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><channel><title>Chris Abraham &#187; crowds</title> <atom:link href="http://chrisabraham.com/tag/crowds/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /><link>http://chrisabraham.com</link> <description>Because the Medium is the Message</description> <lastBuildDate>Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:08:23 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en</language> <sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency> <generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1</generator> <xhtml:meta xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" name="robots" content="noindex" /> <item><title>Social Media Reputation Management</title><link>http://chrisabraham.com/2009/01/21/social-media-reputation-management/</link> <comments>http://chrisabraham.com/2009/01/21/social-media-reputation-management/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:32:53 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Chris Abraham</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[David Gelles]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Social Media Marketing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Social Media Outreach]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Social Media PR]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Social Media Press Release]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Social Media Reputation Management]]></category> <category><![CDATA[abraham]]></category> <category><![CDATA[accessible articles]]></category> <category><![CDATA[accusation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[accusations]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Adage]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Advertisement]]></category> <category><![CDATA[advertiser]]></category> <category><![CDATA[advertisers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Advertising]]></category> <category><![CDATA[alls]]></category> <category><![CDATA[appearance]]></category> <category><![CDATA[attractiveness]]></category> <category><![CDATA[audience]]></category> <category><![CDATA[audiences]]></category> <category><![CDATA[awesome]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Babies]]></category> <category><![CDATA[baby carriers]]></category> 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healthcare]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Media]]></category> <category><![CDATA[media crisis]]></category> <category><![CDATA[mom]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Money]]></category> <category><![CDATA[monitors]]></category> <category><![CDATA[motrin]]></category> <category><![CDATA[mums]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Networks]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[onli]]></category> <category><![CDATA[online]]></category> <category><![CDATA[pain reliever]]></category> <category><![CDATA[people]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Pepsi]]></category> <category><![CDATA[pepsi max]]></category> <category><![CDATA[PepsiCo]]></category> <category><![CDATA[post]]></category> <category><![CDATA[press]]></category> <category><![CDATA[promoter]]></category> <category><![CDATA[promoters]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Promotion]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Publicity]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Reader]]></category> 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isPermaLink="false">http://chrisabraham.com/2009/01/21/social-media-reputation-management/</guid> <description><![CDATA[My buddy David Gelles writes for the Tech section of the FT, my favorite paper. Check out his latest article, New corporate firefighters. Sadly for me, he can&#8217;t shamelessly promote my company, Abraham Harrison LLC, because he has &#8216;journalistic integrity;&#8217; however, it is awesome he works there because he writes awesomely-accessible articles about my space, [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div
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style="display:none">My buddy David Gelles writes for the Tech section of the FT, my favorite paper. Check out his latest article, New corporate firefighters. Sadly for me, he can&#8217;t shamelessly promote my company, Abraham Harrison LLC, because he has &#8216;journalistic integrity;&#8217; however, it is awesome he works there because he writes awesomely-accessible articles about my space, [...]</span></a></div><p></p><div
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/> </a></div><p>My buddy David Gelles writes for the Tech section of the FT, my favorite paper. Check out his latest article, <a
href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/84b63f98-e7df-11dd-b2a5-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1">New corporate firefighters</a>. Sadly for me, he can&#8217;t shamelessly promote my company, <a
href="http://www.abrahamharrison.com">Abraham Harrison LLC</a>, because he has &#8216;journalistic integrity;&#8217; however, it is awesome he works there because he writes awesomely-accessible articles about my space, including social media marketing, social media PR, blogger engagement, Twitter, and also the world of online and social media crisis-response.  It is amazing!  I beat up <a
href="http://adage.com/globalideanetwork/post?article_id=133043">Pepsi Max over on AdAge</a> and a couple weeks later, Gelles writes an article about the space.  I am both amazingly proud and a little paranoid!</p><blockquote><p><a
href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/84b63f98-e7df-11dd-b2a5-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1"><strong>New corporate firefighters By David Gelles<br
/> </strong></a><br
/> When advertisers launched a campaign last September for the pain reliever Motrin, they hoped to attract the attention of mothers whose backs might be sore from wearing baby-carriers. The advertisements implied that while baby-carriers might be fashionable, hauling a child around could be painful.</p><p>Mothers were not amused. Soon after the ads were released, anti-Motrin campaigns appeared on Facebook and blogs. Outraged mums, furious at the suggestion that their babies were a hassle, posted rebuttal videos on YouTube. Through Twitter, the micro-blogging service, thousands of people attacked the company.</p><p>Motrin was caught off-guard. For days, no company representative replied. Critics accused the company of being not only insensitive but also unresponsive.</p><p>Eventually a marketing executive at McNeil Consumer Healthcare, the subsidiary of Johnson &amp; Johnson that markets Motrin, e-mailed individual bloggers to apologise for the campaign. But the damage was done.</p><p>Jeanette Gibson of CiscoThe &#8220;Motrin moms&#8221; episode illustrates the power of social media &#8212; the expanding network of websites that allow users to interact with each other and, increasingly, with companies. It also demonstrates the perils for enterprises that are unprepared to interact with social media.</p><p>But now a growing number of companies, including Ford Motor, PepsiCo, Wells Fargo and Dell, are creating new high-level jobs to ready themselves for engagement with social media, with titles such as director of social media, head of communities and conversation, vice-president of experiential marketing and digital communications manager. The role of these new executives is to monitor and influence what is being said about their companies on the internet.</p><p>Johnson &amp; Johnson made its own appointment in the wake of the Motrin debacle. Having already dabbled in social media, in December the company promoted Marc Monseau, a 10-year company veteran and former director of media relations, to director of social media. &#8220;My responsibility is to work with the corporate office and the individual companies to better interact online,&#8221; Mr Monseau says. &#8220;It underscores the fact that we realise this is an important audience and one that we need to develop relationships with.&#8221;</p><p>These new jobs represent a broad shift in media relations strategy at large companies. &#8220;Corporate communications has radically changed,&#8221; says Andy Sernovitz, chief executive of the Blog Council, an organisation for heads of social media at big companies. &#8220;It’s no longer just companies talking to the press, and customer service talking to customers. All these other people showed up in the ­middle. They may not be press and they may not be customers, but suddenly their collective voice is bigger than the traditional channels.&#8221;</p><p>The essence of social media is conversation. Rather than a one-way stream of information, where companies make announcements to the press and customers, social media enables a great deal of interaction, where companies are in constant dialogue with the public. &#8220;We’ve seen a shift from doing things the old way to now having conversations with our customers,&#8221; says Jeanette Gibson, director of new media for Cisco Systems (pictured).</p><p>Ms Gibson, who began her job in 2007, says there is now a mandate at Cisco that all staff be attuned to what is being said about Cisco online. &#8220;It has definitely shifted how we’ve done communications,&#8221; she says. &#8220;Our executives are video blogging every day. Everybody’s job is now social media.&#8221;</p><p>Dell, the computer maker, has one of the most robust corporate social media programmes. Bob Pearson, former senior vice-president of corporate communications, became vice-president of communities and conversation for Dell in 2007.</p><p>He now has 45 people working for him. The core team works on &#8220;blog resolution&#8221; &#8212; trawling the web for dissatisfied customers, then attempting to contact them to make amends. Others on Dell’s social media team manage the company’s 80 Twitter accounts and 20 Facebook pages. Still others manage IdeaStorm, Dell’s forum for customer feedback.</p><p>Dell is taking its customer feedback seriously. When the company launched the Latitude laptop last summer, six of the features, including backlit keyboard and fingerprint reader, were ideas that came from IdeaStorm. &#8220;It’s always worth talking directly with your customers. It’s always worth listening to them,&#8221; says Mr Pearson. &#8220;It’s the wisdom of crowds.&#8221;</p><p>Peter Shankman, a social media expert and founder of Help a Reporter Out, a service that broadcasts reporters’ requests to a network of experts, says many companies are still reluctant to get involved: &#8220;Companies are slow to adapt because they’re still not 100 per cent sure they can make money with social media,&#8221; he says.</p><p>Yet Dell, for one, has made a business of it. By broadcasting discount alerts on Twitter, it says, it has generated more than $1m in sales. And in the US, 59 of the 100 leading retailers, including Best Buy and Wal-Mart, now have a fan page on Facebook, according to Rosetta, an interactive marketing agency.</p><p>Other savings can be realised through the Web’s ability to reach many people at once. &#8220;If you solve someone’s problem on the phone, nobody knows,&#8221; says Mr Sernovitz. &#8220;If you solve that same problem in writing on a blog, it costs you no more, but thousands of people are satisfied. And then, if 100 people never call because they found the answer, you very, very quickly get to multimillion-dollar savings.&#8221;</p><p>Other companies are using Twitter to douse public relations fires before they erupt. Scott Monty, head of social media for Ford Motors, used Twitter to appease users who were angry after the carmaker sued an enthusiast website that was selling unauthorised Ford merchandise. When fans of the enthusiast site posted angry messages, Mr Monty &#8220;tweeted back&#8221; to explain the company’s position.</p><p>Bonin Bough, who was appointed director of social media for PepsiCo last year, also used Twitter to defuse a brewing crisis after the company released a series of advertisements depicting a cartoon calorie character committing suicide.</p><p>&#8220;Social media is much more than getting out there and having conversations,&#8221; says Mr Pearson of Dell. &#8220;It transforms a business if you use it correctly.&#8221;</p></blockquote><script type="text/javascript">(function() {var s = document.createElement('SCRIPT'), s1 = document.getElementsByTagName('SCRIPT')[0];s.type = 'text/javascript';s.async = true;s.src = 'http://widgets.digg.com/buttons.js';s1.parentNode.insertBefore(s, s1);})();</script><a
class="DiggThisButton DiggCompact" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2009%2F01%2F21%2Fsocial-media-reputation-management%2F"></a>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://chrisabraham.com/2009/01/21/social-media-reputation-management/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>Reporting on the Inauguration from DC by a Non-Participant</title><link>http://chrisabraham.com/2009/01/19/reporting-on-the-inauguration-from-dc-by-a-non-participant/</link> <comments>http://chrisabraham.com/2009/01/19/reporting-on-the-inauguration-from-dc-by-a-non-participant/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Mon, 19 Jan 2009 13:19:56 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Chris Abraham</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Barack Hussein Obama]]></category> <category><![CDATA[barack obama]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Capital Hill]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Capitol Hill]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Naval Lodge]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Naval Lodge 4]]></category> <category><![CDATA[President Obama]]></category> <category><![CDATA[senator obama]]></category> <category><![CDATA[White House]]></category> <category><![CDATA[44th president]]></category> <category><![CDATA[africans]]></category> <category><![CDATA[alls]]></category> <category><![CDATA[balls]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Barack]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Berlin]]></category> <category><![CDATA[berliner]]></category> <category><![CDATA[berliners]]></category> <category><![CDATA[bliss]]></category> <category><![CDATA[bush]]></category> <category><![CDATA[bush bush]]></category> <category><![CDATA[bushes]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Coffee]]></category> <category><![CDATA[coffees]]></category> <category><![CDATA[convergence]]></category> <category><![CDATA[crowd]]></category> <category><![CDATA[crowds]]></category> <category><![CDATA[donut]]></category> <category><![CDATA[donuts]]></category> <category><![CDATA[drops]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Elections]]></category> <category><![CDATA[excitement]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Friends]]></category> <category><![CDATA[fringe]]></category> <category><![CDATA[george h w bush]]></category> <category><![CDATA[george w bush]]></category> <category><![CDATA[global friends]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Globalism]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Hawaii]]></category> <category><![CDATA[hot coffee]]></category> <category><![CDATA[hussein obama]]></category> <category><![CDATA[inaugural parades]]></category> <category><![CDATA[inauguration]]></category> <category><![CDATA[nationalities]]></category> <category><![CDATA[neighborhood]]></category> <category><![CDATA[obama]]></category> <category><![CDATA[one hundred days]]></category> <category><![CDATA[openness]]></category> <category><![CDATA[participants]]></category> <category><![CDATA[pennsylvania]]></category> <category><![CDATA[pennsylvania avenue]]></category> <category><![CDATA[pleasure]]></category> <category><![CDATA[presidencies]]></category> <category><![CDATA[presidency]]></category> <category><![CDATA[president of the united states]]></category> <category><![CDATA[presidents]]></category> <category><![CDATA[second term]]></category> <category><![CDATA[senator barack obama]]></category> <category><![CDATA[warm coffee]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Washington]]></category> <category><![CDATA[well wishers]]></category><guid
isPermaLink="false">http://chrisabraham.com/2009/01/19/reporting-on-the-inauguration-from-dc-by-a-non-participant/</guid> <description><![CDATA[I am in Washington, DC, for the inauguration, but aside from the excitement of seeing all of my global friends as they converge on DC for the inauguration, I am not participating to any great extent.  Why?  There are two reasons . . . First, I have attended inaugurations, inaugural parades, and inauguration balls for [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div
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style="display:none">I am in Washington, DC, for the inauguration, but aside from the excitement of seeing all of my global friends as they converge on DC for the inauguration, I am not participating to any great extent.  Why?  There are two reasons . . . First, I have attended inaugurations, inaugural parades, and inauguration balls for [...]</span></a></div><p></p><div
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style="text-align: center"><img
src="http://chrisabraham.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/capitol-building-inauguration-bleachers.jpg" alt="capitol building inauguration bleachers Reporting on the Inauguration from DC by a Non Participant"  title="Reporting on the Inauguration from DC by a Non Participant" /></p><p>I am in Washington, DC, for the inauguration, but aside from the excitement of seeing all of my global friends as they converge on DC for the inauguration, I am not participating to any great extent.  Why?  There are two reasons . . .</p><p><span
id="more-5414"></span>First, I have attended inaugurations, inaugural parades, and inauguration balls for the last 20-years, starting with the election of George H. W. Bush, Bush senior, into the White House all the way through to the second inauguration of George W. Bush back in 2005, which was held on a very cold January 20th, if I remember correctly. While I had my plans set for Berlin, I didn&#8217;t have my plans set up in Washington, so I am just going to enjoy the pleasures on the fringe.</p><p>Second, while I am blissed out that Senator Barack Obama will be inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, I am allergic to two-million historical well-wishers crowding the National Mall.</p><p>I have to be honest, I am still dazzled that the United States elected an African American from Hawaii by the name of Barack Hussein Obama, especially in such jingoistic times. And I am proud and impressed and looking forward to not just the first one-hundred days but also to the second term.</p><p>The Obama White House really needs to be an eight-year presidency &#8212; two terms &#8212; because there is a lot of work to both do and <em>undo</em>.</p><p>What I do plan to do, however, is open up <a
href="http://www.naval-lodge.org/">Naval Lodge 4</a> on Capitol Hill at 8 AM. I will be serving hot coffee and donuts from the 4th floor of <a
href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=330+Pennsylvania+Ave+SE,+Washington,+District+of+Columbia,+District+of+Columbia+20003&amp;oe=utf-8&amp;client=firefox-a&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;hl=en&amp;cd=1&amp;geocode=Fe1dUQIddQ9p-w&amp;split=0&amp;ll=38.887459,-77.000964&amp;spn=0.00785,0.013819&amp;t=h&amp;z=16&amp;iwloc=addr">330 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE</a>. So, if you&#8217;re in the neighborhood and want some warm coffee, some company, and maybe a donut or two, please drop by for a cuppa.</p><script type="text/javascript">(function() {var s = document.createElement('SCRIPT'), s1 = document.getElementsByTagName('SCRIPT')[0];s.type = 'text/javascript';s.async = true;s.src = 'http://widgets.digg.com/buttons.js';s1.parentNode.insertBefore(s, s1);})();</script><a
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isPermaLink="false">http://chrisabraham.com/2008/10/10/sarah-palin-comment-thread-par-excellence/</guid> <description><![CDATA[If you have not been keeping on top of all of the great comments streaming in to the AH Poll entitled &#8220;If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Palin be competent to be President?&#8221; you are really missing out! Some of them are the most insightful, thoughtful, and brilliant collection of thoughts representing [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div
style="float:left;margin:10px 10px 0px 0px;"> <a
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style="display:none">If you have not been keeping on top of all of the great comments streaming in to the AH Poll entitled &#8220;If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Palin be competent to be President?&#8221; you are really missing out! Some of them are the most insightful, thoughtful, and brilliant collection of thoughts representing [...]</span></a></div><p></p><div
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/> </a></div><p>If you have not been keeping on top of all of the great comments streaming in to the <a
href="http://ahpoll.com">AH Poll</a> entitled <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/palin/">&#8220;If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Palin be competent to be President?&#8221;</a> you are really missing out!  Some of them are the most insightful, thoughtful, and brilliant collection of thoughts representing the best and the worst of the right and the left! Roll up your sleeves and batten your hatches because you&#8217;re going to have one hell of a ride. Oh, also, these comments are in reverse-chronological order so the most recent are at the top. If you want to keep track of them live, please <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/palin/#comments">go visit them where they love and breathe</a>. Read below for the most amazing Sarah Palin comment thread of the Internets!<br
/> <span
id="more-5087"></span></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-147">Palin = MORON</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://sogetthis.com" rel="nofollow">Anonymous</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/10/2008 &#8211; 12:58.</div><div><p>Only  a complete moron would vote for a Republican after the past 8 years of  idiocy. McCain is a Bush croney and Palin is just an idiot.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/147">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/147/Palin-MORON">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-146"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-146">reply to KB in IA</a></div><div> Submitted by ab (not verified) on Fri, 10/10/2008 &#8211; 08:52.</div><div><p>KB,<br
/> Sorry, I don&#8217;t usually reply to these remarks, but I couldn&#8217;t resist&#8230;&#8230;..<br
/> What message of &#8220;hate&#8221; are you talking about?<br
/> If someone doesn&#8217;t agree with your worldview, that doesn&#8217;t<br
/> mean they hate. Where is your tolerance?<br
/> AB</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/146">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/146/reply-KB-IA">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-145"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-145">Palin</a></div><div> Submitted by Walter Arndt (not verified) on Thu, 10/09/2008 &#8211; 22:23.</div><div><p>Only a person with his head in the sand would vote for a democrat.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/145">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/145/Palin">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-144"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-144">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by KB in IA (not verified) on Thu, 10/09/2008 &#8211; 21:54.</div><div><p>Things  might get interesting soon, since the Alaska Supreme Court said today  that the investigation known as Troopergate could proceed, dashing the  hopes of the McCain/Palin campaign to stonewall it until after the  election (article at <a
href="http://www.adn.com" title="www.adn.com">www.adn.com</a>).  Amazing that someone CURRENTLY under investigation for misuse of public  office, could be stirring up crowds with a message of hate.  Mind-boggling that someone who had to attend 5 or 6 different colleges  before getting a degree in journalism, can try to make a bogeyman out  of someone who graduated with honors from Harvard Law. I hope Alaska  gets their Governor back soon&#8230;if they even want her back.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/144">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/144/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-143"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-143">Re: Palin</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 10/09/2008 &#8211; 18:06.</div><div><p>Are  you as crazy as she is? It IS the republican party that has messed up  this Country over the last 8 yrs. We may not get out of this mess we  are in. Take your head out of the sand. Obama IS the best selection  this election.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/143">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/143/Re-Palin">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-142"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-142">Qualified?</a></div><div> Submitted by  Leo (not verified) on Thu, 10/09/2008 &#8211; 17:17.</div><div><p>Mrs.  Palin is much more qualified to be President than Obama who has done  absolutely nothing but organize thugs in ACORN! She could save this  Country from Socialism and all the corruption the Democrats are up to.  He is not capable of telling the truth and Hollywood and the Media are  doing their best to cover for him. He is not qualified to be a Senator  and should be on trial for treason.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/142">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/142/Qualified">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-141"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-141">Pailin </a></div><div> Submitted by GE Mayer (not verified) on Thu, 10/09/2008 &#8211; 16:53.</div><div><p>Not  only is Palin not qualified to be Vice President much less President, I  am incensed, that John McCain would insult my intellegence by picking  such a &#8220;newby&#8221; above several well qualified, experienced women who have  served the country and the Republican party.<br
