ve gotten the scary feeling, for the first time in my life, that dimwittedness is not just on the march in the U.S., but that it might actually prevail.

Actually, Bob, it's more about Barack's mojo than our intelligence...

Scott Johnson of Powerline:

I've written here on occasion about Twin Cities community radio station KFAI. The station's politics and political programming are execrable, but several of its drive time radio programs are outstanding. David Cummings is the host of Rockin' In Rhythm on Wednesday mornings from 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. David's show is one of KFAI's best.

This past Wednesday David devoted his entire show to the music of Mel Torme.

Words fail me.

As My Mind Turns To Mush...

I don't think this is going to become a regular feature here at DTP. Another week of seeking out this sort of stuff and I'm pretty sure I'd end up suffering from drain bamage...

 

Scott Johnson (powerlineblog.com):

 

PAUL [Mirengoff] adds: McCain threw Obama a curve-ball when he selected Palin, and it has Obama off-balance. Actually, the Palin pick might better be seen as a knuckle-curve. The curve ball consists of the gender card, not completely unexpected but still difficult to deal with. The knuckler consists of Palin's instant celebrity status.

 

Evidently right-wing pundits are starting to shift away from what one DTP reader accurately labeled "overwrought meteorological analogies". Unfortunately, they're shifting to bizarre sports analogies. Name the last major league pitcher who could throw a knuckle-curve for strikes.

 

Jesse Taylor (pandagon.net):

 

Now, I’m a pretty prominent voice, and I’m black. 

 

Well, you're black. I'll give you that.

 

Jesse Taylor (pandagon.net):

 

Black people’s three favorite words are “the”, “and” and “of”.

 

Who is Black People? Is he/she a family friend or something? Or do you think he meant Black peoples'… ?

 

Amanda Marcotte (pandagon.net):

 

It’s interesting watching right wingers attempt to imitate what liberals decrying sexism. 

 

We have met the enemy, and it is proofreading.

 

Amanda Marcotte (pandagon.net):

 

Forever and ever conservatives have denied that pointing out sexism is a legitimate thing to do, because in Wingnutland, sexism doesn’t exist and anyone who says that it does is a whiny, hysterical bitch who can’t cut it with the big boys, and so hides behind sexism.

 

Try repeating that sentence with only one breath. Then count how many complete sentences and stray commas are contained therein. Should I start a fund to purchase and mail a copy of Elements of Style to Amanduh?

 

Michelle Malkin (michellemalkin.com):

 

But he’s [Obama] been such a thug, I’m not feeling sorry for him at all this morning.

 

This one had me rolling on the floor. Barack Obama a thug from the 'hood? That image is priceless. I got more thug in me than Obama does. A classic. Malkin moves into the lead for this week's grand prize… and into Amanda Marcotte territory.

 

David Kurtz (talkingpointsmemo.com):

 

I can't understand the rationale for Obama to clarify his "lipstick on a pig" remark first thing this morning at the top of his speech.

 

I entirely believe you, David. Evidently Obama and his advisors felt it was necessary… Wonder why?

 

Todd Gitlin (tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com):

 

I was always worried that "Change" was too vague by half, one of those pallid euphemisms of our degraded politics intended to excite (somewhat) a society many of whom think politics is the devil's work or in any case far less interesting than gadgetry, sex, and the pursuit of personal happiness.

 

Translation: "Barack and message are clearly a bit too high-brow for the mouth-breathers in Middle America." When in doubt, insult the electorate.

 

M.J. Rosenberg (tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com):

 

I knew that the GOP makes it difficult for African-Americans to vote. I did not know just how sophisticated their vote suppression efforts are. According to Hacker, vote suppression could be the key to a McCain victory this year. It comes down to this: our chances of winning depend on an unprecedented increase in the African-American turnout. Their chances hang on blocking that turnout.

 

Man, we're barely into September and we have Democrats lining up their excuses already? Must have been a Boy Scout.

 

M.J. Rosenberg (tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com):

 

I think it is absolutely right that our Presidential candidate go after their Vice Presidential candidate. Why? Because, as the Republicans learned under Karl Rove, you go after the other side's strength not its weakness. You attack Kerry on his military record or Gore for being smart.