/> I expect my Comander in Chief to Carefully sellect an individual more  qualified than him/herself to take over. It shows John&#8217;s thinking.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/141">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/141/Pailin">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-140"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-140">Palin?  Presidential material?  No, doggone it!</a></div><div> Submitted by Krissi (not verified) on Wed, 10/08/2008 &#8211; 21:35.</div><div><p>While  I admire Sarah Palin&#8217;s spunk and determination, I think that she is  completely out of her league as not only a vice president but also a  president. If people would take a good look at her record, they&#8217;d see  that she doesn&#8217;t even have a good grasp of the issues.</p><p>In addition, she&#8217;s been caught in numerous lies and distortions. For  example, she did not sell a jet on eBay &#8212; she tried but failed; the  jet was sold later to a private buyer. She did not leave the town of  Wasilla financially sound; she left it in debt. She says she;ll be a  strong supporter of kids with needs. In truth, Palin actually slashed  funding for schools for special needs kids by 62%.</p><p>And her famous, &#8220;I told the Congress &#8220;thanks, but no thanks,&#8221; for  that Bridge to Nowhere. If our state wanted a bridge, we&#8217;d build it  ourselves&#8221; line? More spin. Congress&#8217; requirement that funds be spent  on that bridge (aka the &#8216;earmark&#8217;) were removed before Sarah Palin  became governor. She was, therefore, in no position to tell Congress  anything about the bridge, one way or the other. During her campaign,  she said she supported funding for the bridge.</p><p>There are more examples, of the fibs and many examples of her poor  insight into our nation&#8217;s problems. I could list them all, but I  encourage you to do your own homework (forwarded emails DO NO COUNT)!</p><p>If MCCain and Palin win this election, I&#8217;ll probably be hoping for a lengthy, overseas assignment &#8212; maybe four years or more!</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/140">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/140/Palin-Presidential-material-No-doggone-it">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-139"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-139">Palin is Failin</a></div><div> Submitted by GA for Brains in the White House (not verified) on Wed, 10/08/2008 &#8211; 21:02.</div><div><p>W &#8211; below C student<br
/> McCain &#8211; at the bottom of his class<br
/> Are we really electing the best? Shouldn&#8217;t we elect someone better than  we are? And someone not ready for the assisted living home? Someone who  can remember the name of his opponent instead of calling him &#8220;that  one&#8221;. McCain left right away after the debate &#8211; seniors do go to bed  early, probably past his bedtime. As for integrity, check out McCain&#8217;s  involvement in the S&#038;L bailout, he was right there along side W&#8217;s  brother Neil. All working to steal investors&#8217; money. Just like King  Henry is doing now, rewarding his Wall St. buddies.</p><p><strong>And we wonder why this happens to us???</strong></p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/139">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/139/Palin-Failin">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-138"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-138">Palin</a></div><div> Submitted by Ed Sherrill (not verified) on Wed, 10/08/2008 &#8211; 10:49.</div><div><p>Not  only is Sarah Palin competent to become President, she is idealogically  and tempermentally better suited to be President than John McCain.  Republicans are going to be very sorry thet chose McCain over Mitt  Romney. I only pray the Democrates don&#8217;t screw up the country so bad  over the next four years that it can&#8217;t be fixed.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/138">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/138/Palin">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-136"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-136">Is she for real?</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 10/07/2008 &#8211; 22:13.</div><div><p>If  Joe Biden winked at the camera 5-6 times during the debate, wouldn&#8217;t we  be calling him a pervert? Come on people, get serious. Sarah Palin is a  joke &#8212; an embarrassment to Americans who take our politics &#8212; and the  plight of our country &#8212; seriously.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/136">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/136/she-real">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-134"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-134">Is Sarah Palin Qualified to be President?</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.selfhelpdaily.com" rel="nofollow">Joi</a> (not verified) on Tue, 10/07/2008 &#8211; 13:34.</div><div><p>To  be sure, Sarah Palin doesn&#8217;t deserve the crucifixion the media and  entertainment world are giving her (and her family). McCain might  deserve some of it, after all &#8211; he picked her. Why? She&#8217;s female. I  admire the man completely &#8211; he is an American hero and I can&#8217;t even  begin to imagine the hell this brave man endured.</p><p>However, when it came to choose running mates, I belive Obama chose  one that was best for the country and McCain chose one (he thought) was  best for the campaign.</p><p>I THINK that he lost the race with his choice.  I KNOW he lost my vote.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/134">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/134/Sarah-Palin-Qualified-be-President">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-133"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-133">Surprising VP choice</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow">olivier blanchard</a> (not verified) on Tue, 10/07/2008 &#8211; 13:30.</div><div><p>Hindsight  is always 20/20. Perhaps Gov. Palin&#8217;s weaknesses weren&#8217;t 100% obvious  to Sen. McCain when he picked her. (So much for due diligence, I  guess.) Did he want a dynamic, charismatic, family-friendly VP  running-mate? Of course. And she fit the bill&#8230; on the surface, at  least. But honestly, weren&#8217;t there better choices (male or female) for  the job? Competent, charismatic, appealing, worldly Republican  governors or senators? People he actually knows and trusts? 30 years in  politics, and he can&#8217;t think of a single person he has worked with who  would be a better choice for a running mate? He goes with a complete  stranger? I find that bizarre. Irresponsible, even. I just don&#8217;t get  it. There are plenty of smart, competent, experienced women in the  Republican Party who would have made a great running mate.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/133">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/133/Surprising-VP-choice">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-132"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-132">Don&#8217;t confuse appeal with competence</a></div><div> Submitted by DBStevens (not verified) on Tue, 10/07/2008 &#8211; 12:21.</div><div><p>Too  many people in this country confuse personal appeal with competence,  and make decisions based on who&#8217;s the most charming or even who&#8217;s  sexiest. Or they make decisions based on generalities such as &#8220;we need  a woman in the White House.&#8221; A COMPETENT woman in the White House would  be a great asset to this country. There is no doubt of that.</p><p>But we can&#8217;t decide the leaders of our country based on a visceral  reaction to her charm and folksy demeanor (there is a lot of doubt as  to the sincerity of that demeanor anyway&#8230;she shows signs of being  rather ruthless). During these times of uncertainty and fear, it&#8217;s  natural to want some comfort, to feel that the person leading our  country is down-to-earth and &#8220;real.&#8217; We felt good about Bush and people  like Rudy Guiliani for a short time right after 9/11. They appealed to  our emotions and need for reassurance. But that demeanor means nothing.  It&#8217;s the actions that matter, and in the time following 9/11, both Bush  and Guiliani&#8217;s true nature was revealed&#8230; incompetence and  self-serving.</p><p>Sarah Palin acts cute and has a pretty face. That&#8217;s perfect for  president of the PTA. But has not gained enough experience to be  president of a country. The job of Vice-President or President is NOT  an &#8220;on-the-job-training&#8221; type of job. Being Mayor of a tiny town in a  remote state, then Governer of that remote, sparsely populated state  (670,000, way smaller than a city like El Paso, TX) is not enough  experience to lead a country whose every move has global implications.  Palin treated the job of Governer like a telecommuting job, she worked  form her hown home for 86% of the year.</p><p>No matter how intelligent she may seem to be, no matter how  ambitious or driven she may seem, and ESPECIALLY no matter how pretty  or charming she is, she is not ready for the responsibilities of a job  like President. Without experience, without having the time to really  begin to understand the nature of national and global dealings on every  level, no matter how much coaching or guidance she would receive, Palin  would either crumble under pressure or make very bad decisions with  repercussions that could shake this country and its international  stature to the core. Or she wouldn&#8217;t act quickly enough at  all&#8230;stalling and deflecting decisions (as she does with many  questions, or with such events as the investigation dubbeed  &#8220;Troopergate&#8221;).</p><p>I also worry about the demands of her family. During times of her  family&#8217;s need, do we want someone faced with the dilemma of either  neglecting her family&#8217;s needs because of her duties as Vice-President,  or neglecting the VP duties because of her family&#8217;s needs? Neither of  those are good choices&#8230;.Sarah Palin has too many personal  responsibilities.</p><p>Palin also shows all the signs of behavior very similar to  Bush&#8217;s&#8230;including a tendency toward cronyism, abuse of power, and  self-serving decisions that flout the law.</p><p>She even mispronounces the word &#8220;nuclear&#8221; just like Bush. Certainly  that&#8217;s a small point, and that pronunciation is commonly recognized as  a sub-standard metathesis of the word, but it&#8217;s very annoying to listen  to.</p><p>So wake up American. Move your responses from your gut to your  brains, and make sure you understand the repercussions of your vote.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/132">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/132/Dont-confuse-appeal-competence">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-131"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-131">I&#8217;m moving&#8230;</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.andyosier.com" rel="nofollow">Andy Osier</a> (not verified) on Tue, 10/07/2008 &#8211; 10:15.</div><div><p>John  McCain himself isn&#8217;t capable of running the country; I shudder to think  of the train wreck a Palin administration would be. If they win, I&#8217;m  seriously considering a moving. How&#8217;s the January weather in Berlin,  Chris?</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/131">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/131/Im-moving">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-130"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-130">Big State&#8230;&#8230;little experience!</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/126" rel="nofollow">Anonymous</a> (not verified) on Mon, 10/06/2008 &#8211; 18:11.</div><div><p>Granted, we&#8217;ve got plenty to worry about at home!<br
/> But we&#8217;re talking about a Governor of a state bordered by 2 foreign  countries, Palin is the proud NEW owner of a passport! (barely 1 year)<br
/> The world is smaller than ever and so is our standing in it. We don&#8217;t  need &#8220;a little Wasilla in Washington&#8221;. We already have a narrow minded  view of the world with our current administration.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/130">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/130/Big-Statelittle-experience">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-129"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-129">Palin for presidnet?</a></div><div> Submitted by Joyce (not verified) on Mon, 10/06/2008 &#8211; 16:49.</div><div><p>She  would call on the brightest brains in the Republican party, put them in  positions of power and support, and do her best to do the best she  could for her country. She&#8217;s an acheiver and would never accept failure  for herself. She has Condeleesa, Romneys, Huckabees and several others  who want to serve and members to help and advise her. Her history shows  that she uses support and advise to guide her towards her goals and  accomplishments. She would take the credit for it too.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/129">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/129/Palin-presidnet">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-128"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-128">Re: If McCain dies is America Screwed?</a></div><div> Submitted by Allison (not verified) on Mon, 10/06/2008 &#8211; 15:10.</div><div><p>Palin  is the only person that does not have someone dictating what she says  about policy and does not try to appear to have all of the answers. She  certainly knows how to find the answers. She has integrity, and knows  truth when she sees it and definitely has mankind&#8217;s best interests as  her priority. These are some of the things that make her the best  candidate for the job. I am sick and tired of politicians with agendas!  She is a real person that is capable of any good, or decent task put  before her. She will also employ the same type of people to work beside  and under her. The point that she is not capable of selling us down  stream for a special interest group, or her own pocket, or fame makes  her my choice in a leader &#8211; regardless of the presence of McCain.  Allison</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/128">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/128/Re-If-McCain-dies-America-Screwed">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-127"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-127">Re: If McCain dies is America Screwed?</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/06/2008 &#8211; 15:08.</div><div><p>Palin  is the only person that does not have someone dictating what she says  about policy and does not try to appear to have all of the answers. She  certainly knows how to find the answers. She has integrity, and knows  truth when she sees it and definitely has mankind&#8217;s best interests as  her priority. These are some of the things that make her the best  candidate for the job. I am sick and tired of politicians with agendas!  She is a real person that is capable of any good, or decent task put  before her. She will also employ the same type of people to work beside  and under her. The point that she is not capable of selling us down  stream for a special interest group, or her own pocket, or fame makes  her my choice in a leader &#8211; regardless of the presence of McCain.  Allison</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/127">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/127/Re-If-McCain-dies-America-Screwed">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-126"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-126">Re: Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/06/2008 &#8211; 12:47.</div><div><p>She didn&#8217;t ride in on her &#8220;own merits&#8221; She rode in on her SEX. PERIOD.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/126">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/126/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-125"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-125">If McCain dies is America Screwed?</a></div><div> Submitted by RisingFromDecadence (not verified) on Mon, 10/06/2008 &#8211; 12:17.</div><div><p>It&#8217;s  the most frightening and compelling reason to not elect McCain to date.  It&#8217; clear that the choice was to win vs. what&#8217;s right for the country.  And it saddens me that with so many strong female candidates out there  McCain has landed on this choice. It speaks volumes of his lack of  sound judgement and doesn&#8217;t do justice to the feminist movement.</p><p>I couldn&#8217;t agree more with &#8220;Double Standard&#8217;s&#8221; comments about  education, and intelligence vs. the &#8220;experience&#8221; of a low-population  governor. Has it somehow become a negative trait for our president to  be articulate well educated and even published?</p><p>I think its safe to now say, like every great civilization, America  has grown from it&#8217;s indestructible, can-do &#8220;adolescence,&#8221; and has  entered it&#8217;s &#8220;decadent&#8221; period of greed, fear, fat and a lack of clear  vision. America needs a president who will bring intelligence, a new  vision, and optimism so that we don&#8217;t lose the real values we&#8217;ve grown  up to believe are American such as truth, innovation, compassion,  charity and vision.</p><p>Our values as a nation should not be confused with same sex  marriages or religious agendas. I seem to remember from my grade school  social studies classes that America was born as a nation with the  purpose and promise of many freedoms. Personal choice values are not to  be mixed with National values. Growing up, this difference has been why  I&#8217;ve been so proud to be an American. In the last 8 years much has  changed. I believe that only with the leadership of Obama will we be  able to regain our credibility and our course as a nation. Most  importantly, America could be &#8220;Proud Again.&#8221;</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/125">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/125/If-McCain-dies-America-Screwed">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-124"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-124">Answer the question</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://ascannerbrightly.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Jaz-Michael King</a> (not verified) on Mon, 10/06/2008 &#8211; 10:40.</div><div><p>As  an unbiased, unable-to-vote immigrant, can I point out that as usual,  from either of your minimalist two sides, when the question is simply  If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Palin be  competent to be President?&#8221;, the arguments spin off to why the opponent  isn&#8217;t. Maybe that will be the next question, but like I wanted to yell  at Palin while watching the debate&#8230; answer the question posed to you.</p><p>Everyone has their weak points, and in some respects, Obama, who has  considerably more than two years in the US Senate as his experience (he  was a state senator, you know) has plenty. However, I think there&#8217;s a  good reason hockey moms and joe sixpacks don&#8217;t run. No-one wants  regular folk in charge. You all want a ruling elite no matter how much  you profess to the contrary.</p><p>There are plenty of strong, competent women on both sides of the aisle in the USA. Gov. Palin is not one of them.</p><p>She is not qualified because she is not qualified. Being as  unqualified as anyone you wish to compare her to does not make her  qualified. Her inabilty to answer a straight question makes her  unqualified. I personally believe the fact she is the kind of person  who can compete in a beauty contest makes her unqualified. And as of  today, her assertion that Obama&#8217;s political career started off in the  living room of a terrorist (all of a sudden, he&#8217;s been a politician a  lot longer than two years according to the Republicans) has pulled her  from the absurd to the surreal.</p><p>Don&#8217;t get me wrong, Obama seems to pander to some vaporous &#8220;change&#8221; mentality, but that wasn&#8217;t the question.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/124">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/124/Answer-question">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-123"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-123">Palin Unqualified</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous jones (not verified) on Mon, 10/06/2008 &#8211; 09:16.</div><div><p>The  difference between Obama and Palin is that Obama thinks. He&#8217;s smart  enough to go to Harvard, graduate high enough in his class to be  president of the Harvard Law Review there. He&#8217;s a thinker who doesn&#8217;t  shoot from the hip. He knows the Constitution inside and out and knows  if something is just a whim to increase his own power compared to a  great idea which would help millions of people (think fairer taxes,  health insurance coverage). Palin bankrupted Wasilla which is now 23.5  MILLION dollars in debt. She has no idea of what real issues are out  there&#8212;she doesn&#8217;t have any idea of what to do in a financial  situation, a diplomatic situation or anything beyond her own home. She  shows no compassion for others who are not in her situation (religious,  financial, educational, political) and has no international experience.  We do not need another DOPE in the White House. McCain has shown very  poor judgment in choosing an under-educated (a BA is like a high school  degree these days) fool rather than a smart, intellectually  sophisticated worthy VP candidate. This is a sellout of the Democratic  process. Such a shame. But then again, McCain graduated at the bottom  of his class (894 out of 899), so what does he want with a smart second?</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/123">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/123/Palin-Unqualified">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-122"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-122">Just because she could, does not mean she should.</a></div><div> Submitted by Bjshazam (not verified) on Sun, 10/05/2008 &#8211; 22:34.</div><div><p>Does  it not trouble anyone who has been posting here that we have reached  this point at all? I&#8217;ve been writing draft after draft of posts here,  trying to find the right balance that won&#8217;t come across as too  ideological, or that won&#8217;t be automatically dismissed by the true  sycophants because it contains some Left or Right code word that  justifies their turning off of the brain. Can&#8217;t do it. She&#8217;s too  dangerous, and it angers me so much that we as a country have been put  in the position of having to opine about the staggering impropriety of  her selection as McCain&#8217;s running mate.</p><p>Consider:</p><p>My brother is a great guy. Smart as a whip, with what I think is  decent judgment (except for his love of the Yankees). I trust him  implicitly. So, should I be in a position to name him to, say, the  Supreme Court, I would expect no questions from anyone about his  qualifications. According to the Constitution, he is legally qualified  to be a Justice, even the Chief Justice. I already told you he is smart  and has good judgment. What else do you need to know? How dare you  question my choice or his desire to serve?</p><p>The President of the United States has a mind bogglingly huge amount  of discretion in executing the job. The president can, without  obstruction by court or Congress, lay waste to our financial system,  impede entirely the execution of justice, or unleash Armageddon. The  office of the president can disband virtually unilaterally the entirety  of the intelligence gathering power of the U.S., or focus it all on the  least secure among us &#8212; with no recourse by anyone.</p><p>Most of the time, this isn&#8217;t an issue. Regardless of your political  persuasion, we have been blessed mostly with chief executives that took  the burdens of job dead seriously. A president of the entire country,  not just those who cast the votes.</p><p>Now the bar has been set so low that we cannot figure out the right  words to describe how wrong it is for a candidate to relish the fact  that she really doesn&#8217;t understand the job the Constitution has laid  out. That this is somehow an asset to a campaign makes me ashamed for  my country.</p><p>That John McCain affirmatively foisted this train wreck upon his own  party, and possibly upon the country, is a sin for which he should  never be forgiven.</p><p>That she is considered by some to be the next face of the GOP, and a  real contender for the nomination next time around, should make my GOP  colleagues shudder and the nation weep.</p><p>I don&#8217;t want a hockey mom or joe six-pack running the country. Hell,  I don&#8217;t want anyone like me running the country. I want a president.  And she is not it.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/122">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/122/Just-because-she-could-does-not-mean-she-should">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-121"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-121">make that Palin UNQUALIFIED PERIOD</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/05/2008 &#8211; 22:25.</div><div><p>Darn, brain outrunning my fingers.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/121">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/121/make-Palin-UNQUALIFIED-PERIOD">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-120"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-120">Palin qualified period</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/05/2008 &#8211; 22:22.</div><div><p>And  the mental midgets who are using that as a ruse to comment on Obama  miss the entire point. Biden IS qualified to fill in shoudl something  happen to Obama (go to smoking gun to see why that IS an issue).</p><p>Palin is a bimbo and if you do not think so, Palin supporters, then  take this simple acid test: were it Obama who made those brain dead  comments instead of Palin, what would you be saying about him? Gotcha!</p><p>jim</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/120">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/120/Palin-qualified-period">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-119"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-119">Palin Not Qualified</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/05/2008 &#8211; 22:01.</div><div><p>Anyone  that believes that Sarah Palin is qualified to be President is kidding  themselves. It has nothing to do with the fact that she is a woman. The  fact that she is SO unqualified is what made her pick an insult to  every hard-working, intelligent woman out there. She was picked for her  good looks and her folksy charm. There were MANY more qualified women  in the ranks of the Republican party that could have been chosen.<br