 

An absolute gem. This one left me gasping for breath. Rosenberg clearly outdistances Malkin in the race for this week's Stupid Blogger grand prize.

 

Jim Sleeper (tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com):

 

Barack Obama has too many good ideas to choose decisively. John McCain has no ideas but is decisive about them anyway. It's "Smart but weak" vs. "Dumb but determined." Both claims are caricatures, of course. But only if you make the second one do people call you an elitist for calling their guy stupid.

 

Now that's writing. How, if you have no ideas, can you be decisive about them? And how do you call someone stupid by calling them dumb? Wouldn't they call you an elitist for calling their guy dumb, since that's the term you used? Are they too stupid to realize you used dumb and therefore used stupid instead? Who knows? Maybe they're just dumb…

 

Melanie Phillips (spectator.co.uk)… with the help of Charles Johnson (littlegreenfootballs.com):

 

The impression is that community organising is a worthy if woolly and ultimately ineffectual grassroots activity. This is to miss something of the greatest importance: that in the world of Barack Obama, community organisers are a key strategy in a different game altogether; and the name of that game is revolutionary Marxism.

 

Having been unable to get the "Obama Is A Closet Muslim" thingy to stick, some of the right's loonier element (i.e., Johnson) are now switching to the "Obama Is A Closet Communist" thingy. Phillips is a Brit, and as such probably doesn't understand that in Chicago, a community organizer is, in reality, a ward heeler. Anyone with a passing knowledge Chicago's politics of the past century or so would know this. And for all the kerfuffle about being a community organizer (or ward heeler), the bottom line is this: It's the required entry level job you take if you want to get into Democratic politics in Chicago. Big. Fucking. Deal. 

The Hits Just Keep On Comin'...

It appears I'm going to have to set limits on the amount of stupidity I'm going to actually report.

Juan Cole (salon.com.):

 

What is the difference between Palin and a Muslim fundamentalist? Lipstick.

 

Given Juan Cole's record, I assume this means he'll be voting Republican in November.

 

Gary Kamiya (salon.com):

 

For the die-hard Republicans who lusted over Palin at the convention, her whip-wielding persona was a turn-on. You could practically feel the crowd getting a collective woody as Palin bent Obama and the Democrats over, shoved a leather gag in their mouths and flogged them as un-American wimps, appeasers and losers. "Drill, baby, drill!" the chant ecstatically repeated by the GOP faithful during Rudy Giuliani's speech, acquired a distinctly Freudian subtext after Palin spoke. The more Palin drilled the Democrats, the more hotly the base yearned to drill her. (We will leave it to shrinks to determine whether the GOP hardcore has the hots for Palin because she's reaming the Democrats, or because authority-worshippers tend to have secret fantasies of being reamed themselves.)

 

Kamiya, no doubt a pro-feminist, pro-Obama progressive, spends a thousand or so words fantasizing about Republicans fantasizing about Sarah Palin being a whip-wielding dominatrix. While I'd be the last to deny that Palin definitely throws off what Craig Ferguson once called a "naughty librarian vibe", it seems to me the one most desperately in need of a cold shower over Sarah Palin is Gary Kamiya.

 

Michelle Malkin (michellemalkin.com):

 

Just received from reader Jeff: The latest, desperate plea from Obama’s Palin-bashing backers at Us Weekly magazine to stop the bleeding.

 

Now that's news. It's good to see that the right side of the blogosphere has a Josh Marshall equivalent.

 

Roger Kimball (pajamasmedia.com):

 

Hurricanes are not the only forces of nature causing damage these days. Gustav and Ike may have ripped the roofs off many buildings, but hurricane Sarah has devastated what was left of the mainstream media’s pretensions toward even-handedness.

 

And…

 

It is breathtaking to inspect the wreckage strewn about the landscape as the intended character assassination rebounded in a tsunami (if I may alter meteorological metaphors) of distrust, revulsion, and repudiation.