/> Palin attended five different colleges before she was finally able to  stick out a degree program. She majored in journalism and  communications and couldn&#8217;t name ONE newspaper or magazine that she  reads on a regular basis. She minored in political science and doesn&#8217;t  know what the Vice President&#8217;s role and duties are in our government.  She has abused her power in every political post she has been elected  to, has lied about her record both as mayor and governor and her short  political career has been marked by scandal. She says that she fought  the energy interests in Alaska, but her campaigns have all been heavily  funded by energy companies.<br
/> In short, she&#8217;s not smart, she&#8217;s lacks integrity, she has gotten most  of what she has attained on her looks and charm and these things don&#8217;t  add up to someone who is qualified for Vice President, nevermind the  Presidency. If you want her to be your leader, move to Alaska. This  country and the world cannot afford another incompetent leader at the  helm. One more bumbling idiot at the helm will spell doom for the  future of all of the citizens of this country.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/119">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/119/Palin-Not-Qualified">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-118"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-118">qualifications.</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://crazypolitics.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Crazy Politico</a> (not verified) on Sun, 10/05/2008 &#8211; 20:10.</div><div><p>If Gov. Palin isn&#8217;t qualified to &#8220;POSSIBLY&#8221; become president, then what of Barack Obama?</p><p>What exactly is his qualification for the job? A couple of  non-descript years in the Senate with no major legislation to show for  that time? A history of voting &#8220;Here&#8221; on controversial issues so as to  keep a rather neutral record when running for the next higher office?</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/118">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/118/qualifications">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-117"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-117">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/05/2008 &#8211; 14:49.</div><div><p>Does  she have enough political experience for the position of president? I  would say not&#8230;.. but then again, there&#8217;s nothing like a long run of a  president that can&#8217;t even string a sentence together in English to  remind you that you don&#8217;t really need much skill for the job. It&#8217;s  whose behind the president that counts no?</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/117">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/117/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-116"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-116">Is Palin Qualified to be President?</a></div><div> Submitted by Thoughtful_Independent (not verified) on Sun, 10/05/2008 &#8211; 11:49.</div><div><p>I&#8217;m  a registered independent. I was waiting for the VP picks to be made  before making my mind up. VP&#8217;s Gore and Cheney have both illustrated  the growing importance of the VP position in the Executive Branch. The  magnitude of the nations and worlds problems highlight the fact that  the top two elected officials in the US need to have a wide range of  capabilities., strong intellect, and global perspective. At minimum,  the President needs a knowledgeable confidant and advisor he/she can  trust.</p><p>For all of her folksy charm, Governor Palin displays very little of  these qualities or qualifications. If you take the time to investigate  the educational and professional accomplishments of our sitting VP&#8217;s  over the past 50 years, even the most biased observer would conclude  that Governor Palin would be the least educated and least experienced.  If you don&#8217;t have the time to look at all of them, just compare her  against Dan Quayle who was arguably the weakest of the sitting VP&#8217;s.  Quayle&#8217;s accomplishments at the time he was selected as Bush&#8217;s running  mate dwarf Palin&#8217;s.</p><p>Upon inspection, the rabid and exaggerated claims about her energy  expertise and executive experience vaporize (the claims of foreign  policy experience are not even a valid topic). Living in an oil rich  state, shuffling petrodollars from the oil companies to the citizens in  the form of dividends, &#8220;negotiating&#8221; potential terms of a yet unplanned  and unfunded natural gas pipeline, and a college degree in journalism  do not qualify one as an energy expert.</p><p>Furthermore, the role of Governor of Alaska is diminished in  complexity compared to the Governors of the lower 48 due to factors  such as: 1) very small population (the whole state has a population  smaller than typical medium sized US cities), 2) the largest Alaskan  cities are smaller than many small ciities or large towns in the lower  48 (Anchorage = ~280K, Fairbanks = ~35K, Juneau = ~35K), 3) low  industrial output (Alaska is ranked near the bottom compared to the  other 50 states), and 4) a budget which is majority funded by revenues  from oil and gas companies. The hardest problem of the Alaskan governor  appears to be deciding how much money to send from the Permanent Fund  to the citizens versus how much to stash away for a future time when  oil revenues begin declining.</p><p>I find the argument that Palin has more &#8220;executive experience&#8221; than  McCain, Obama or Biden to be disingenuous. If executive experience is  really so important, Mitt Romney should be the Republican candidate for  President or, at minimum, the VP candidate. While I was not a huge fan  of Mr. Romney, his skillset is so superior to Palin&#8217;s that comparisons  are impossible. The same can be said with respect to experience in  matters of the economy. Ironically, Mr. Romney&#8217;s biggest shortcoming  appeared to be that he was a Washington outsider. Now being from our  most remote state is a strength for Palin?</p><p>My perspective is that the most successful Presidents of the last 50  years (for arguments sake Eisenhower, Reagan and Clinton) were able to  balance their core idealogical positions with advocacy for programs and  policies that improved the situation for the majority of US citizens  and improved our stature in the global community. Each of these  Presidents had well educated and highly skilled running mates. As an  Independent who holds a blend of conservative and liberal positions,  this mix is what I am weighing the most. My assessment is that  Obama/Biden have a better overall leadership/intelligence/world view  profile than McCain/Palin. McCain could have selected a male or female  running mate who would have tilted my assessment in his favor.  Unfortunately, for reasons only he and his advisors can comprehend, he  went with a female ideologue with weak academic, intellectual and  professional skills.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/116">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/116/Palin-Qualified-be-President">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-115"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-115">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/05/2008 &#8211; 06:15.</div><div><p>@  CanIGet2NewZealand</p><p>What does it take to satisfy people like you?<br
/> or&#8230; is this a display of jealousy ? Ms Palin does make a rather  impressive appearance on a simple &#8216;ride in from the Wilds of Alaska&#8217;.<br
/> Instead of complimenting a person on a job well done you prefer to show the &#8220;cat fight&#8221; attitude.<br
/> What has Obama more than Palin?</p><p>If Obama had been a white boy from Illinois, would he have received  the nomination of the Dem Party? If your answer is NO _ then you must  vote for Palin for she rode in on her own merits not on her skin color!</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/115">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/115/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-114"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-114">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://questionitnow.com/educationb" rel="nofollow">REB 84</a> (not verified) on Sun, 10/05/2008 &#8211; 00:35.</div><div><p>Would John McCain be a competent president?  This is a question you should be asking.<br
/> <a
href="http://questionitnow.com/educationb/2008/09/which-is-real-mccain.html"> QuestionItNow &#8211; Will America lead?</a></p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/114">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/114/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-113"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-113">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by CanIGet2NewZealand (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 19:28.</div><div><p>Palin has been governor of a state with the population of Poughkeepsie, New York .</p><p>The State of Alaska, despite its conservative appearance has been  giving out money to its citizens from its oil dividens (Alaska  Permanent Fund) (<a
href="http://www.newamerica.net/publications/articles/2003/sharing_alaska_style" title="http://www.newamerica.net/publications/articles/2003/sharing_alaska_style">http://www.newamerica.net/publications/articles/2003/sharing_alaska_style</a>)  since the 1970&#8242;s. The money Palin boasts about giving her citizens is  money of this sort, the citizens of Alaska have been receiving these  payments for almost 40 years. How can she use these payments as part of  a discussion of her fiscal capabilities as Governor?</p><p>Governor Palin impresses me as being a cross between a Barbie Doll  and that really annoying head cheerleader that the intelligent girls  all could not stand in highschool.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/113">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/113/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-112"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-112">Palin was a mistake for McCain in the 1st Place</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.ireport.com/people/FranklinB?view=documents&#038;viewingAsOthers=true" rel="nofollow">FranklinB</a> (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 16:52.</div><div><p>I  have been publishing my thoughts on this matter for awhile now  regarding the selection of Sarah Palin for VP. I gave my views on her  initial selection here:</p><p>Did John McCain have good judgement?<br
/> <a
href="http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-72657" title="http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-72657">http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-72657</a></p><p>Sarah Palin is not my Vice President<br
/> <a
href="http://digitalseller.tblog.com/post/1970016179" title="http://digitalseller.tblog.com/post/1970016179">http://digitalseller.tblog.com/post/1970016179</a></p><p>Sarah Palin is just another pretty face<br
/> <a
href="http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-86323" title="http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-86323">http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-86323</a></p><p>McCain will have to pick a new VP<br
/> <a
href="http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-94699" title="http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-94699">http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-94699</a></p><p>VP Debate was great, for Biden and Obama<br
/> <a
href="http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-102625" title="http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-102625">http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-102625</a></p><p>Overall I agree that McCain is kind of a maverick, but also he is a  big gambler. Instead of picking one of the most qualified in the arena,  he went outside to a relatively unknown woman who he knew could  energize the base. That has happened, but with such obvious liabilities  that only a pure conservative will think she is qualified, because pure  conservatives don&#8217;t care who is in that position as long as that person  is republican, conservative and can walk &#038; talk. Hannity has said  publicly that he believes she would be qualified to fill the top job,  and so did Limbaugh as well. I got yelled at the other day by one of my  very oldest and best friends who couldn&#8217;t believe I didn&#8217;t think she  was for real. That was before the Couric interview. Now after the  debate I know I have made the right choice with Obama and Biden. The  financial collapse is bad enough, but if there was a President Palin  someday, it could be an even worse disaster for our country.</p><p>Obama and Biden are consistant in their positions on the Iraq war  and other matters regarding the need to help the middle class. I  believe McCain has no interest in the working class folks in this  country, and even if Palin does have that interest, she is not  knowledgeable enough to make any difference. JMHO</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/112">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/112/Palin-was-mistake-McCain-1st-Place">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-111"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-111">You&#8217;re Kidding, right?</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://onthebloc.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Shelly Roberts</a> (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 14:04.</div><div><p>Sarah  Pallin is an embarrassment to the Republican Party, who may well be  qualified to run for PTA vice president, but hardly for the  heart-beat-away position of Vice President of the United States.</p><p>In the debate with Sen. Bieden Palin spoke repeatedly an d stiltedly  from obviousy drilled-in talking points rather than from any  appropriate knowledge. With a wooden, albeit cheerful presentation  worthy of earning her the title of Best Stepford Candidate.</p><p>Palin&#8217;s presentation was a constant one-note, praise-singing  golly/gee campaign advertiisement for John McCain, and did litttle if  anything to present any viable credentials as a candidate for the high  office into which she has been so thoughtlessly thrust.</p><p>I&#8217;d pity her for the position for which she has been recruited if  the holder of that position didn&#8217;t stand such a strong chance of  becoming the leader of the free world with a 79 year old unhealthy  running mate &#8211;shudder&#8211; a horrifying thought.</p><p>It shouldn&#8217;t be enough merely that she didn&#8217;t panic, screw up or cry  to qualify her as even a contender in the so-called debate. I have some  issues with Mr. Bidden as well, but at least he came across as someone  who has done more than simply look west and north in the direction of  the former Soviet Union, and self-pronounce a competency in foreign  affairs. That&#8217;s way too much like watching Animal Planet and  proclaiming veterinary competence with elephants.</p><p>Did Sarah win the debate?  She wasn&#8217;t ever even qualified to enter the race.</p><p>Is she qualified to be President regardless of the state of John McCain&#8217;s health?  You&#8217;re kidding, right?!</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/111">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/111/Youre-Kidding-right">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-110"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-110">Dummy be gone! THINK!</a></div><div> Submitted by Skillet Marimba (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 11:27.</div><div><p>The G.O.P. targets DUMMYS but DUMMYS are finally starting to wake up. Dummy be gone.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/110">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/110/Dummy-be-gone-THINK">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-108"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-108">If McCain Died, Is Sarah Palin Qualified To Lead This Nation?</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://legalconsulting.wordpress.com/2008/08/30/obama-biden-a-winning-ticketbut-obama-clinton-a-landslide-victory/" rel="nofollow">Patrick Pearce</a> (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 09:33.</div><div><p>Let  me first establish that I am not hopping on any band waggon here to  vilify or demonize Sarah Palin because she is a woman. My argument is  limited to choice. Based on both Vice Presidential Candidates, Sarah  Palin and Joe Biden of the Republican and Democratic Party  respectively, should one of these men (Whether Obama or McCain) died or  become incapacitated as President of the United States, and  constitutionally the Vice President is next in line to assume the  presidency, I unequivocally would trust the experience of Joe Biden to  lead this great Nation over Sarah Palin. I am sure I share the same  views as most sensible Americans. I used to hear that John McCain was a  stubborn man, I am now convinced. There are so many more experience and  viable Republicans out there to be VP, why did he chose Sarah Palin? If  only some of these potentially great men would listen to somebody  instead of arrogating to themselves because of ego, they would be such  great leaders. Obama-Biden victory in November, hands down! See my  recent post at: <a
href="http://legalconsulting.wordpress.com/2008/08/30/obama-biden-a-winning-ticketbut-obama-clinton-a-landslide-victory/" title="http://legalconsulting.wordpress.com/2008/08/30/obama-biden-a-winning-ticketbut-obama-clinton-a-landslide-victory/">http://legalconsulting.wordpress.com/2008/08/30/obama-biden-a-winning-ti&#8230;</a></p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/108">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/108/If-McCain-Died-Sarah-Palin-Qualified-Lead-Nation">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-107"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-107">Palin Better than Most</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://thescoundrel.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow">thescoundrel</a> (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 09:21.</div><div><p>I  tend to disbelieve anything that comes out of any politicians mouth.  Politicians are liars&#038; cheats. While they are kissing your baby  they are picking your pocket at the same time. The President&#8217;s Job is  limited. The Congress is where most of the power in this country lies.  They make legislation, they pass legislation and even if the President  vetoes that legislation, they have the power to override it. A relative  rookie politician, Palin, actually has more executive experience than  McCain, Biden or Obama. Now that is scary since she is merely a VP  nominee. I would vote for her over Obama or Biden. She has a limited  track track record of what Obama/Biden pretends to have without any  track record to prove their claims: Palin has shown the grit to fight  her own party as governor of Alaska. Obama has shown me nothing for the  time he was in my state of Illinois government or once he was elected  Senator. He was no more than a puppet to Emile Jones that is the strong  arm thug of DEmocrat Gov. Governor Blagodabitch, the soon to be cell  mate of ex Republican Gov. George Ryan. So yeah I would trust Palin  much further than I would Obama leading this nation. Obama only  understands Chicago and Springfield style corruption which he was a  part of.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/107">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/107/Palin-Better-Most">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-106"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-106">If John McCain died&#8230;</a></div><div> Submitted by Pat Baker (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 08:21.</div><div><p>To Anonymous:<br
/> I have been hollering &#8220;Double Standard&#8221; all summer&#8221;. You hit the nail  on the spot. When Obama was trained by the late great Saul Alinsky  &#038; his staff to learn how to be a better community activist, take  surveys, housing problems, school problems in the poor Chicago  districts, Palin sneered at the his outcomings, stating all those  programs arenow defunct. Her ignorance is bliss. Reason: Viet Nam war,  &#038; the 60&#8242;s riots cost us plenty At least Obama was vetted. Some  pundits t laughed him. I too, was trained by Alinsky, this great Jewish  community consultant for the poor back in the late 60&#8242;s. If Palin was  crossed examined by a Judge/Atty she would simply say I will only  answer the questions I wish to reply to. My people call it &#8220;double  standard&#8221;. Thanks, Anonymous for reminding me that I don&#8217;t need on the  job training vp by McCain/Palin ticket.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/106">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/106/If-John-McCain-died">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-104"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-104">my vote</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.squidoo.com/leanandripped" rel="nofollow">joe</a> (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 07:35.</div><div><p>Ihave  no faith or trust in any politition, democrat or republican, they all  end up shafting the middle class in the end,She will be no better or  worse than the rest of the lot.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/104">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/104/my-vote">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-103"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-103">This Election is More Irritating than Usual</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 07:26.</div><div><p>Why  do people feel someone who has been a Senator for 2 years is more  qualified to be President than in the unlikely event McCain has to be  replaced by Govenor Palin??? The other thing that keeps being over  looked is Nancy Pelosi has been two heartbeats away from President??  She is qualified?? Unfortunately, people are being too influenced by  the media and not doing there own research. Quit using the medias  opinions and form your own. Do some real research. Somethinf fun to do  is go to <a
href="http://abcnews.go.com/politics" title="http://abcnews.go.com/politics">http://abcnews.go.com/politics</a> scroll down to the Match-o-Matic II  game.  It is ver interesting.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/103">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/103/Election-More-Irritating-Usual">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-102"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-102">Does Being Governor Make Governor Palin Qalified?</a></div><div> Submitted by artbcpa (not verified) on Sat, 10/04/2008 &#8211; 01:54.</div><div><p>In  &#8220;Third Out of Four&#8221; the commentator points out that Clinton and Reagan  were both Governors before becoming President. We shouldn&#8217;t forget that  Jimmy Carter was also a Governor before becoming the most incompetent  president in the history of the United Staetes. He also may have been  among the academically brightest of all recent Presidents. What does  all that tell us?. &#8230;NOTHING.</p><p>Whether Sarah Palin was a Governor or Barack Obama was at the top of  his academic class does not ensure that either will or will not do a  good job in their respective positions.</p><p>We need to make our decision based on factors more likely to lead to  a successful Presidency. After eight years of the most secretive,  nontransparent Presidency in history, we need someone who will instill  trust in the institution of the Presidency and restore confidence in  the people of the country.</p><p>We had several such Presidents in the prior century &#8211; Franklin  Roosevelt, John Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan. Each had a vision for the  country which was clearly articulated and embraced by the people. In a  choice between the idealistic Barack Obama and the wily curmudgeon,  John McCain, Barack Obama is clearly the choice of what this country  needs at this time in history.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/102">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/102/Does-Being-Governor-Make-Governor-Palin-Qalified">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-101"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-101">Palin is not our woman.</a></div><div> Submitted by Pam (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 23:59.</div><div><p>I  know that I do not want Palin. I know that I don’t want her anywhere  near our foreign policy. I know that I don’t like what she said in the  debate about ‘expanding’ the role of vice president. I know that I  don’t like her far right, religious views that can impact the world in  a bunch of ways that I don’t like.</p><p>There are other things I don’t like about her, though, I can’t say I  am completely sure about my reasoning. I don’t like her winks and her  nods. I don’t like how she talks to us like children.</p><p>I question my own opinion about these things, as I am not sure if I  know what I want or expect in a female politician. It’s a very  important thing. This first woman. This example of all of us. This  person in whom I place so much of my future and that of my daughters.  Hmmm, too much pressure?!?</p><p>Do I want her to be more of a man than any of the men at the table?  Competing in the same way as men, but climbing the ladder in stilettos?  Or do I want her to be the nurturing female that gets things done  without men being any the wiser? With charm and feminine wiles that  could will men to do what they might not have done, otherwise?</p><p>I thought, when considering Hillary, that I didn’t want a woman  President who had a husband that is a former President. My sister then  pointed out that we might not consider too many women that did not have  such a sense of the White House.</p><p>It’s difficult. These women, up for consideration, don’t have  military backgrounds. Yet, she would be responsible for ‘pushing the  button’ and/or ending a war.</p><p>I guess, even if I did not have a problem with her foreign presence,  her religious intent or her understanding of the role she was about to  take on, I would still have an issue to deal with.</p><p>So, I don’t like Sarah, but, who do I like?  And, the bigger question for me, why?</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/101">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/101/Palin-not-our-woman">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-100"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-100">Re: Poll</a></div><div> Submitted by FD (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 23:24.</div><div><p>To King of Chatalot: I&#8217;m an independant, but I voted once and the poll will not allow me to vote again.<br
/> The only way someone could vote twice is through a proxy, but I tested that idea fater reading your comment.<br
/> It didn&#8217;t work.<br
/> I tried several different proxies, I reset my ip, and nope, it would not allow me to vote again.</p><p>Take off the tin foil hat.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/100">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/100/Re-Poll">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-99"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-99">Poll</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.chatalot.net" rel="nofollow">King of Chatalot</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 22:11.</div><div><p>I  find it amazing that Democrats would stoop so low as to make multiple  votes in this silly poll just to bend the outcome towards their way of  thinking&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;..so to make it appear as if they are the  winners&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.</p><p>&#8230;but then&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;considering that they will ultimately lose in November I&#8217;m not totally surprised&#8230;&#8230;..</p><p>&#8230;..merely amazed&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/99">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/99/Poll">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-98"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-98">Palin&#8217;s hand on the &#8220;Nukular&#8221; button? </a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://mediaconcepts.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Media Concepts</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 21:39.</div><div><p>I  can&#8217;t decide whether that&#8217;s hilarious, or horrifyingly frightening. I  think it&#8217;s both. Based on McCain&#8217;s age alone, historian Doris Kearns  Goodwin says that there&#8217;s almost a one in three chance that McCain  would die in office were he to be elected. Factor in his FOUR bouts of  Melanoma, which is often fatal regardless of the victim&#8217;s age, and  those odds increase markedly.</p><p>Something to think about.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/98">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/98/Palins-hand-Nukular-button">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-97"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-97">It&#8217;s about leadership</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://politicalvindication.com" rel="nofollow">Shane from PV</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 20:30.</div><div><p>The  presidency is about leadership, and if we can survive eight years being  led by an Arkansas governor who would rather molest the hired help than  pay attention to what Osama Bin Laden is doing, then America will do  just fine with a President Sarah Palin. She certainly has more  leadership experience than her opponents. Does that mean I would have  made her my choice for VP? I would have loved to see Mitt Romney as VP,  but she&#8217;s smart, focused, and knows how to lead. The important  question, if she should ever end up in the Oval Office, would be who  she surrounds herself with. That&#8217;s another reason why Obama would be  very scary as president. He has terrible judgment, and considering the  people he has surrounded himself with throughout his life, and the fact  that as president he will have to decide what advice to act on when it  comes to important issues &#8211; I don&#8217;t trust him to be able to distinguish  from among a bevy of poor advisers the advice least damaging.</p><p>Obama supporters, like so many on this comment board, have no idea  who Obama really is &#8211; frankly, no one does. Obama has locked up his  records, is protected by a compliant press, and says only what he  thinks Americans want to hear. He&#8217;s a charlatan, but his supporters  don&#8217;t care. <em>That&#8217;s why this question is so ironic.</em> They hate  Bush/Republicans/conservatives more than they fear the inexperience of  their presidential candidate and manchild Barack Obama. The derangement  of the left has led them to support and oppose issues not because they  want to protect their country or improve the lives of Americans, but  because they hate their adversaries and will do or say anything to beat  them (the &#8220;this war is lost&#8221; quote by Harry Reid comes to mind &#8211; how  incredibly telling). I think this frothing derangement will cause them  to self-destruct again as they did in 2000 and 2004, where Americans  got a good look at the mindless bitterness and spite that inspires the  left. McCain will win in a squeaker.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/97">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/97/Its-about-leadership">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-96"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-96">Palin is more qualified than most&#8230;</a></div><div> Submitted by Greg (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 20:24.</div><div><p>I&#8217;m  not a big political kind of guy nor do I follow many campaigns. I voted  for a democrat and a republican for president; the best person for the  job always gets my vote. But this is the first time in a long time that  I&#8217;ve seen an honest person make it this far in politics. Usually they  get creamed by the media &#8211; Palin is still holding her own. What you see  is what you get &#8211; nice change of pace especially since I&#8217;m originally  from Delaware. No doubt this isn&#8217;t true for Biden &#8211; he&#8217;s all over the  place telling you whatever it is you want to hear whenever you want to  hear it.. I don&#8217;t dislike Biden and yes, he is qualified to continue  the same old Washington politics; not what I&#8217;m looking for this year at  least.</p><p>I&#8217;m still wondering why Obama thinks Biden represents change? Not even close.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/96">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/96/Palin-more-qualified-most">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-95"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-95">Sarah Palin&#8217;s much sharper than Obama or Biden</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.morethings.com" rel="nofollow">Al Barger</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 20:08.</div><div><p>Not  to put too fine a point on it, Sarah Palin&#8217;s the sharpest person of the  four here. People I think get that when they get a good look at her as  in her famous nomination speech or last night&#8217;s vice presidential  debate.</p><p>Of course, this ain&#8217;t from lack of media attempts to Quayle-ize her.  Look at the double, triple, quadruple standards. It&#8217;s supposedly some  proof that she&#8217;s a moron that she didn&#8217;t choose to spit up a list of  newspapers she reads for Katie Couric.</p><p>But Joe Biden says the most ignorant nonsense day after day, and it  doesn&#8217;t make the news. When the current financial meltdown started a  few weeks ago, Biden was out criticizing Bush reaction. See, when the  1929 market crash happened, FDR when on television to show people that  he was involved and doing something. FDR wasn&#8217;t president, and there  was no television then. This nonsense didn&#8217;t make the news. Imagine if  Palin said something that stupid.<br
/> =====================================<br
/> Little known Palin fact:<br
/> FACT: Having run out of ammunition during a hunting trip, Sarah Palin  once took down a moose using a beauty pageant tiara as a boomerang.</p><p>More Palin fun facts I just made up, and a couple hundred pictures of our girl<br
/> <a
href="http://www.morethings.com/images/sarah_palin/sarah_palin-photo_gallery001.htm" title="http://www.morethings.com/images/sarah_palin/sarah_palin-photo_gallery001.htm">http://www.morethings.com/images/sarah_palin/sarah_palin-photo_gallery00&#8230;</a></p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/95">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/95/Sarah-Palins-much-sharper-Obama-or-Biden">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-94"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-94">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by Robert (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 20:00.</div><div><p>Joe Biden, VP  (Vice and Plagiarist)</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/94">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/94/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-93">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by Ethel W (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:50.</div><div><p>Obama has done much good thru working for ACORN.  Remember, from tiny acorns, might oak trees grow.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/93">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/93/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-92"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-92">Barack&#8217;s leadership skills in government?</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://playborhood.com" rel="nofollow">Mike Lanza</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:43.</div><div><p>Please folks &#8211; give us an example.  And please, make it a good one.</p><p>If this were an election for Student Body President, I might vote  for the dude, but he&#8217;s applying to be the Leader of the United States  of America. Is there anything in his governmental experience that  indicates that he can be a great leader? Anything?</p><p>This ain&#8217;t no popularity contest&#8230;</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/92">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/92/Baracks-leadership-skills-government">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-91"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-91">Palin as Prez? No Way</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://janetleejohnson.com" rel="nofollow">Janet Johnson</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:41.</div><div><p>I&#8217;m  tired of Sarah Palin. I&#8217;m tired of kicking her around, of waiting for  her to have a public brain freeze, of hearing her droppin&#8217; g&#8217;s and  bringing nuc-u-lur back into the lexicon (I hope we&#8217;re almost finished  with that coming out of the White House).</p><p>At the same time, I&#8217;m proud that she&#8217;s the second legitimate woman  who&#8217;s a running mate on a presidential ticket, the first to &#8220;electrify&#8221;  a country. I&#8217;m mortified as I write that, but I&#8217;m proud of that big ol&#8217;  crack in the glass ceilin&#8217; she&#8217;s added to Hilary&#8217;s 18 million others.  (sigh)</p><p>As most of your poll-takers agree, no way is she qualified to be president. God help us all if she&#8217;s a heartbeat away.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/91">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/91/Palin-Prez-No-Way">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-90"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-90">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by Stevie (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:35.</div><div><p>Do  I feel that a citizen of this country who has not kept abreast of the  foreign policy situations, and the current administration doctrines is  qualified to step in as head of state in an emergency? No&#8230;.<br
/> Do I feel that someone who will terminate people who disagree with her is worthy to be in the White House? No&#8230;&#8230;.<br
/> Do I feel that someone who feels that because she is a woman she should  be treated with deference in a television interview should be leading a  country? No&#8230;..<br
/> Does a cram session with various political pundits counteract her  inacurate knowledge of what life is like for the rest of us in the  lower 48? No&#8230;&#8230;<br
/> Does this woman have the ability to gain respect of various world  leaders particularly those from countries where women are considered to  be less than equal? no.<br
/> what we really need is a Margaret Thatcher type.. the closest we have is Hilary Clinton.<br
/> Anita Palin is no Hilary Clinton<br
/> And being a POW and being in the Vietnam War does not make you the  right person to be president either. There are plenty of Vietnam Vets  and others who were POW&#8217;s .. and they aren&#8217;t running for President&#8211;  though John Kerry did.. and he wasn&#8217;t a POW.. he served his country.  Don&#8217;t bank on that one being the ACE..</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/90">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/90/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-89"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-89">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by Ken S (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:29.</div><div><p>Or maybe Obama would want his friend Tony Rezko to advise him on ethics in government.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/89">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/89/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-88"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-88">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by Ken S (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:28.</div><div><p>Or maybe Obama would like William Ayers for his Secretary of Defense, since he knows how to blow things up.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/88">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/88/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-87"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-87">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by Ken S (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:25.</div><div><p>Maybe  Obama can install Rev. Wright as Secretary of State. All the other  nations of the world will love his philosophy: God damn America!</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/87">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/87/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-86"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-86">Re: amazing 75% believe Palin cant be President</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:23.</div><div><p>I  think where the logic breaks down is that you&#8217;re assuming all  Governor&#8217;s are created equally. An American Governor&#8217;s principal job is  running the state, and to be honest, I&#8217;m not sure how good a governor  she is, but thats for the people of Alaska to decide. But as an  American, I feel that she&#8217;s dangerously ignorant of world affairs and  issues around a global economy.</p><p>And frankly, I think we&#8217;ve had enough of that already.</p><p>On the other hand, Obama and Biden are far more savvy. If you  watched the debate, you&#8217;ll have noticed how rarely Palin answers a  direct question. She&#8217;s not dumb, but she&#8217;s not worldly either. And  worse, she revels in her inexperience.</p><p>If she ever gets into the Presidential office, you might just wish  for the good ol days when GW was in charge. And if that doesn&#8217;t scare  you, it should.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/86">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/86/Re-amazing-75-believe-Palin-cant-be-President">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-85"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-85">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by Ken S (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:21.</div><div><p>Don&#8217;t you love it when a public relations man calls people degrading, hateful names?</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/85">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/85/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-84"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-84">That is just dumb</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.dpkpr.com" rel="nofollow">Dan Keeney, APR</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:16.</div><div><p>You  and your swill slinging dopes really should stop. Aside from Billy Bobs  missing teeth with Confederate Flags in their pickups, Americans  understand that Senator Obama is as American as you or I.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/84">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/84/just-dumb">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-83"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-83">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by Ken S (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:15.</div><div><p>Someone  commented on here that we live in a Global society and therefore need  Obama. Folks, this world is getting so screwy and dangerous, that is  exactly why we do NOT need a post-modern green horn such as Obama as  POTUS. All the pie in the sky he professes is absolutely meaningless  without solid, tough, and REAL national security. Somehow, grandiose  social programs lose their luster when you have a nuclear missile up  your ass.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/83">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/83/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-82"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-82">double standard</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.madeinhead.org" rel="nofollow">Jason Preston</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:12.</div><div><p>Palin  took five tries and five years to get a journalism degree at  undistinguished schools, and managed to be an undistinguished student  at all four schools involved in her quest for a chance to be a TV  reporter. Obama was at the top of his class at every step of his  collegiate journey. When pressed three times to answer, Palin cannot  name a single existing newspaper or news magazine that she reads. If  you can&#8217;t see the difference here, perhaps you&#8217;re not an ideal student  or intellect either, but only through pride does a person lacking in a  certain virtue seek to exalt that lack. Just because I&#8217;m not tall  enough to slam dunk doesn&#8217;t mean I push for the NBA to hire more short  people! The Presidency&#8217;s the hardest job in the world, or one of them.  Stellar intellect, stellar ethics, and stellar success in life should  all be ironclad prerequisites to the job. If Palin is qualified to be  President, I am twice as qualified and will expect Palin fans&#8217; votes  when I make my run for high office.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/82">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/82/double-standard">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-81"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-81">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by Cowboy X (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:10.</div><div><p>Who  is qualified to be the President? There is no class to take to become  certified. We have to put our trust in a person. I wish that person  were Ron Paul!</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/81">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/81/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-80"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-80">amazing 75% believe Palin cant be President</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 19:00.</div><div><p>So  75% believe Palin cant be president in case something happens to  McCain. So I guess its OK to be an inexperienced presidential  candidate, but if your a vice presidential candidate who has actually  run a state, you don&#8217;t qualify. The logic here escapes me completely.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/80">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/80/amazing-75-believe-Palin-cant-be-President">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-79"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-79">Sarah Palin: Unfiltered</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.petitiononline.com/CBSPALIN/petition.html" rel="nofollow">John Schuller</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 18:50.</div><div><p>CLICK ON MY NAME TO SIGN THIS PETITION</p><p>To:  CBS News</p><p>Sarah Palin herself has requested to speak to America without the  Media Filter in the Vice Presidential debate. ?I like being able to  answer tough questions without the filter of the mainstream media  telling the American people what they just heard,? she said in her  closing.</p><p>The people of the United States of America deserve to see the CBS Katie Couric interviews with Sarah Palin in their entirety.</p><p>This should be acceptable by Republicans and Democrats as it will  let Sarah Palin talk to America without the filter created by editing  and leaving important information on the cutting room floor.</p><p>Let us see an edition of &#8220;Sarah Palin: Unfiltered&#8221;.</p><p>This will allow Americans to see the real Sarah Palin.</p><p>Sincerely,</p><p>The Undersigned</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/79">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/79/Sarah-Palin-Unfiltered">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-78"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-78">Seriously&#8230;</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://newyorkmomentsblog.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">newyorkmoments</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 18:49.</div><div><p>regardless  of the VP candidates&#8230;are we really going to vote in a Hussein????  Seriously?? I&#8217;m saddened that I&#8217;m not going to be able to vote Democrat  this election.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/78">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/78/Seriously">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-77"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-77">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 18:43.</div><div><p>I  sent John McCain a $1000 in September 2007&#8230;when his campaign was  flailing. I believed his voice needed to be in the debate. Until Sarah  Palin&#8217;s acceptance speech I did not send a penny to any other  candidate.</p><p>I was so outraged by the poor judgment demonstrated by McCain &#8212;  there were thousands, if not tens of thousands, of more capable,  competent men and women who could serve as his VP. I promptly sent a  large contribution to Obama. And with every solicitation letter I  receive from John McCain (they arrive daily), I write to ask for my  money back.</p><p>Whether &#8220;Joe six-pack&#8221; likes it or not&#8230;we live in a Global  Society, not an igloo nation. We already had Joe-six pack from  President for the last 8 years. Doesn&#8217;t any one remember &#8211; &#8220;George W.  Bush is the guy I want to have at my BBQ&#8221;???&#8230;Well &#8211; we got him&#8211; only  we got bbq&#8217;d.