 

Refusing to concede the mantle for hilarious hyperbole at Pajamas Media to either Da Raj or Patrick Poole, we give you a pair of stellar efforts from Roger Kimball.

 

Andrew Sullivan (andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com):

 

"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers," - Thomas Pynchon.

 

Andrew Sullivan posted this September 7 as his "Quote of the Day". It qualifies as irrefutable evidence that Sully is completely irony-proof.

 

Michael Kinsley (time.com):

 

Alaska is, in essence, an adjunct member of OPEC.

 

It's funny nobody (including Michael himself) bothered to mention this fact prior to Sarah Palin being added to the Republican ticket. Probably an oversight… which is perfectly understandable. Evidently Kinsley's idea of helping Obama win the election is to try to get the other 49 states to develop oil envy and decide all Alaskans are un-American and probably closet Muslims (no wait… given the circumstances that one might not work). It's also funny that on the one hand Palin's an out-of-her-depth bimbo who couldn't manage a family unit, much less a state government… and on the other hand, she's a cunning and cynical robber baron manipulating the price of oil to enrich her constituents at the expense of the rest of the United States. Funny. Very funny indeed.

 

Jesse Taylor (pandagon.net):

 

This year’s version of “white women who care about relevant issues” is…

...Drum roll, please…

...Wal-Mart moms!

What always gets me about the category of the year is that it pretty much sums up the group of white people who are most pressed by the issue or issues driving the election - the most important group of people are the white people who will be affected by the most important election issues.  I’m willing to admit that the most decisive group of people in this election is white people; I’m also willing to admit that the most decisive group within that group will probably be white women, as they make up the majority of that group’s voters.  It’s America - one of the things that you quickly learn is that most important things end up being about white people.

 

So let me get this straight, Jesse is honked off because other people are acknowledging what he himself is acknowledging… that white women are probably the most decisive sub-group of white people, who are themselves probably the most decisive group of people in this election? Does this mean Jesse is honked off at himself as well?

 

Amanda Marcotte (pandagon.net):

 

Mangu-Ward does work for the libertarian magazine Reason, and libertarianism is funded way out of proportion to its popularity with the general public, so I wouldn’t be surprised to find out she’s drawing a bigger income than a lot of her peers in the political writing world.

 

Libertarianism is well funded, therefore libertarian writers are probably overpaid. Amanda Marcotte uses logic and the results are terrifying.

This Week's Wisdom From The Political Blogosphere… The Tuesday Edition

Well, the stupid from late last week, the weekend and Monday threatened to make this particular feature the largest, longest post we've ever had. And that's without taking into account that it appears Amanda Marcotte will be doing a guest column for the L.A. Times all week. So let's get the week started...

 

Jonah Goldberg (corner.nationalreview.com):

 

This is the most compelling and exciting Republican politician in a generation…

 

Goldberg is speaking, of course, of Sarah Palin. I wonder if Goldberg had ever mentioned this particular fact to any of us prior to Palin's selection. Any bets?

 

Jesse Taylor (pandagon.net):

 

Thinking back on the speech from last night, the thing that stands out is that the entire case for John McCain’s candidacy has become John McCain. John McCain isn’t the right man for this moment in history, this is the right moment in history for John McCain. To call the speech non-partisan misses the point - it was intensely partisan towards McCain and his mythology. 

 

Insight, thy name is Jesse.

 

Jesse Taylor (pandagon.net):

 

Much like last night, I don’t think that they watched the same speech that actual people did.  Actually, they probably just watched The Last Starfighter and went “Pew!  Pew!” the entire time while hiding behind couches and throwing pretend neutron-grenades.

 

What is it with the folks at Pandagon? Do any of them actually have references available that would be understandable to educated, gainfully employed adults? Come to think of it, though, a Pandagon convention would be interesting to watch… what with Pandagonians on one side of the room yelling "Pew! Pew!" and hurling pretend neutron-grenades at Pandagonians on the other side of the room trying to neutralize them with dangerous and destructive blue turtle shells horded from Mario Kart.

 

Josh Marshall (talkingpointsmemo.com):

 

As noted below, it seems like we may have solved the mystery of the bizarre mansion they had up behind John McCain last night on the big TV screen that on TV made it look like a green screen. We're digging in to confirm. Click for the whole story.

 

It's good to see Josh focusing on the important stuff, isn't it? One thing I will concede, this is exactly the sort of thing Josh excels at. As opposed to things like analyzing policy positions. You go, boy!

 

James Wolcott (vanityfair.com):

 

Not only can Sarah Palin field-dress a moose, she can shave 344 points off the Dow with a single speech.

 

Not that Wolcott could do either, mind you. Despite the fact that I have a bit of a soft spot in my heart for ol' James, the bottom line is that his expertise isn't in the stock market: There is no causal link between the Dow's loss and Sarah Palin's speech the evening afore. While it might get appreciative head tilts from his readership, the adults in the room will simply laugh and walk on…

 

Patrick Poole (pajamasmedia.com):

 

Last week in one fell swoop, John McCain completely changed the dynamic of this presidential election — this campaign is no longer a referendum on Barack Obama. If events of the past few days are any indication, this paradigm shift has caused a staggering existential crisis for Obama and his supporters.

 

A "staggering existential crisis?" Really? It is a measure of Roger L. Simon's genius that he could, in Patrick Poole, find the one hack on the planet who writes more laughably ridiculous hyperbole than his own true self.

 

Andrew Sullivan (andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com):

 

This is the Internet's moment, when it will flush the truth out against some of the creepiest power brokers this country has had to deal with since Nixon.

 

You want evidence of just how far Sullivan's intellectual deterioration has progressed? Note that if you changed "Nixon" to any Democrat other than Lieberman, you could pass off the above as the sort of promotional fluff Roger L. Simon writes for Pajamas Media. Moreover, Andrew Sullivan might actually "flush" something, but it won't be "out" and it certainly won't be "the truth". Of that we can be certain.

 

Andrew Sullivan (andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com):

 

In thinking about this astonishing week, and what's to come, I want to go on record again as saying that the decision to bring up a child with Down Syndrome is one of the most noble, beautiful and admirable decisions any person can make. That Sarah Palin is doing that says a huge amount in favor of her. The love obviously being shown toward tiny Trig is also about as profound an advertisement for genuine, pro-life Christianity as you can have. It means that, in this respect, Palin has walked the walk of the pro-life movement - in ways that many others have not. In my view, and I mean this as passionately as I mean my criticisms of her public record, this really is God's work.

 

Jesus Christ, Andrew, are you planning to drop off a Christmas goose at the Palin hovel or something? Remember, this is coming from the guy who spent that particular week single-mindedly pursuing the slimiest of rumors about Palin and her children with undisguised and unabashed glee. Including the rumors about "tiny Trig". Sully, you could gag a maggot.

 

Roger L. Simon (pajamasmedia.com):

 

I am even willing to turn my thermostat up a jot or two in a sweltering LA September just on the wild off chance that Al Gore (of all scientifically-challenged people - I’d like to see his physics grades) is correct on anthropogenic global warming.

 

Hey Raj, the last time I checked, neither Al Gore nor anyone else has claimed anthropogenic global warming was a matter of physics. Now, you were saying something about scientifically-challenged people…

 

Oliver Willis (huffingtonpost.com):

 

The Democratic party, for better or worse, believes in a Frank Capra/Jimmy Stewart view of the world. It says time and time again that through our collective might we can improve the nation, and as a byproduct the world. It is optimistic to the point of being almost corny. The party looks as the world as it is, and says "Gosh darn it everyone, let's roll up our sleeves and clean up this mess." It is no coincidence that the current leader of the party, Barack Obama, is the sort of guy you can imagine saying "by golly" and not in an ironic way.

 

Lord love a duck. Last week Roger L. Simon was babbling about how Sarah Palin was a force of nature; that she Jimmy Stewart channeled through Claudette Colbert. Now we have Big Ollie telling us that, surprise!, Barack Obama is the real Jimmy Stewart. How do we know this? Because Barack says things like "by golly"… and "gee whiz"… and "by gosh"… and "jeepers". I can see it now… "Howdy, I'm Barack Obama, and by golly, I approved this message." In fairness, though, there's one thing you can't argue with, and that's that sites like Daily KOS and Democratic Underground tend to exude an authentic, down-home, folksy, Jimmy Stewart as Jefferson Smith sort of vibe. Am I right?