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/77">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/77/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-76"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-76">Re: Would it be so much to ask&#8230;</a></div><div> Submitted by Eric (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 18:35.</div><div><p>Would it be so much to ask for a Presidential nominee who actually had some experience?</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/76">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/76/Re-Would-it-be-so-much-ask">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-75"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-75">Would it be so much to ask&#8230;</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.liesdamnedlies.com" rel="nofollow">Ian Thomas</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 18:32.</div><div><p>&#8230;for a VP nominee who actually had some experience *before* she takes office?</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/75">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/75/Would-it-be-so-much-ask">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-74"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-74">Third out of four</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 18:30.</div><div><p>Stack  rank all four candidates &#8212; Obama, Biden, McCain and Palin &#8212; in terms  of experience, and she comes out 3rd out of 4. Obama is last.</p><p>Stack rank all four candidates in terms of executive experience &#8212;  meaning, &#8216;has the candidate ever managed a budget before, had headcount  before, and had to make decisions as opposed to provide advice&#8217; &#8212; and  she incredibly comes out first amongst the four, as she&#8217;s been both  governor and mayor.</p><p>Being the governor of a state was good enough for Clinton, good enough for Romney, and good enough for Reagan.</p><p>Those who attack her experience must feel terrible that Obama is the  leading candidate for the Dem&#8217;s, given his extraordinarily thin resume.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/74">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/74/Third-out-four">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-73"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-73">If Barack Doesn&#8217;t Die, Is He Qualified?</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://playborhood.com" rel="nofollow">Mike Lanza</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 18:29.</div><div><p>Be  honest, folks. In his career in *government*, not running a campaign,  has he ever demonstrated outstanding leadership or executive skills?  Sarah certainly has, but her experience may nonetheless be too light.</p><p>Barack Obama has the least leadership or executive skills of *any* of the major candidates for president or vice president.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/73">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/73/If-Barack-Doesnt-Die-He-Qualified">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-72"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-72">Not a fan, but c&#8217;mon</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.dpkpr.com" rel="nofollow">Dan Keeney, APR</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 18:21.</div><div><p>I&#8217;m  not a Sarah fan, but she has a solid foundation &#8212; an ability to  connect with men and women, powerfully deliver her messages and ramp up  quickly on complex subjects. The actuaries estimate that there is a 75%  chance that Mr. McCain would survive a first term. Presumably, the  chances of him passing in the first YEAR would be very small. So the  real question would be &#8212; If Sarah Palin had at least a year as Vice  President under her belt, would she be competent to be President if  John McCain were to be incapacitated? I don&#8217;t have any doubt that she  would. I will not be voting for the GOP ticket, but the fear mongering  about Ms. Palin&#8217;s ability is baseless and perhaps sexist.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/72">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/72/Not-fan-cmon">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-71"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-71">To Pat Baker,  Actually, she</a></div><div> Submitted by The Sensible J. (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 18:01.</div><div><p>To Pat Baker,<br
/> Actually, she has NOT been governor for a few years. She has been a  governor since 2007, she won the election at the END of 2006. So, not  even 2 years yet.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/71">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/71/Pat-Baker-Actually-she">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-70"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-70">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by The Sensible J. (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:58.</div><div><p>When  a lot of people say she was put in the VP nominee ticket because she  would shake things up for the Republican party, that&#8217;s scary. Why was  that the first and foremost reason why she was picked?!</p><p>We are not running a popularity contest here for god&#8217;s sake. We need  a leader, a WORLD LEADER that will get American back into the  respectful country it is amongst other nations in this world. Not a PTA  mom who claims she can juggle 5 kids when in fact her nanny, chef,  driver/pilot, gardener and 20 other staffers take care of the Mom role  for her. I&#8217;m all for the &#8220;women can do the same if not better job than  men&#8221; ideal, but come on, she isn&#8217;t even up to par on her events and  history. When you can only make punch points and be a talking head,  that is NOT a leader. She can&#8217;t even name ONE supreme court decision  other than Row vs. Wade. And being able to see Russia from Alaska does  not qualify as foreign experience. We do not need and DO NOT want an  average Joe or Jane to be our president or vice president.</p><p>It is scary when our (by that I mean the republicans) expectations have sunk so low.</p><p>And it&#8217;s even more scary when people are voting for republican  SIMPLY because she&#8217;s pro-life, even for those women who were victims of  rape or incest would NOT get a choice. That alone, to me, is hugely  undermining the equality so many women have worked so hard for so many  years.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/70">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/70/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-69"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-69">Sarah Palin Qualified</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://cashflowtipsbydon.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Don S</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:54.</div><div><p>Maybe  the most appropriate question is . . . if Barack Obama is elected  president, whether or not John McCain dies, is he qualified to lead the  country?</p><p>Being a governor is a proven road to the White House. Alaska is a  strategic state. Let&#8217;s see: Clinton was from Arkansas &#8212; even less  strategic, Carter from Georgia and Reagan from California . . . Bush  from Texas . . . oh, sure, I saw a post on the Huffington Post this  week that said &#8220;Bush is intellectually challenged.&#8221; Of course, there  was no evidence to support the claim.</p><p>Obama is currently more likely to become president than Sarah Palin  and that&#8217;s something that should concern all clear-thinking Americans.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/69">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/69/Sarah-Palin-Qualified">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-68"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-68">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by Jerome Schindler (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:53.</div><div><p>How  could she possibly be any worse that what we have been subjected to  recently. I am sure Harry Truman&#8217;s skills woudl also have been panned.  McCain ought to be a good choice as nobody has been sure what party he  belongs to for many years.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/68">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/68/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-67"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-67">Re: Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah</a></div><div> Submitted by Bill Platt (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:45.</div><div><p>Deluded?  Although she has as much or more experience than Obama, you are willing  to suggest that my delusion is that she could not be President, but  Obama can be?</p><p>The only delusion is that Obama&#8217;s experience is greater than hers.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/67">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/67/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-66"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-66">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:31.</div><div><p>Palin is absolutely not qualified &#8211; anyone who thinks so is deluded.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/66">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/66/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-65"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-65">Re: pailin would shove her heels up putin&#8217;s a&#8230;</a></div><div> Submitted by Chemosapien = Idiot (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:29.</div><div><p>The point was she won&#8217;t take no crap.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/65">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/65/Re-pailin-would-shove-her-heels-putins">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-64"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-64">Re: Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah</a></div><div> Submitted by Chemosapien = Idiot (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:27.</div><div><p>Too bad they don&#8217;t have a minimum test for people to take in order to qualify for the job.</p><p>Then James they should do the same before becoming parents. Maybe  then we won&#8217;t have so many libetards. Bunch of whiners don&#8217;t know a  good thing when it slaps them upside the head.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/64">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/64/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-63"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-63">Re: Re: Palin is a Disgrace Which Makes McCain a Fool</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.taipaninvestor.info/blog" rel="nofollow">Gerald</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:26.</div><div><p>As  a Vietnam veteran I can assure you that sad fact by itself (yeah, we  lost a war we had no business being in) does not qualify anyone to be  President. While I respect McCain&#8217;s service to his country McCain  himself has admitted that he collaborated with the enemy and signed  documents condemning America&#8217;s.bombing of Hanoi as being war crimes.</p><p>As at the time we were carpet bombing a densely populated Hanoi with  low level B-52 bombing runs, the North Vietnamese perhaps had a point  that a stressed out and in terrible pain McCain decided to agree with.</p><p>Not that I blame him. Fortunately, my POW camp experience was  limited to a combat training exercise at Camp Lejeune, N.C. It was only  for a very long day but that was enough to make brave grown men trained  for combat by battle hardened US Marines cry out in pain. McCain&#8217;s  experience had to be horrible and I&#8217;m sure that the scars, mental and  physical, must still be with him.</p><p>However, I wasn&#8217;t referring to McCain other than his grandstanding  poor judgement in selecting Governor Palin as his running mate. Sarah  may be a swell gal, certainly her down home nature appeals to a lot of  down home people across America, but please, qualified to perhaps have  to step into the President&#8217;s role?</p><p>She is a little league player suddenly thrown into the major  leagues. I admire her spunk but fear her aggressive claim that she is  ready to serve when she can&#8217;t even handle soft ball interviews. Who  wants a President just like an average Joe? In case you haven&#8217;t noticed  there are very complicated problems that America faces that will  require outstanding leadership to solve.</p><p>I&#8217;m not a big Obama fan either but at least the man has first class  intelligence and a first class temperament. He doesn&#8217;t tend to shoot  from the hip or fire, ready, aim like old fighter pilots are apt to do.  Palin was a choice designed to fire up the Republican Party&#8217;s  conservative base and in that the move was successful. But at what risk  to the country if McCain and Palin are elected?</p><p>With the odds being about one in four that a 72 year old cancer  survivor would not make it another four years a President Palin is a  frightening possibility.</p><p>That&#8217;s putting country first? Please! Give me a break.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/63">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/63/Re-Palin-Disgrace-Which-Makes-McCain-Fool">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-62"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-62">ldaught2  AHEM ! ! !</a></div><div> Submitted by Chemosapien = Idiot (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:24.</div><div><p>ldaught2</p><p>AHEM ! ! !</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/62">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/62/ldaught2-AHEM">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-61"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-61">Re: Competent?</a></div><div> Submitted by ldaught2 (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:16.</div><div><p>//Until then, keep reading all the world&#8217;s magazines and Newspapers. They actually can teach you a lot.//</p><p>Are you kidding?? what can a bias newspaper and magazine teach??  (and that would be all of them)That is the most idiot statement I have  read!</p><p>To answer the question&#8230;Could Palin be President?&#8230;yes yes and  yes&#8230;.The other 3 on the ticket was in the senate and HELPED drive  America where we are today! I dont care if Palin comes from a goat  farm, she could do better than this stinkin government!!</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/61">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/61/Re-Competent">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-60"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-60">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by Ken S (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:15.</div><div><p>Lady Coveted&#8230;.another woman that feels threatened by good looking successful women.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/60">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/60/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-59"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-59">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by Ken S (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:14.</div><div><p>James flew in from that alternate universe that Joe Biden lives in.   Maybe the Missouri Truth Squad can help him.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/59">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/59/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-58"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-58">pailin would shove her heels up putin&#8217;s a&#8230;</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://the-coveted.com/blog" rel="nofollow">lady coveted</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:14.</div><div><p>being as putin&#8217;s no longer president of russia.</p><p>dmitri medvedev succeeded putin back in march, she&#8217;s so out of touch she&#8217;d probably miss that point too.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/58">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/58/pailin-would-shove-her-heels-putins">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-57"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-57">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by James (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 17:08.</div><div><p>She&#8217;s  competent all right. Competent enough to ban books at the public  library, books she has never even read. Competent enough to try to fire  a librarian who was just doing her job, Competent enough to veto sex  education for minors, (surprise there huh?), competent enough to fire  the head of the troopers who refused to fire her ex-brother in law for  unjustifiable reasons.</p><p>No wonder repugs love her so much, she&#8217;ll fit right in..*L*</p><p>At least Obama went through a process and garnered enough votes to  earn the right to be where he is today. Palin was handed the position  because McCain needed a quick fix and liked the way she looked and  talked.</p><p>Was she the most qualified and best suited republican for the job?  Of course not and people are not being genuine if they say yes. For  that reason McCain should and will lose this election.</p><p>Too bad they don&#8217;t have a minimum test for people to take in order to qualify for the job.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/57">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/57/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-56"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-56">Re: Re: Pansies? then what&#8230;</a></div><div> Submitted by Chemosapien = Idiot (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:54.</div><div><p>Palin would shove her pretty heels up Putin&#8217;s ass.  Then make him beg for more.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/56">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/56/Re-Pansies-then-what">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-55"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-55">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by Ken S (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:52.</div><div><p>Yes.  She would do a great job, because she has intelligence coupled with  common sense, grit, and good solid values. Would to God that this  country had had dozens of Presidents like her instead of some of the  buffoons we&#8217;ve suffered through.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/55">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/55/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-54"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-54">Re: People around you</a></div><div> Submitted by Chemosapien = Idiot (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:52.</div><div><p>No he&#8217;ll bring them in from the hood.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/54">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/54/Re-People-around-you">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-53"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-53">Shooting wolves from a Copter</a></div><div> Submitted by chemosapien (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:50.</div><div><p>is  not the kind of Hunter i respect&#8230;..and margaret Thatcher is on her  way over their to whoop your ass for comparing her to Palin&#8230;.Thatcher  was one of the most intelligent and tough politicians in modern  times&#8230;.Palin doesn&#8217;t have a college education and she can&#8217;t even  stand up to KATIE M*^#ATHERF%*#KING COURIC&#8230;.stop comparing her to  Thatcher</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/53">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/53/Shooting-wolves-Copter">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-52"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-52">People Around You</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.Matt-Sanchez.com" rel="nofollow">Matt Sanchez</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:49.</div><div><p>Obama  will have the flag stomper and terrorist, Dick Ayres and the God D@*$  America Reverend Wright. Both these gentlemen have doctorates!</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/52">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/52/People-Around-You">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-51"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-51">People around you</a></div><div> Submitted by chemosapien (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:46.</div><div><p>it  is very important who the president brings into their admin&#8230;..I&#8217;m  certain Obama isn&#8217;t going to fill his cabinet from his high school  yearbook like little miss Palin</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/51">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/51/People-around-you">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-50"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-50">Obama Qualified</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.Matt-Sanchez.com" rel="nofollow">Matt Sanchez</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:46.</div><div><p>A one-term governor who is the most popular governor in the country.</p><p>Of course, that&#8217;s one more term than former &#8220;community organizer&#8221; and one-term senator.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/50">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/50/Obama-Qualified">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-49"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-49">Re: Pansies? then what&#8230;</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://americanandproud.net" rel="nofollow">Robert</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:46.</div><div><p>Obviously  you haven&#8217;t seen Sarah Palin in the real world, she hunts guts and eats  things that get in her way, I would imagine you are the type of idiot  that thought Margaret Thatcher was a bad choice too&#8230;.Russia would beg  for forgiveness from Palin and Putin would be licking Sarah&#8217;s boots in  red square&#8230;.</p><p>Moron.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/49">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/49/Re-Pansies-then-what">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-48"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-48">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://mrclm.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Chris Meirose</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:45.</div><div><p>More  competent than Al Gore. More competent than Dick Cheney. More competent  than Dan Quayle. Palin would do just fine. Being president is as much  or more about who you have around you than anything else. You must be  able to make tough decisions, and know what you believe in, but at the  end of the day the experts you surround yourself with as President will  make or break your term in the modern context.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/48">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/48/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-47"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-47">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.pullinsreport.com" rel="nofollow">Scott Pullins</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:43.</div><div><p>She&#8217;s clearly not competent.</p><p><a