 

Note: Be sure to read Ollie's Huff post in full. It's a gem. If there is one blogger on the planet who seems to have the ability to match Amanda Marcotte style-wise, it's Oliver Willis.

 

Amanda Marcotte (pandagon.net):

 

Ever since the RNC, which was based around sneering at effete liberals for having the gall to sneer at down home rednecks, there’s been a lot of talk about elitism and sneering. 

 

Especially about elites and their effete sneering.

 

Amanda Marcotte (pandagon.net):

 

I made out with boys on a trampoline in my backyard.

 

Fortunately, she didn't tell us why she chose the trampoline. On a completely unrelated note, for those of you who read The Westerville Chronicles, you'll no doubt remember that I refer to Dennis and Muffy using a trampoline to enhance their sex lives. I was thinking, of course, that no one would actually use a trampoline for such a purpose...

 

Jesse Taylor (pandagon.net):

 

And conservatives wonder why they can’t get movies made.  There was an original conservative script for Jurassic Park II, but it mainly involved Richard Dawkins getting pooped on by a brontosaurus for half an hour.  Nobody got it.

 

Ah, that liberal humor… gotta love it. And yet another bizarre pop culture reference out of the Pandagon gang.

 

Jesse Taylor (pandagon.net):

 

1.) You apparently hate polar bears and wolves.  Given that you’re a Republican candidate on a presidential ticket, when was your or your family’s last instance of gross animal abuse?  We know it’s there.

2.) How much does your hair cost to do, and how often do you get it done?

3.) Where’s your Indonesian birth certificate? 

 

Above are the three questions Taylor would love to ask Sarah Palin. Evidently they're supposed to be funny. I predict he will be writing jokes for Joe Biden within a week.

 

It's terrifyiing to think that the week is this young and we've already found the sort of drivel we have... And without even starting to mine the Marcotte/L.A. Times vein!

 

Remember, if you see something stupid, email me.

This Week's Wisdom From The Political Blogosphere…

We've decided on a new feature here at DTP… namely, a weekly roundup of some of the most obviously stupid, deranged and borderline retarded comments made by political bloggers. Please feel free to pass along those you find.

 

Oliver Willis (oliverwillis.com):

 

$300,000! Wow. Imagine if we applied Cindy’s dress budget to the Republican-created deficit…

 

OK, Ollie, let's just do that. As of September 2, 2008 the federal deficit totaled $9,667,801,662,429.23. If Cindy McCain had donated the $300,000 to the federal treasury, the deficit would be $9,667,801,362,429.23. For the record, $300,000 represents .0000031031% of the deficit. Meaningful, isn't it?

 

Amanda Marcotte (pandagon.net):

 

So this year the argument for voting Republican is the same that it has been since Nixon---a cadre of demonized people (non-white people, loose women, homosexuals, feminists, atheists, Muslims, people who read books that lack the reassuring presence of firearms mentions on every other page) who think they’s so great are about to win and make you, Joe White Voter, feel like even more of a loser than you are.  So show them that this is still Asshole America and vote for McCain. Unfortunately, this sort of argument can be shockingly effective.  It’s Mario Kart politics, of the blue turtle shell philosophy.  The blue turtle shell is the most asshole of all weapons.  Most weapons confer some strategic advantage on the bearer.  Other colored turtle shells tend to take out people in your immediate vicinity, so that you can pull some places ahead.  Mushrooms give you a boost of speed.  Banana peels keep those behind you from catching up and passing you.  But the blue turtle shell?  All that does is fuck up the guy in the front, without conferring advantage to anyone but maybe the guy right behind him.  It doesn’t help you. 