href="http://pullinsreport.com/2008/10/03/scott-pullins--online-poll--do-you-have-faith-in-palin-3.aspx" title="http://pullinsreport.com/2008/10/03/scott-pullins--online-poll--do-you-have-faith-in-palin-3.aspx">http://pullinsreport.com/2008/10/03/scott-pullins&#8211;online-poll&#8211;do-you-h&#8230;</a></p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/47">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/47/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-46"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-46">Pansies? then what&#8230;</a></div><div> Submitted by chemosapien (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:43.</div><div><p>russia  calls us a bunch of homos, and Putin slams his shoe on the desk?  &#8230;&#8230;if Palin were president Putin would literally rape her mouth on  live telivision then claim he thought she was the &#8220;entertainment&#8221;</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/46">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/46/Pansies-then-what">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-45"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-45">Re: Re: Palin isn&#8217;t competent to wipe my ass</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://americanandproud.net" rel="nofollow">Robert</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:42.</div><div><p>The  answer is YES, she has run something, SHE has more experience RUNNING a  government than ANY of the candidates&#8230; So yes she is Qualified.</p><p>Obama isn&#8217;t qualified to be elected dog catcher, McCain at least has  the experience in dealing with hostile forces, and for you libtards  there still are hostile forces at work oh and they are hoping for Obama  too&#8230;</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/45">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/45/Re-Palin-isnt-competent-wipe-my-ass">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-44"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-44">Re: Margaret, its me God</a></div><div> Submitted by Margaret (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:41.</div><div><p>I  didn&#8217;t say NO degree. I said not an &#8220;Ivy League Degree&#8221;. I was just  giving my opinion &#8211; &#8220;If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would  Sarah Palin be competent to be President?&#8221; My answer is yes.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/44">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/44/Re-Margaret-its-me-God">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-43">Palin</a></div><div> Submitted by Matt Jones (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:40.</div><div><p>Clinton&#8217;s  budget experience was a budget of Arkansas which was smaller than  cuyahoga county. Obama has ZERO budget experience. She can manage a  budget. She communicates and articulates the GOP positions more  effectively than McCain, Bush, Cheney and Dole to name some powerful  people.</p><p>go to Canada you commie bastages!</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/43">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/43/Palin">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-42"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-42">Re: Palin is a Disgrace Which Makes McCain a Fool</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://americanandproud.net" rel="nofollow">Robert</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:39.</div><div><p>and  an Obama/Biden victory will make us look like a bunch of pansies&#8230;I  would love for you to explain how a war veteran that went through what  McCain did would cause the world to look at us as a laughing stock? Mrs  Thatcher was looked at a little off by the owrkd but she did fine? is  it you are scared of women or hunting women?</p><p>Palin is the only candidate in the race I would vote for president  and be happy about it. I will vote McCain just to get Sarah Palin  closer to the Big Job.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/42">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/42/Re-Palin-Disgrace-Which-Makes-McCain-Fool">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-41"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-41">Re: Palin isn&#8217;t competent to wipe my ass</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:35.</div><div><p>The US is going to hell because McCain&#8217;s buddy George Bush set us on that course.  4 more years of that?</p><p>BTW, the question was if McCain kicks, is Palin qualified?  And the answer is no.</p><p>Instead of attacking Obama, how about telling why you think Palin is  qualified? Is it because even you know she isn&#8217;t? Typical Republican.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/41">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/41/Re-Palin-isnt-competent-wipe-my-ass">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-40"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-40">&#8220;College Education&#8221;</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.Matt-Sanchez.com" rel="nofollow">Matt Sanchez</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:35.</div><div><p>All  those &#8220;economic experts&#8221; have great post-grad degrees from high end  schools. Hopefully, that will help them as they look for a new job.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/40">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/40/College-Education">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-39"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-39">Palin is a Disgrace Which Makes McCain a Fool</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.taipaninvestor.info/blog" rel="nofollow">Gerald</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:34.</div><div><p>Palin  makes a big deal about her &#8220;six pack joe&#8221; ways and seems to be proud of  her ignorance. We have had almost eight years of a largely  disinterested in the world at large President and see where that has  taken us. American is on a slippery downward slope and it will be  difficult to avoid a hard crash and burn landing.</p><p>I for one don&#8217;t want someone as VP, who may well end up being  President, who is just another six pack Joe yahoo. America is the  laughing stock of the world just to have such a yahoo candidate.</p><p>If McCain and Palin are somehow elected American&#8217;s standing in the  world as a world leader, much less a super power, will be further  reduced to the vanishing point. We would be looked upon as a nation of  village idiots.</p><p>It&#8217;s not that I love Obama. Come to think of it with the choice down  to Obama or McCain perhaps we American have found the perfect means to  self destruct. The support given by McCain and Obama for the $700  billion bailout bill (before another $100 billion or so in pure pork  was added) is another giant step in that direction.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/39">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/39/Palin-Disgrace-Which-Makes-McCain-Fool">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-38"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-38">Re: Re: Palin isn&#8217;t competent to walk my dog</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://americanandproud.net" rel="nofollow">Robert</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:33.</div><div><p>&#8220;You  idiots care more about a donkey and an elephant than you do about the  stars and stripes. You get what you deserve.&#8221; The truest statement  since Reagan stated the most scary thing ever was &#8220;I&#8217;m from the  government and I&#8217;m here to help&#8221;</p><p>I wouldnt be so dead set against OBAMA if he were more Country  first, rather than Blame everyone else&#8230; HIS party has led congress  for the last 2 years and we have gone from solvency to bankruptcy and  BOTH parties are to blame, ONLY one party is used to responsibility,  the other is used to &#8220;Tolerance&#8221; and forgiveness of their own&#8230;.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/38">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/38/Re-Palin-isnt-competent-walk-my-dog">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-37"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-37">Re: Margaret, its me God</a></div><div> Submitted by chemosapien (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:31.</div><div><p>you  mean like the modern day general who doesn&#8217;t have a college degree? are  we suddenly recruiting presidents from third world countries? because  EVERY American General has a college degree&#8230;&#8230;lets not pretend we  live in the world of 2 centuries ago</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/37">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/37/Re-Margaret-its-me-God">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-36"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-36">Re: Palin isn&#8217;t competent to walk my dog</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:28.</div><div><p>Nothing  like partisanship. That&#8217;s right put the party before the country. No  wonder the US is going to hell in a rocketship. You idiots care more  about a donkey and an elephant than you do about the stars and stripes.  You get what you deserve.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/36">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/36/Re-Palin-isnt-competent-walk-my-dog">link</a></li><li><a
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id="comment-35"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-35">Re: Palin isn&#8217;t competent to walk my dog</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://americanandproud.net" rel="nofollow">Robert</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:28.</div><div><p>Oh  and I&#8217;m qualified because I am a black community organizer.. Don&#8217;t look  at the communities I organized or anything, just trust me for CHANGE&#8230;  BS, it is highway strong arm robbery, ACORN? Rev Wright? Ayers?  Phlegar? Farakhan? Ok Palin has what? A couple of LIES perpetrated by  the elitist media that have been debunked. Yeah Obama in 08 and the end  of our nation in 09&#8230;.good plan.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/35">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/35/Re-Palin-isnt-competent-walk-my-dog">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-34"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-34">Re: Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://experiencecurve.com" rel="nofollow">Karl</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:27.</div><div><p>It&#8217;s  ironic that if you guys had listened to Carter in the 70&#8242;s you would  not be as f**cked as you are now and you would probably have energy  independence.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/34">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/34/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-33"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-33">Palin isn&#8217;t competent to walk my dog</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:24.</div><div><p>Say  what you want about Obama, he&#8217;ll make a much better President than  either &#8220;I&#8217;m qualified because I can see Russia from my pooper, yah, you  betcha&#8221; or &#8220;I&#8217;m qualified because I was a POW a million years ago,  wait, what was the question again?&#8221;</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/33">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/33/Palin-isnt-competent-walk-my-dog">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-32"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-32">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.Matt-Sanchez.com" rel="nofollow">Matt Sanchez</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:19.</div><div><p>Palin  Derangement Syndrome is alive and well as the media blitzkrieg is  desperate to discredit the Palin/McCain presidential ticket.</p><p>Palin handily beat Biden down last night, and that causes severe swelling in the liberal frontal lobe.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/32">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/32/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-31"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-31">Competent&#8230;OBama?</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:19.</div><div><p>So  you say go back home hockey mom&#8230; Wow&#8230; your complete lack of what a  hockey mom is.. basically a communtity leader&#8230;hmmm Let&#8217;s see Omaa is  just that, he has not been a Governer, worked a state budger.. .his  short political careeer shows less tenure that Palin. Fair is Fair ,  your last paragraph shows your compete ignorance,,, go read a bit  yourself!</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/31">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/31/CompetentOBama">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-30"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-30">Re: Margaret, its me God</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.omarhamada.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Anonymous</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:19.</div><div><p>You mean like George Washington?</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/30">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/30/Re-Margaret-its-me-God">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-29"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-29">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://republicaninthearts.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Incognito</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:14.</div><div><p>and  how about looking at it this way&#8230; with all Biden&#8217;s asinine gaffes  would people be thrilled to have him as president, if Obama were to  die? I&#8217;d be much happier with a Palin presidency than either an Obama  or Biden presidency.</p><p>She&#8217;s done very well for Alaska&#8230;thank you very much.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/29">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/29/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-28"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-28">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.golfblogger.com" rel="nofollow">GolfBlogger</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:10.</div><div><p>It&#8217;s  not saying much, but I think Palin&#8217;s more qualified than Obama. The  problem is that if you vote Republican, an unqualified person MIGHT  become president. If you vote Democrat, an unqualified person WILL  become president.</p><p>The only logical ticket is Biden-McCain &#8212; one which, during the primaries, Joe Biden said he wouldn&#8217;t mind.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/28">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/28/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-27"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-27">Margaret, its me God</a></div><div> Submitted by chemosapien (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:09.</div><div><p>you  would not make a good president nor would anyone who doesn&#8217;t have an  University Degree&#8230;..watch that sassy little Katie Couric if you want  to know why Sara Palin is completely incompetent</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/27">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/27/Margaret-its-me-God">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-26"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-26">What the&#8230;?</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.soldiersperspective.us" rel="nofollow">CJ Grisham</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:07.</div><div><p>If Palin isn&#8217;t competent enough to be President, then Obama is even LESS competent to hold the position!!</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/26">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/26/What">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-25"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-25">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by Margaret (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 16:03.</div><div><p>Why  won&#8217;t Sara Palin be a competent President? Is there anything about  Obama that makes him more intelligent than Palin? It offends me as a  person to think differently. I believe she would do as well, if not  better, than any other of the men or women who have made a run during  this election.</p><p>I didn&#8217;t go to an ivy league college. I haven&#8217;t served as a PTO  chairperson or any other office but I think I would make a darn good  president. I&#8217;m excited to think that maybe we might have something  fresh in the office. From Hillary to McCain it is the same old same old.</p><p>Margaret</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/25">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/25/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-24"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-24">experience or education ?</a></div><div> Submitted by James (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 15:57.</div><div><p>While  one could argue all day long about the experience factor between Obama  and Palin, one can&#8217;t argue much about the difference in education. I  would rather have someone educated in the highest office of the land.</p><p>Thanks, but no thanks for that sweet talkin&#8217;, well read gal from Alaska.</p><p>Don&#8217;t YA know?</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/24">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/24/experience-or-education">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-23"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-23">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://americanandproud.net" rel="nofollow">Robert</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 15:55.</div><div><p>I  am voting for McCain/Palin for precisely that reason, I would be WAY  more happy with Palin as President than I will be with McCain.<br
/> If Obama wins we ALL lose&#8230;.Oh and a preemptive dismiss to those that  say it&#8217;s because he is black&#8230;Its not because he is black its because  he is a communist/socialist libtard baby killing gun taking no  leadership other than &#8220;ACORN&#8221; type skills&#8230;. but vote how you want, I  cant wait till you liberal idiots get what you want, just like after  Carter, you came crying to the Conservatives to save you, Obama is a  black Carter maybe worse.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/23">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/23/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-22"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-22">NFW</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://twww.mahamatzav.org" rel="nofollow">rebaaron</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 15:54.</div><div><p>Sarah  Palin is a poser. She&#8217;s so enamored with Ronald Reagan I believe, in  part, because she&#8217;s just like him &#8211; an actor. Reagan wasn&#8217;t a president  as much as he was able to act like a president. The VP debates last  night showed this &#8211; Palin is all show and no substance. What&#8217;s really  scary is she believes that she&#8217;s capable. I think she really has no  idea and is not capable of getting it. I think some call this  sociopathic tendencies?!</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/22">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/22/NFW">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-21"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-21">Palin Did Better Than Expected</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://baconeatingatheistjew.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">The Atheist Jew</a> (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 15:53.</div><div><p>She proved to me that she doesn&#8217;t have an IQ of 75.  It is more like 90 or 95.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/21">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/21/Palin-Did-Better-Expected">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-20"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-20">National Level Experience (NLE)</a></div><div> Submitted by chemosapien (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 15:53.</div><div><p>Palin  is an order of magnitude more Podunk than any national political figure  in modern times. Case in point, 6 months ago, Palin said, flat out, she  is not INTERESTED in national policy, as in she doesn&#8217;t have the time  or will to keep up with what is going on in this country&#8230;when you use  NLE as the measure Obama is far ahead of Palin, exemplified by the fact  that the very first thing he did in the Senate was get a law passed to  help secure &#8220;loose nukes&#8221; in the former USSR&#8230;.compare that to Palin  who apparently could not even pass a seventh grade civics test (doesn&#8217;t  know any supreme court cases besides Roe v. Wade?)</p><p>All the PAlin supporters are the same , pardon my french, IDIOTS who  supported GW because he&#8217;s a guy they can drink a beer with&#8230;..Palin  sure is a regular joe&#8230;Joe Retard that is</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/20">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/20/National-Level-Experience-NLE">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-19"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-19">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by brad (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 15:53.</div><div><p>If  something happened to McCain on day one would Palin be ready? No, BUT  what makes you think Obama is? Lets talk about the TOP of the ticket.  Give me a break!!!</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/19">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/19/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-18"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-18">And Barack is Qualified? </a></div><div> Submitted by J (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 14:33.</div><div><p>I  love how people point out how Palin&#8217;s not qualified SHOULD something  happen to McCain. And what makes Barack qualified? He&#8217;s been in the  Senate for 2 years? And if he is elected, he&#8217;s it. At least with  McCain, we&#8217;re electing a very seasoned and proven person who has a  pretty good track record for change. Obama can talk about change but he  hasn&#8217;t walked it at all.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/18">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/18/And-Barack-Qualified">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-17"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-17">Re: Re: McCain&#8217;s &#8220;Cancer&#8221;</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 13:32.</div><div><p>Source please.  Media previously said superficial Basal cell.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/17">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/17/Re-McCains-Cancer">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-16"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-16">Re: McCain&#8217;s &#8220;Cancer&#8221;</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 13:15.</div><div><p>He has had MELANOMA. The deadliest form of skin cancer</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/16">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/16/Re-McCains-Cancer">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-15"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-15">Competent?</a></div><div> Submitted by rusmayse on Fri, 10/03/2008 &#8211; 00:48.</div><div><p>Poor  Palin. I commend her on the acceptance of such a difficult position in  such a tough time. It takes a really strong person to take on the role  she has. And I do agree with the fact that she may &#8220;catch on quickly&#8221;.  I&#8217;m just particularly concerned and unsure she has any idea what she is  doing. Period.<br
/> Go back home hockey mom. Gain experience over the next 8 years. Become  more involved on a national level. Listen to the cries of us people.  And then please, come back again :) Until then, keep reading all the  world&#8217;s magazines and Newspapers. They actually can teach you a lot.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/15">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/15/Competent">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-14"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-14">Not as a woman, or a man</a></div><div> Submitted by TomCollins2100 on Thu, 10/02/2008 &#8211; 23:33.</div><div><p>Are  you kidding? The notion that she&#8217;s being unfairly judged as unqualified  because she&#8217;s a woman is absurd. If she were a man, McCain would have  been laughed out of the country for picking a first-term governor with  no other applicable experience and zero national &#8211; let alone foreign  policy &#8211; qualifications.</p><p>Women with any brains at all should be insulted that McCain and the  Republicans think that they will vote for any woman they offer, or  belive this particular woman is remotely qualified to run any country,  forget about the United States.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/14">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/14/Not-woman-or-man">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-13"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-13">RELEASE THE MEDICAL RECORDS</a></div><div> Submitted by chemosapien (not verified) on Wed, 10/01/2008 &#8211; 16:02.</div><div><p>what  you say is partially true, superficial skin cancers are not fatal,  especially with decent healthcare, but WE DON&#8217;T KNOW THE EXTENT OF  MCCAIN&#8221;S CANCER because he won&#8217;t release ALL of his medical  records&#8230;&#8230;don&#8217;t sit here and defend him against this criticism, when  his campaign could put this completely to bed with a single phone call  to his doctor.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/13">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/13/RELEASE-MEDICAL-RECORDS">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-12"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-12"> Palin needs to read a American History Booko</a></div><div> Submitted by pat baker (not verified) on Wed, 10/01/2008 &#8211; 15:41.</div><div><p>I&#8217;m  sick of McCain calling Obama a on the job learner, community action  worker. Palin is is a affrimative action herself. Mrs Bush said she was  a &#8220;quick learner&#8221; Do I need a vp who is a quick learner? She&#8217;s just a  Gov for a few years, no national experience. She can&#8217;t answer straight  question. These photo opts with people from the MiddleEast aren&#8217;t  getting on my nerves, they are making me sick Who cares if she&#8217;s cute  while my 401 K might go down the tubes!. Hillary Clinton would run  rings around her. I don&#8217;t need a &#8221; on the job VP during these troubled  times..</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/12">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/12/Palin-needs-read-American-History-Booko">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-11"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-11">McCain&#8217;s &#8220;Cancer&#8221;</a></div><div> Submitted by <a
href="http://www.omarhamada.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Omar Hamada</a> (not verified) on Wed, 10/01/2008 &#8211; 15:33.</div><div><p>Enough  of the cancer stuff!!! Talk about spin and/or ignorance! When&#8217;s the  last time someone actually died from superficial squamous or basal cell  skin cancer? Answer: NEVER. Now if it were actually melanoma or other  types of invasive squamous cell cancer, then it would be a different  story &#8211; BUT IT&#8217;S NOT!!!!!!</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/11">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/11/McCains-Cancer">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-9"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-9">but seriously, she reads ALL the newspapers</a></div><div> Submitted by Dave (not verified) on Wed, 10/01/2008 &#8211; 00:55.</div><div><p>Check  out her interview with Katie Couric. She shares that she reads ALL the  newspapers in the world. She must be really freakin smart. She also  graduated from the University of Idaho. I mean it doesnt get much more  prestigious than that. And besides, who is Biden to talk.</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/9">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/9/seriously-she-reads-ALL-newspapers">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-8"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-8">Don&#8217;t Fret</a></div><div> Submitted by Chris A (not verified) on Wed, 10/01/2008 &#8211; 00:48.</div><div><p>Don&#8217;t  worry about Palin. If you saw her interviews, you would know that  the&#8230; War in Iraq and reforms to our economy and importance in the  field of green energy under the umbrella of job creation and then  health care.<br
/> She knows what everyone needs&#8230;</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/8">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/8/Dont-Fret">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-7"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-7">Re: If John McCain died or became incapacitated, would Sarah Pal</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 10/01/2008 &#8211; 00:45.</div><div><p>uh hu &#8230;..uh hu !!!</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/7">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/7/Re-If-John-McCain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-Sarah-Pal">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p><a
id="comment-6"></a></p><div><div> <a
href="http://ahpoll.com/content/if-john-mccain-died-or-became-incapacitated-would-sarah-palin-be-competent-be-president#comment-6">come on,  hes only had cancer</a></div><div> Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 09/30/2008 &#8211; 22:59.</div><div><p>come on,  hes only had cancer 3 times. plus,  its not like hes old or anything</p></p></div><div><ul><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/reply/4/6">reply</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/comment/6/come-hes-only-had-cancer">link</a></li><li><a
href="http://ahpoll.com/forward">Email this comment</a></li></ul></div></div><p>And, here&#8217;s an embed of the poll, if I&#8217;ve piqued your interest by now:</p><p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=8eaed869-bb53-4d27-9b3b-d790184cb9c9"></script><noscript>Get the <a
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class="DiggThisButton DiggCompact" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2008%2F10%2F10%2Fsarah-palin-comment-thread-par-excellence%2F"></a>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/10/10/sarah-palin-comment-thread-par-excellence/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>Sarah Palin is New Feminism According to Camille Paglia</title><link>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/09/12/sarah-palin-is-a-modern-annie-oakley-according-to-camille-paglia/</link> <comments>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/09/12/sarah-palin-is-a-modern-annie-oakley-according-to-camille-paglia/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:01:32 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Chris Abraham</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Annie Oakley]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Camille Paglia]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Feminism]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sarah Palin]]></category> <category><![CDATA[abigail]]></category> 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isPermaLink="false">http://chrisabraham.com/2008/09/12/sarah-palin-is-a-modern-annie-oakley-according-to-camille-paglia/</guid> <description><![CDATA[I would have never guessed that Camille Paglia would be in awe of Sara Palin or perceive her as follows, &#8220;Conservative though she may be, I felt that Palin represented an explosion of a brand new style of muscular American feminism. At her startling debut on that day, she was combining male and female qualities [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div
style="float:left;margin:10px 10px 0px 0px;"> <a
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style="display:none">I would have never guessed that Camille Paglia would be in awe of Sara Palin or perceive her as follows, &#8220;Conservative though she may be, I felt that Palin represented an explosion of a brand new style of muscular American feminism. At her startling debut on that day, she was combining male and female qualities [...]</span></a></div><p></p><div
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src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2008%2F09%2F12%2Fsarah-palin-is-a-modern-annie-oakley-according-to-camille-paglia%2F&amp;source=chrisabraham&amp;style=normal&amp;service=bit.ly&amp;service_api=R_fd087a8f486f224d453b4a84e0b4109f&amp;b=2" height="61" width="50" title="Sarah Palin is New Feminism According to Camille Paglia" alt=" Sarah Palin is New Feminism According to Camille Paglia" /><br
/> </a></div><p>I would have never guessed that Camille Paglia would be in awe of Sara Palin or perceive her as follows, &#8220;Conservative though she may be, I felt that Palin represented an explosion of a brand new style of muscular American feminism. At her startling debut on that day, she was combining male and female qualities in ways that I have never seen before. And she was somehow able to seem simultaneously reassuringly traditional and gung-ho futurist. In terms of redefining the persona for female authority and leadership, Palin has made the biggest step forward in feminism since Madonna channeled the dominatrix persona of high-glam Marlene Dietrich and rammed pro-sex, pro-beauty feminism down the throats of the prissy, victim-mongering, philistine feminist establishment.&#8221; <em>Whoa</em>. (Via <a
href="http://www.salon.com/opinion/paglia/2008/09/10/palin/index1.html">Salon.com</a>)</p><p><span
id="more-5015"></span></p><blockquote><p><strong><a
href="http://www.salon.com/opinion/paglia/2008/09/10/palin/index2.html">Fresh blood for the vampire</a></strong></p><p>Rip tide! Is the Obama campaign shooting out to sea like a paper boat?</p><p>It&#8217;s heavy weather for Obama fans, as momentum has suddenly shifted to John McCain &#8212; that hoary, barnacle-encrusted tub that many Democrats like me had thought was full of holes and swirling to its doom in the inky depths of Republican incoherence and fratricide. Gee whilikers, the McCain vampire just won&#8217;t die! Hit him with a hammer, and he explodes like a jellyfish into a hundred hungry pieces.</p><p>Oh, the sadomasochistic tedium of McCain&#8217;s imprisonment in Hanoi being told over and over and over again at the Republican convention. Do McCain&#8217;s credentials for the White House really consist only of that horrific ordeal? Americans owe every heroic, wounded veteran an incalculable debt of gratitude, but how do McCain&#8217;s sufferings in a tiny, squalid cell 40 years ago logically translate into presidential aptitude in the 21st century? Cast him a statue or slap his name on a ship, and let&#8217;s turn the damned page.We need a new generation of leadership with fresh ideas and an expansive, cosmopolitan vision &#8212; which is why I support Barack Obama and have contributed to his campaign. My baby-boom generation &#8212; typified by the narcissistic Clintons &#8212; peaked in the 1960s and is seriously past it. But McCain, born before Pearl Harbor, is even older than we are! Why would anyone believe that he holds the key to the future? And why would anyone swallow that preening passel of high-flown rhetoric about &#8220;country above all&#8221; coming from a seething, short-fused character whose rampant egotism, zigzagging principles, and currying of the gullible press were the distinguishing marks of his senatorial career?</p><p>Having said that, I must admit that McCain is currently eating Obama&#8217;s lunch. McCain&#8217;s weirdly disconnected persona (beady glowers flashing to frozen grins and back again) has started to look more testosterone-rich than Obama&#8217;s easy, lanky, reflective candor. What in the world possessed the Obama campaign to let their guy wander like a dazed lamb into a snake pit of religious inquisition like Rick Warren&#8217;s public forum last month at his <a
href="http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/08/18/sunday_at_saddleback/index.html">Saddleback Church</a> in California? That shambles of a performance &#8212; where a surprisingly unprepared Obama met the inevitable question about abortion with shockingly curt glibness &#8212; began his alarming slide.</p><p>As I said in <a
href="http://www.salon.com/opinion/paglia/2008/08/13/mercury">my last column</a>, I have become increasingly uneasy about Obama&#8217;s efforts to sound folksy and approachable by reflexively using inner-city African-American tones and locutions, which as a native of Hawaii he acquired relatively late in his development and which are painfully wrong for the target audience of rural working-class whites that he has been trying to reach. Obama on the road and even in major interviews has been droppin&#8217; his g&#8217;s like there&#8217;s no tomorrow. It&#8217;s analogous to the way stodgy, portly Al Gore (evidently misadvised by the women in his family and their feminist pals) tried to zap himself up on the campaign trail into the happening buff dude that he was not. Both Gore and Obama would have been better advised to pursue a calm, steady, authoritative persona. Forget the jokes &#8212; be boring! That, alas, is what reads as masculine in the U.S.</p><p>The over-the-top publicity stunt of a mega-stadium for Obama&#8217;s acceptance speech at the Democratic convention two weeks ago was a huge risk that worried me sick &#8212; there were too many things that could go wrong, from bad weather to crowd control to technical glitches on the overblown set. But everything went swimmingly. Obama delivered the speech nearly flawlessly &#8212; though I was shocked and disappointed by how little there was about foreign policy, a major area where wavering voters have grave doubts about him. Nevertheless, it was an extraordinary event with an overlong but strangely contemplative and spiritually uplifting finale. The music, amid the needlessly extravagant fireworks, morphed into &#8220;Star Wars&#8221; &#8212; a New Age hymn to cosmic reconciliation and peace.</p><p>After that extravaganza, marking the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.&#8217;s epochal civil rights speech on the Washington Mall, I felt calmly confident that the Obama campaign was going to roll like a gorgeous juggernaut right over the puny, fossilized McCain. The next morning, it was as if the election were already over. No need to fret about American politics anymore this year. I had already turned with relief to other matters.</p><p>Pow! Wham! The Republicans unleashed a doozy &#8212; one of the most stunning surprises that I have ever witnessed in my adult life. By lunchtime, Obama&#8217;s triumph of the night before had been wiped right off the national radar screen. In a bold move I would never have thought him capable of, McCain introduced Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his pick for vice president. I had heard vaguely about Palin but had never heard her speak. I nearly fell out of my chair. It was like watching a boxing match or a quarter of hard-hitting football &#8212; or one of the great light-saber duels in &#8220;Star Wars.&#8221; (<a
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A4fN7FEzjc" target="_blank">Here</a> are the two Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn, going at it with Darth Maul in &#8220;The Phantom Menace.&#8221;) This woman turned out to be a tough, scrappy fighter with a mischievous sense of humor.</p><p>Conservative though she may be, I felt that Palin represented an explosion of a brand new style of muscular American feminism. At her startling debut on that day, she was combining male and female qualities in ways that I have never seen before. And she was somehow able to seem simultaneously reassuringly traditional and gung-ho futurist. In terms of redefining the persona for female authority and leadership, Palin has made the biggest step forward in feminism since Madonna channeled the dominatrix persona of high-glam Marlene Dietrich and rammed pro-sex, pro-beauty feminism down the throats of the prissy, victim-mongering, philistine feminist establishment.</p><p>In the U.S., the ultimate glass ceiling has been fiendishly complicated for women by the unique peculiarity that our president must also serve as commander in chief of the armed forces. Women have risen to the top in other countries by securing the leadership of their parties and then being routinely promoted to prime minister when that party won at the polls. But a woman candidate for president of the U.S. must show a potential capacity for military affairs and decision-making. Our president also symbolically represents the entire history of the nation &#8212; a half-mystical role often filled elsewhere by a revered if politically powerless monarch.</p><p
class="ad_content"><noscript></noscript></p><p> As a dissident feminist, I have been arguing since my arrival on the scene nearly 20 years ago that young American women aspiring to political power should be studying military history rather than taking women&#8217;s studies courses, with their rote agenda of never-ending grievances. I have repeatedly said that the politician who came closest in my view to the persona of the first woman president was Sen. Dianne Feinstein, whose steady nerves in crisis were demonstrated when she came to national attention after the mayor and a gay supervisor were murdered in their City Hall offices in San Francisco. Hillary Clinton, with her schizophrenic alteration of personae, has never seemed presidential to me &#8212; and certainly not in her bland and overpraised farewell speech at the Democratic convention (which skittered from slow, pompous condescension to trademark stridency to unseemly haste).</p><p>Feinstein, with her deep knowledge of military matters, has true gravitas and knows how to shrewdly thrust and parry with pesky TV interviewers. But her style is reserved, discreet, mandarin. The gun-toting Sarah Palin is like Annie Oakley, a brash ambassador from America&#8217;s pioneer past. She immediately reminded me of the frontier women of the Western states, which first granted women the right to vote after the Civil War &#8212; long before the federal amendment guaranteeing universal woman suffrage was passed in 1919. Frontier women faced the same harsh challenges and had to tackle the same chores as men did &#8212; which is why men could regard them as equals, unlike the genteel, corseted ladies of the Eastern seaboard, which fought granting women the vote right to the bitter end.</p><p>Over the Labor Day weekend, with most of the big enchiladas of the major media on vacation, the vacuum was filled with a hallucinatory hurricane in the leftist blogosphere, which unleashed a grotesquely lurid series of allegations, fantasies, half-truths and outright lies about Palin. What a tacky low in American politics &#8212; which has already caused a backlash that could damage Obama&#8217;s campaign. When liberals come off as childish, raving loonies, the right wing gains. I am still waiting for substantive evidence that Sarah Palin is a dangerous extremist. I am perfectly willing to be convinced, but right now, she seems to be merely an optimistic pragmatist like Ronald Reagan, someone who pays lip service to religious piety without being in the least wedded to it. I don&#8217;t see her arrival as portending the end of civil liberties or life as we know it.</p><p>One reason I live in the leafy suburbs of Philadelphia and have never moved to New York or Washington is that, as a cultural analyst, I want to remain in touch with the mainstream of American life. I frequent fast-food restaurants, shop at the mall, and periodically visit Wal-Mart (its bird-seed section is nonpareil). Like Los Angeles and San Francisco, Manhattan and Washington occupy their own mental zones &#8212; nice to visit but not a place to stay if you value independent thought these days. Ambitious professionals in those cities, if they want to preserve their social networks, are very vulnerable to received opinion. At receptions and parties (which I hate), they&#8217;re sitting ducks. They have to go along to get along &#8212; poor dears!</p><p>It is certainly premature to predict how the Palin saga will go. I may not agree a jot with her about basic principles, but I have immensely enjoyed Palin&#8217;s boffo performances at her debut and at the Republican convention, where she astonishingly dealt with multiple technical malfunctions without missing a beat. A feminism that cannot admire the bravura under high pressure of the first woman governor of a frontier state isn&#8217;t worth a warm bucket of spit.</p><p>Perhaps Palin seemed perfectly normal to me because she resembles so many women I grew up around in the snow belt of upstate New York. For example, there were the robust and hearty farm women of Oxford, a charming village where my father taught high school when I was a child. We first lived in an apartment on the top floor of a farmhouse on a working dairy farm. Our landlady, who was as physically imposing as her husband, was an all-American version of the Italian immigrant women of my grandmother&#8217;s generation &#8212; agrarian powerhouses who could do anything and whose trumpetlike voices could pierce stone walls.</p><p>Here&#8217;s one episode. My father and his visiting brother, a dapper barber by trade, were standing outside having a smoke when a great noise came from the nearby barn. A calf had escaped. Our landlady yelled, &#8220;Stop her!&#8221; as the calf came careening at full speed toward my father and uncle, who both instinctively stepped back as the calf galloped through the mud between them. Irate, our landlady trudged past them to the upper pasture, cornered the calf, and carried that massive animal back to the barn in her arms. As she walked by my father and uncle, she exclaimed in amused disgust, <em>&#8220;Men!&#8221;</em></p><p>Now that&#8217;s the Sarah Palin brand of can-do, no-excuses, moose-hunting feminism &#8212; a world away from the whining, sniping, wearily ironic mode of the establishment feminism represented by Gloria Steinem, a Hillary Clinton supporter whose shameless Democratic partisanship over the past four decades has severely limited American feminism and not allowed it to become the big tent it can and should be. Sarah Palin, if her reputation survives the punishing next two months, may be breaking down those barriers. Feminism, which should be about equal rights and equal opportunity, should not be a closed club requiring an ideological litmus test for membership.</p><p
class="ad_content"><noscript></noscript></p><p> Here&#8217;s another example of the physical fortitude and indomitable spirit that Palin as an Alaskan sportswoman seems to represent right now. Last year, Toronto&#8217;s Globe and Mail reprinted this remarkable obituary from 1905:</p><blockquote><p>Abigail Becker <em>Farmer and homemaker born in Frontenac County, Upper Canada, on March 14, 1830</em></p><p>A tall, handsome woman &#8220;who feared God greatly and the living or dead not at all,&#8221; she married a widower with six children and settled in a trapper&#8217;s cabin on Long Point, Lake Erie. On Nov. 23, 1854, with her husband away, she single-handedly rescued the crew of the schooner Conductor of Buffalo, which had run aground in a storm. The crew had clung to the frozen rigging all night, not daring to enter the raging surf. In the early morning, she waded chin-high into the water (she could not swim) and helped seven men reach shore. She was awarded medals for heroism and received $350 collected by the people of Buffalo, plus a handwritten letter from Queen Victoria that was accompanied by £50, all of which went toward buying a farm. She lost her husband to a storm, raised 17 children alone and died at Walsingham Centre, Ont.</p></blockquote><p>Frontier women were far bolder and hardier than today&#8217;s pampered, petulant bourgeois feminists, always looking to blame their complaints about life on someone else.</p><p>But what of Palin&#8217;s pro-life stand? Creationism taught in schools? Book banning? Gay conversions? The Iraq war as God&#8217;s plan? Zionism as a prelude to the apocalypse? We&#8217;ll see how these big issues shake out. Right now, I don&#8217;t believe much of what I read or hear about Palin in the media. To automatically assume that she is a religious fanatic who has embraced the most extreme ideas of her local church is exactly the kind of careless reasoning that has been unjustly applied to Barack Obama, whom the right wing is still trying to tar with the fulminating anti-American sermons of his longtime preacher, Jeremiah Wright.</p><p>The witch-trial hysteria of the past two incendiary weeks unfortunately reveals a disturbing trend in the Democratic Party, which has worsened over the past decade. Democrats are quick to attack the religiosity of Republicans, but Democratic ideology itself seems to have become a secular substitute religion. Since when did Democrats become so judgmental and intolerant? Conservatives are demonized, with the universe polarized into a Manichaean battle of us versus them, good versus evil. Democrats are clinging to pat group opinions as if they were inflexible moral absolutes. The party is in peril if it cannot observe and listen and adapt to changing social circumstances.</p><p>Let&#8217;s take the issue of abortion rights, of which I am a firm supporter. As an atheist and libertarian, I believe that government must stay completely out of the sphere of personal choice. Every individual has an absolute right to control his or her body. (Hence I favor the legalization of drugs, though I do not take them.) Nevertheless, I have criticized the way that abortion became the obsessive idée fixe of the post-1960s women&#8217;s movement &#8212; leading to feminists&#8217; McCarthyite tactics in pitting Anita Hill with her flimsy charges against conservative Clarence Thomas (admittedly not the most qualified candidate possible) during his nomination hearings for the Supreme Court. Similarly, Bill Clinton&#8217;s support for abortion rights gave him a free pass among leading feminists for his serial exploitation of women &#8212; an abusive pattern that would scream misogyny to any neutral observer.</p><p>But the pro-life position, whether or not it is based on religious orthodoxy, is more ethically highly evolved than my own tenet of unconstrained access to abortion on demand. My argument (as in my first book, <a
href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&amp;location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FSexual-Personae-Decadence-Nefertiti-Dickinson%2Fdp%2F0679735798%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1210721176%26sr%3D8-1&amp;tag=saloncom08-20&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325" target="_blank">&#8220;Sexual Personae,&#8221;</a>) has always been that nature has a master plan pushing every species toward procreation and that it is our right and even obligation as rational human beings to defy nature&#8217;s fascism. Nature herself is a mass murderer, making casual, cruel experiments and condemning 10,000 to die so that one more fit will live and thrive.</p><p>Hence I have always frankly admitted that abortion is murder, the extermination of the powerless by the powerful. Liberals for the most part have shrunk from facing the ethical consequences of their embrace of abortion, which results in the annihilation of concrete individuals and not just clumps of insensate tissue. The state in my view has no authority whatever to intervene in the biological processes of any woman&#8217;s body, which nature has implanted there before birth and hence before that woman&#8217;s entrance into society and citizenship.</p><p>On the other hand, I support the death penalty for atrocious crimes (such as rape-murder or the murder of children). I have never understood the standard Democratic combo of support for abortion and yet opposition to the death penalty. Surely it is the guilty rather than the innocent who deserve execution?</p><p>What I am getting at here is that not until the Democratic Party stringently reexamines its own implicit assumptions and rhetorical formulas will it be able to deal effectively with the enduring and now escalating challenge from the pro-life right wing. Because pro-choice Democrats have been arguing from cold expedience, they have thus far been unable to make an effective ethical case for the right to abortion.</p><p>The gigantic, instantaneous coast-to-coast rage directed at Sarah Palin when she was identified as pro-life was, I submit, a psychological response by loyal liberals who on some level do not want to open themselves to deep questioning about abortion and its human consequences. I have written about the eerie silence that fell over campus audiences in the early 1990s when I raised this issue on my book tours. At such moments, everyone in the hall seemed to feel the uneasy conscience of feminism. Naomi Wolf later bravely tried to address this same subject but seems to have given up in the face of the resistance she encountered.</p><p>If Sarah Palin tries to intrude her conservative Christian values into secular government, then she must be opposed and stopped. But she has every right to express her views and to argue for society&#8217;s acceptance of the high principle of the sanctity of human life. If McCain wins the White House and then drops dead, a President Palin would have the power to appoint conservative judges to the Supreme Court, but she could not control their rulings.</p><p>It is nonsensical and counterproductive for Democrats to imagine that pro-life values can be defeated by maliciously destroying their proponents. And it is equally foolish to expect that feminism must for all time be inextricably wed to the pro-choice agenda. There is plenty of room in modern thought for a pro-life feminism &#8212; one in fact that would have far more appeal to third-world cultures where motherhood is still honored and where the Western model of the hard-driving, self-absorbed career woman is less admired.</p><p>But the one fundamental precept that Democrats must stand for is independent thought and speech. When they become baying bloodhounds of rigid dogma, Democrats have committed political suicide.</p><p><em>Camille Paglia&#8217;s column appears on the second Wednesday of each month. Every third column is devoted to reader letters. Please send questions for her next letters column to <a