 

It's a tribute to Amanda Marcotte's genius that she can find a way to shoehorn the public policy positions of John McCain and the Republican Party into a video game that most adults have never seen or played. While I'm sure there are parental types who've played Mario Kart with their kids, it's genuinely disturbing to me that a childless, 31 year-old pseudo-feminist attempting to carve out a career as a public intellectual would know enough about Mario Kart to try to relate it to present day presidential politics. And then say so in public. I'm almost afraid to read the post's comments, because I have little doubt that a disproportionate number of them know exactly what she's talking about. Next week? Amanda discusses Republican foreign policy within the context of Barney and Friends.

 

Jesse Taylor (pandagon.net):

 

Larry Kudlow, who hasn’t seemed to notice that Sarah Palin is destroying the market with her Alaskan Godzillan hatebombs, writes today about how the Hockey Mom from Hell is going to solve our energy problems because she’s close to a lot of oil.

 

The more Jesse Taylor I read, the more I understand why he'd be the type to think it was a great idea to bring Amanda Marcotte on board as a full-time blogger. In the above brainfart, Taylor provides a link to CNNMoney.com to show the horrific slide in the Dow on Thursday (275 points… about 2.4%). Beyond the fact that a 2.4% loss in one day hardly constitutes an indication of "market destruction" (something Taylor'd know if he actually owned any stock), here's the first paragraph of the CNNMoney.com article on the same page Taylor links to:

 

Stocks tanked Thursday afternoon, with the Dow briefly plummeting nearly 300 points before pulling back a bit, as mixed retail sales, lower oil prices and dour labor market readings amplified worries about a global economic slowdown.

 

If there is one attribute shared by all dimwits inhabiting the political blogosphere, it is the ability to attribute any event (either good or bad) to their particular political prejudice of the moment… irrespective of whether there is any factual basis to support said attribution. And as Jesse Taylor is so completely and obviously limited in his knowledge and experience, it would never occur to him that anyone with even a passing acquaintance with how the stock market works would laugh out loud at the sort of argument he is attempting to make.

 

Roger L. Simon (pajamasmedia.com):

 

Okay, it’s almost three in the morning here in Minneapolis and I am  about as dog tired as I have ever been, but I couldn’t resist putting in my two cents on Sarah Palin’s performance tonight, since I saw it live.  In all my years writing movies, going to drama school, etc., I have almost never seen anything so dramatic.  It was the rebirth of Frank Capra for our times - Mrs. Smith Goes to Washington.  This woman is a star and a star of the American kind we have not seen for years.  She really is born live from a Capra movie, from the days Hollywood told stories about the greatness of our country.  I don’t agree with her about everything but so what?  I don’t agree with anybody about everything except, luckily for me, my wife.  But Sarah Palin is a force of nature. Like a Jimmy Stewart character channeled by Claudette Colbert.

 

I'll give him credit for not bringing Mario Kart into the mix, but Jesus H. Christ, Rog, it's time to consider getting the meds adjusted. Where are the Hyperbole Police when you need them?

 

Alan Colmes (alan.com):

 

First, what I did not say.  I did not say that Sarah Palin caused her child to have Down Syndrome because of her choices.   I have received comment after comment and received thousands of emails about this because of right-wing sites who have lied about my initial post, a screen grab of which is here.  It may be convenient for those with their own agendas, or those who just hate liberals to make the case that I said something horrible about Sarah Palin, to feed the narrative that the evil, horrible left wing is attacking a conservative woman.   I don’t do ad hominem attacks.  It’s not my style.  And I usually let my work speak for itself. 

 

What I did say was that it’s fair to question a person’s judgment if that person is seeking to be Vice President of the United States,  just as the judgment of the Obama/Biden ticket has been heavily questioned.  And part of that question of judgment has to do with life decisions that candidates make.   In the case of Sarah Palin, it had to do with a choice to give a speech and then board a flight after contractions began and water began to break in the last month of pregnancy with her fifth child. 

 

Those who claim that I drew a parallel between those decisions and her child being born with Down Syndrome either didn’t read what I wrote or purposely lied about it to satisfy their own agendas.  Even after I posted a clarification and took responsibility (sic) for possibly not being clear enough in my original post I am still getting vicious comments and hate mail from those who believe I should be silenced, fired and even shot. 

 

To those who are purposely maligning me for whatever reason, let’s make a deal: You don’t lie about me, and I won’t tell the truth about you.

 

I remember watching Michael Kinsley interview David Duke on Crossfire back in 1991. It was great. For those of you who don't remember Kinsley, he was the 1980's version of the archetypal Liberal Pussy. And, being both a Liberal Pussy and an inside-the-beltway asshole, Kinsley didn't understand that not all folks outside the beltway will spend large amounts of time having some smirking smart-ass insult them. Now understand that I have never had any sympathy for or admiration of David Duke, but what transpired sure was fun to watch.

 

Basically, Duke put up with Kinsley being a smart-ass for about 10 or 15 minutes, and then he simply got tired of it and called him out. Duke sat there in the chair right across from Kinsley and when Kinsley asked him about his cosmetic surgery, Duke, without batting an eye, said the following:

 

That's the kind of cheap shot a little worm like you would make.

 

Kinsley was stunned: He just sat there, swallowing hard to control his panic, while Duke calmly waited for an answer. It was clear from Duke's body language that one smart word out of Kinsley was going to get him a punch in the face. Bottom line? If Kinsley had had any water in him, he'd have peed his pants right then and there.

 

Alan Colmes is just that sort of pussy. He tries hard to come across as a bad-ass, but there's no mistaking him for anything other than a mouse. In fact, that's his only claim to fame: Being Sean Hannity's bitch on Fox. And Lord, does he deliver. I loathe Hannity, but Colmes is the one that really makes their show unwatchable.

 

As evidence of my claim, I provide Exhibit One: Above is Alan's response to getting caught implying (quite clearly) that Sarah Palin's son might not have been born with Downs Syndrome had she been more "careful" during her pregnancy. It should be noted that he quickly took down the original post, and instead of putting it back up to back up his claims, he has provided nothing more than a link to a partial screen-save that does not show the offending portion of the post.

 

Even if you give Colmes the benefit of the doubt and chalk the furor up to his inability to clearly express himself, which I don't, what is absolutely amazing is the argument that he lays out in the second paragraph above:

 

What I did say was that it’s fair to question a person’s judgment if that person is seeking to be Vice President of the United States,  just as the judgment of the Obama/Biden ticket has been heavily questioned. And part of that question of judgment has to do with life decisions that candidates make.   In the case of Sarah Palin, it had to do with a choice to give a speech and then board a flight after contractions began and water began to break in the last month of pregnancy with her fifth child. 

 

What Colmes is saying, although I'm sure he's too stupid to realize it, is this: Any "life decision" made by a woman running for public office is fair game. Life decisions such as having an abortion. It's a measure of just how desperately dishonest Colmes is in his mindless partisanship that he could openly advocate that no woman running for any elective office can have any expectation of privacy in any matter involving pregnancy and childbirth. You could easily have conservatives using Colmes' words to justify a demand to know whether every liberal woman who ever runs for office has had an abortion!

 

If there was a liberal or a feminist out there with half a brain, they'd be calling for Colmes' scalp, but as there isn't… and, well, draw your own conclusion on that. Mine is this: Neither gives a shit about a woman's right to privacy - the only thing that matters is getting Palin.

 

And of course, because Alan Colmes is a pussy, the minute he gets called on being ignorant, sleazy, and dishonest he collapses in a whiney heap and blames it all on those "vile" conservatives. I just hope that somewhere down the pike Sean Hannity invites Mr. Sarah Palin onto Hannity and Colmes. It'd be downright fun to watch big, tough Alan Colmes pee his pants.

 

Andrew Sullivan (andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com):

 

I'm committed to Obama because I think he is the best pick at this point in American and world history. I made my core argument a long time ago now and I still believe every word of it. What I have learned since then is that Obama has an astonishing level of competence and skill and judgment in a klieglight of public scrutiny unlike almost any presidential candidate who has come before him.

 

"An astonishing level of competence and skill and judgment… unlike almost any presidential candidate who has come before him?" You've got to be kidding me. Is Obama a force of nature? Like a Jimmy Stewart character channeled by Claudette Colbert? Or what?