href="mailto:ask_camille@salon.com">this mailbox</a>. Your name and town will be published unless you request anonymity.</em></p></blockquote><p
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isPermaLink="false">http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/30/there-is-a-cult-of-internet-celebrity-in-washington/</guid> <description><![CDATA[Zach Goldfarb wrote a great post over at the Washington Post and popped me an email to see if I had any comment on it. I did! The article was posted on Friday last and is called TechPost: Washington&#8217;s Twin Tech Towns. My comment starts right below the following video: I attended the Spank party [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div
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style="display:none">Zach Goldfarb wrote a great post over at the Washington Post and popped me an email to see if I had any comment on it. I did! The article was posted on Friday last and is called TechPost: Washington&#8217;s Twin Tech Towns. My comment starts right below the following video: I attended the Spank party [...]</span></a></div><p></p><div
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href="http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/articles/zachary+a.+goldfarb/">Zach Goldfarb</a> wrote a great post over at the <em>Washington Post</em> and popped me an email to see if I had any comment on it. I did! The article was posted on Friday last and is called <a
href="http://blog.washingtonpost.com/washbizblog/2008/06/tech_post_choose_your_own_head.html">TechPost: Washington&#8217;s Twin Tech Towns</a>. My comment starts right below the following video:</p><p><center><embed
src="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/player/wpniplayer_viral.swf?thisObj=fo965173&amp;vid=062708-22v_title" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="allowFullScreen=true&amp;initVideoId=&amp;servicesURL=http://www.brightcove.com&amp;viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://www.brightcove.com&amp;cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&amp;autoStart=false" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="fo965173" allowfullscreen="false" allowscriptaccess="always" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" width="454" height="305"></embed></center></p><blockquote><p
class="commentText">I attended the Spank party for Robert Scoble and Gary Vaynerchuk because I wanted to hang out with Robert and Gary.</p><p>I really must remind the reader that this is what the gathering was, a small get-together that mushroomed into a big event.</p><p>Unlike the Pulver Breakfasts or PodCamps, this gathering started as the ultimate cult-of-personality fest &#8212; even I popped there to meet THE Robert Scoble &#8212; and to meet folks I have known online, on Twitter, on Facebook, and in the blogosphere, for almost ten years!</p><p>Then it became an amazing schmooze-fest! I not only got to meet the Scobleizer and Mr. Wine Library TV but I met a dozen people I had only known virtually online!</p><p>I am very pleased to see things like this happen spontaneously in DC. It was fun, playful, generous, and I got to connect to people I had met a couple weeks prior at Geoff Livingston&#8217;s BlogPotomac such as the amazing and enthusiastic Shana Glickfield.</p><p>I must rush to mention that there were very few PR and marketing folks. There was the lovely Rachelle Lacroix from Fleishman-Hillard and a couple others &#8212; this was a group of people who were hard core geeks and nerds and programmers and developers and all the most choice horse meat in the world of entrepreneurs and programmers.</p><p>I may have read the crowd wrong, but we were all there for an audience with A-list blogger Robert Scoble and A-list video blogger, Gary Vaynerchuk.</p><p>I am still giddy that Gary Vaynerchuk recognized me from across the room and that Robert Scoble bragged to his friends that we had finally met after knowing each other online for close to 8 years.</p><p>I hope there are more of these!</p><p>Chris Abraham, Abraham Harrison<br
/> <a
href="http://www.abrahamharrison.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.abrahamharrison.com</a></p></blockquote><script type="text/javascript">(function() {var s = document.createElement('SCRIPT'), s1 = document.getElementsByTagName('SCRIPT')[0];s.type = 'text/javascript';s.async = true;s.src = 'http://widgets.digg.com/buttons.js';s1.parentNode.insertBefore(s, s1);})();</script><a
class="DiggThisButton DiggCompact" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2008%2F06%2F30%2Fthere-is-a-cult-of-internet-celebrity-in-washington%2F"></a>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/30/there-is-a-cult-of-internet-celebrity-in-washington/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>2</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>People as a Whole are Indeed Stupid</title><link>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/26/people-as-a-whole-are-indeed-stupid/</link> <comments>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/26/people-as-a-whole-are-indeed-stupid/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:53:00 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Chris Abraham</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Anthony Citrano]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Cosmic Tap]]></category> <category><![CDATA[People Are Stupid]]></category> <category><![CDATA[affirmation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ammo]]></category> <category><![CDATA[beens]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ben bernanke]]></category> <category><![CDATA[benefit]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category> <category><![CDATA[blogged]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Blogging]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Blogs]]></category> <category><![CDATA[branch of islam]]></category> <category><![CDATA[choice answers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[choices]]></category> <category><![CDATA[condi rice]]></category> <category><![CDATA[crowd]]></category> <category><![CDATA[crowds]]></category> <category><![CDATA[distraction]]></category> <category><![CDATA[distractions]]></category> <category><![CDATA[dollarization]]></category> <category><![CDATA[drops]]></category> <category><![CDATA[federal reserve]]></category> <category><![CDATA[feelings]]></category> <category><![CDATA[follower]]></category> <category><![CDATA[followers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[generations]]></category> <category><![CDATA[how many americans have died in iraq]]></category> <category><![CDATA[howard dean]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Internet]]></category> <category><![CDATA[internet life]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category> <category><![CDATA[lowe]]></category> <category><![CDATA[mccain]]></category> <category><![CDATA[nationalities]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[nyt]]></category> <category><![CDATA[onli]]></category> <category><![CDATA[people]]></category> <category><![CDATA[pews]]></category> <category><![CDATA[phone interviews]]></category> <category><![CDATA[press]]></category> <category><![CDATA[recent news]]></category> <category><![CDATA[reminder]]></category> <category><![CDATA[respondents]]></category> <category><![CDATA[secretaries]]></category> <category><![CDATA[secretary of state]]></category> <category><![CDATA[shia]]></category> <category><![CDATA[surprise]]></category> <category><![CDATA[surprises]]></category> <category><![CDATA[think]]></category> <category><![CDATA[trivia test]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Wal-Mart]]></category> <category><![CDATA[whale]]></category> <category><![CDATA[whaleing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[whales]]></category> <category><![CDATA[whaling]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category><guid
isPermaLink="false">http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/26/people-as-a-whole-are-indeed-stupid/</guid> <description><![CDATA[I try to follow Anthony Citrano&#8216;s blog, Cosmic Tap, but had fallen behind. I have to reblog his article, Reminder: People Are Stupid. I have always considered this to be true (see Wisdumb of Crowds: SAVE THE WHALES), but always need as much affirmation as possible, and Mr. Citrano give me all the ammo I [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div
style="float:left;margin:10px 10px 0px 0px;"> <a
class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2008%2F06%2F26%2Fpeople-as-a-whole-are-indeed-stupid%2F&title=People+as+a+Whole+are+Indeed+Stupid" rel="news, tech_news"><span
style="display:none">I try to follow Anthony Citrano&#8216;s blog, Cosmic Tap, but had fallen behind. I have to reblog his article, Reminder: People Are Stupid. I have always considered this to be true (see Wisdumb of Crowds: SAVE THE WHALES), but always need as much affirmation as possible, and Mr. Citrano give me all the ammo I [...]</span></a></div><p></p><div
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/> </a></div><p>I try to follow <a
href="http://citrano.com/">Anthony Citrano</a>&#8216;s blog, <a
href="http://www.cosmictap.com">Cosmic Tap</a>, but had fallen behind. I have to reblog his article, <a
href="http://www.cosmictap.com/reminder-people-are-stupid/" rel="bookmark" title="Read Reminder: People Are Stupid">Reminder: People Are Stupid</a>. I have always considered this to be true (see <span
class="aizattos_related_posts_title"></span><a
href="http://chrisabraham.com/2008/01/14/wisdumb-of-crowds-save-the-whales/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Wisdumb of Crowds: SAVE THE WHALES">Wisdumb of Crowds: SAVE THE WHALES</a>), but always need as much affirmation as possible, and Mr. Citrano give me all the ammo I need &#8212; but we do agree on one thing:</p><blockquote><p>&#8220;I don’t think <em>everyone </em>is stupid &#8211; I just think the <em>average</em> American is too distracted or preoccupied or apathetic to pay attention to the stuff that some of us feel is important.&#8221;</p></blockquote><p>Here&#8217;s the whole article, <strong><a
href="http://www.cosmictap.com/reminder-people-are-stupid/" rel="bookmark" title="Read Reminder: People Are Stupid">Reminder: People Are Stupid</a></strong>:</p><blockquote><p>Whenever I hear about a poll telling me what a group of Americans think, I generally write it off.  Now, folks, I don’t think <em>everyone </em>is stupid &#8211; I just think the <em>average</em> American is too distracted or preoccupied or apathetic to pay attention to the stuff that some of us feel is important.</p><p><span
id="more-902"></span>Today, the press is all over the <a
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/03/us/03cnd-poll.html" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.nytimes.com/2008/04/03/us/03cnd-poll.html');">CBS/NYT poll</a> that shows 81% of Americans feel the nation is “on the wrong track.” I agree with those Americans, but probably wouldn’t share their reasoning. What didn’t get as much attention was the recent <a
href="http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=401" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=401');">“News IQ” poll</a> by Pew Internet Life that drilled down a bit to explore what we know about things like our society, our government, and the war being fought with our dollars and our permission. I was pleasantly surprised at how relatively well people did.</p><p>Some highlights:</p><ul><li>Only 28% of respondents know approximately how many Americans have died in Iraq (and Pew notes that this is an all-time low and “awareness is dropping”).</li><li>70% knew Condi Rice is Secretary of State</li><li>62% could identify “Sunni” as the branch of Islam fighting the Shia in Iraq</li><li>56% knew McCain was from Arizona</li><li>40% knew Howard Dean chairs the DNC</li><li>35% knew Ben Bernanke chairs the Federal Reserve</li></ul><p>Of course, these were phone interviews of 1000 people who were willing to sit through a phone trivia test, and who were given four multiple choice answers from which to choose. I frankly find the results impressive, but I’ll bet if they had conducted the same survey outside a Wal-Mart in middle America without the benefit of “multiple choice”, the numbers would have been much, much worse.</p></blockquote><script type="text/javascript">(function() {var s = document.createElement('SCRIPT'), s1 = document.getElementsByTagName('SCRIPT')[0];s.type = 'text/javascript';s.async = true;s.src = 'http://widgets.digg.com/buttons.js';s1.parentNode.insertBefore(s, s1);})();</script><a
class="DiggThisButton DiggCompact" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2008%2F06%2F26%2Fpeople-as-a-whole-are-indeed-stupid%2F"></a>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/26/people-as-a-whole-are-indeed-stupid/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>No Matter What They Say College is Not for Everyone</title><link>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/21/no-matter-what-they-say-college-is-not-for-everyone/</link> <comments>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/21/no-matter-what-they-say-college-is-not-for-everyone/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Sat, 21 Jun 2008 18:11:53 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Chris Abraham</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[American Education]]></category> <category><![CDATA[College Education]]></category> <category><![CDATA[The Atlantic]]></category> <category><![CDATA[University Education]]></category> <category><![CDATA[abject failure]]></category> 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<category><![CDATA[piles]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Plurk]]></category> <category><![CDATA[population]]></category> <category><![CDATA[post]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Pownce]]></category> <category><![CDATA[premise]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Professional]]></category> <category><![CDATA[professional degrees]]></category> <category><![CDATA[professor x]]></category> <category><![CDATA[professors]]></category> <category><![CDATA[profiles]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Publicity]]></category> <category><![CDATA[reviewers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[shame]]></category> <category><![CDATA[shoulds]]></category> <category><![CDATA[social]]></category> <category><![CDATA[socialism]]></category> <category><![CDATA[socialization]]></category> <category><![CDATA[sorts]]></category> <category><![CDATA[students]]></category> <category><![CDATA[sufferance]]></category> <category><![CDATA[taked]]></category> <category><![CDATA[think]]></category> <category><![CDATA[thriving]]></category> <category><![CDATA[time money]]></category> <category><![CDATA[train]]></category> <category><![CDATA[trains]]></category> <category><![CDATA[universe]]></category> <category><![CDATA[University]]></category> <category><![CDATA[vectors]]></category> <category><![CDATA[virtual]]></category> <category><![CDATA[whale]]></category> <category><![CDATA[whaleing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[whales]]></category> <category><![CDATA[whaling]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[writing english]]></category><guid
isPermaLink="false">http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/21/no-matter-what-they-say-college-is-not-for-everyone/</guid> <description><![CDATA[I have finally gotten around to catching up on all the Atlantics that have piled up in my absence in Berlin. One very compelling article is an anonymous essay written by &#8220;Professor X,&#8221; In the Basement of the Ivory Tower. I am still trying to sort out my thoughts on this &#8212; please excuse the [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div
style="float:left;margin:10px 10px 0px 0px;"> <a
class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2008%2F06%2F21%2Fno-matter-what-they-say-college-is-not-for-everyone%2F&title=No+Matter+What+They+Say+College+is+Not+for+Everyone" rel="news, tech_news"><span
style="display:none">I have finally gotten around to catching up on all the Atlantics that have piled up in my absence in Berlin. One very compelling article is an anonymous essay written by &#8220;Professor X,&#8221; In the Basement of the Ivory Tower. I am still trying to sort out my thoughts on this &#8212; please excuse the [...]</span></a></div><p></p><div
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/> </a></div><p>I have finally gotten around to catching up on all the <a
href="http://www.theatlantic.com">Atlantics</a> that have piled up in my absence in Berlin. One very compelling article is an anonymous essay written by &#8220;Professor X,&#8221; <a
href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200806/college">In the Basement of the Ivory Tower</a>.</p><p>I am still trying to sort out my thoughts on this &#8212; please excuse the disjointed nature of this post. Would you be so kind as to comment?  Maybe a conversation is just what I need to sort this out.</p><p>The premise is that many of the colleges and universities that populate the United States are are not actually members of the Ivory Tower.</p><p>And, if they are part of the Ivory Tower, they are in the basement. As a professor at one of these &#8220;basement&#8221; schools, Professor X suggests that the majority of the students who come through his English class should not be there &#8212; that America&#8217;s obsession with college educations, graduate schooling, and professional degrees as de rigeur is seriously messed up.</p><p>Why?  Because not everyone is capable of becoming collegiate.</p><p>America is a land of opportunity where everyone is equal and all it takes is hard work and focus to do whatever  and become whatever one desires. According to <a
href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200806/college">In the Basement of the Ivory Tower</a>, however, this is not so.  From his vast experience teaching remedial high school-level English classes in the guise of <em>Introduction to College Writing (English 101) and Introduction to College Literature (English 102)</em>, Professor X believes that the vast investment of time, money, debt, and <em>academic shame</em> associated with going to college if you&#8217;re neither prepared or intellectually capable of doing so can be ruinous to the finances, ego, pride, and self-esteem of all of the folks who fail out, still saddled with relatively enormous loans and a send of abject failure associated &#8212; <em>all for naught</em>!</p><p>I never believed this, myself &#8212; all of my friends are bloody brilliant &#8212; but I have started to begin to believe, especially in light of the sort of <a
href="http://chrisabraham.com/2006/02/23/dont-save-the-whales-and-dont-save-the-rainforest-either/#comments">comments I have been receiving</a> in response to my series of <a
href="http://chrisabraham.com/2006/02/23/dont-save-the-whales-and-dont-save-the-rainforest-either">incendiary posts about Whales</a>:</p><ul><li><span
class="aizattos_related_posts_title"><a
href="http://chrisabraham.com/2007/05/20/will-subliterate-17-year-olds-save-the-whales/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Will Subliterate 17-Year-Olds Save the Whales?">Will Subliterate 17-Year-Olds Save the Whales?</a></span></li><li><span
class="aizattos_related_posts_title"><a
href="http://chrisabraham.com/2008/01/14/wisdumb-of-crowds-save-the-whales/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Wisdumb of Crowds: SAVE THE WHALES">Wisdumb of Crowds: SAVE THE WHALES</a></span></li><li><span
class="aizattos_related_posts_title"><a
href="http://chrisabraham.com/2005/07/11/dont-save-the-whales-review-you-obviously-is-idiot/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: “Don’t Save the Whales” Review: “you obviously is idiot”">“Don’t Save the Whales” Review: “you obviously is idiot”</a></span></li><li><span
class="aizattos_related_posts_title"><a
href="http://chrisabraham.com/2008/01/22/u-are-a-bitter-old-man-all-alone-trying-to-get-attion-because-u-are-lonly-and-missible/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: u are a bitter old man all alone trying to get attion because u are lonly and missible">u are a bitter old man all alone trying to get attion because u are lonly and missible</a></span></li><li><span
class="aizattos_related_posts_title"><a
href="http://chrisabraham.com/2005/07/25/may-god-have-mercey-on-your-souls/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: May God Have Mercey [sic] on your Souls">May God Have Mercey [sic] on your Souls</a></span></li></ul><p>I know. I can&#8217;t stop making fun &#8212; and that I am in fact an <span
class="aizattos_related_posts_title"></span><a
href="http://chrisabraham.com/2008/01/06/chris-abraham-is-an-awful-awful-man/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Chris Abraham is an Awful Awful Man">Awful Awful Man</a> but I am actually starting to wonder what I can do to encourage these kids that actually saving whales requires a rigorous education and lots of training and support. Saving whales requires amazing copy writing skills and the ability to network, fundraise, and communicate.</p><p>Are these commenters &#8220;just young&#8221; or are they just &#8220;communicating casually?&#8221; I was pretty literate and intellectually curious when I was in 6-12th grade!</p><p>I was writing and researching and participating in my school&#8217;s newspaper from 7th grade (my high school spanned 7-12th grade).  So where all of my geeky, nerdy, intellectual friends, too.  I was a book worm. I preferred to spend my time in Hawaii at the library than I did the beach.</p><p>I think the problem lies in the incestuous nature of intellectualism, of the academy, of the Ivory Tower, and of the social network associated with urban centers, university towns, and professional and corporate communities.</p><p>I was at <a
href="http://www.blogpotomac.com/">BlogPotomac</a> the other week and everyone there said that they suffered from Social Network Burnout &#8212; but outside of the Social Network Maven world, most people may have a MySpace or Facebook profile, but that&#8217;s it &#8212; no digg, del.icio.us, reddit, Plurk, Pownce, or anything else!</p><p>The same thing happens with regards liberal Democrats in the USA &#8212; everyone in NY, DC, Atlanta, Austin, San Francisco, Connecticut, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Chicago, only know Democrats, activists, and people who voted for Gore, Kerry, and who support Choice and evolution in schools &#8212; but that&#8217;s not America proper!</p><p>I mean, of course there is great diversity of belief, politics, and passion, but extrapolating personal beliefs and political, professional, and academic expectations can result in the sort of myopia that can not just leave children behind but might just well leave most Americans behind as well.</p><p>What is the current state of vocational training in America?  Why are our public universities, colleges, and community colleges so limited in their scope?  Should these publicly-funded places offer training and services for everyone, where everyone includes opportunity for lives wearing other collars than white!</p><p>I see this all the time in technology and the Internet &#8212; people just aren&#8217;t interested in being geeky. There is no interest there, even when I get into conversations with doctors and lawyers. I always took to being a geek. I always took to being a book worm. Mind you, my parents were both bookish and in the art world, so I guess my vector was partially chosen for me.</p><p>Much of the time, it all comes down to just not being interested. Not caring at all. The &#8220;I don&#8217;t have time for this shit&#8221; theory when you&#8217;re sitting in class wondering why you&#8217;re there instead of at your desk or in the store or at you job, making money for today, tomorrow, and for your family.</p><p>Life is messy and there is no need to make it any harder.  Yes, I understand that there is a lot of incentive for these college and universities to broaden their appeal to just about everyone, but my friends like to speak of &#8220;opportunity costs&#8221; &#8212; will going to business school and spending two years in school add to your marketability and brand more than staying in your current job?  What is the opportunity cost of attending a college, spending money you don&#8217;t have, and then fail out?  What is the opportunity when you try your hardest and can&#8217;t handle the stress or have too many things going on in your life to actually spend the time and attention required to thrive in academia.</p><p>I think one of the issue here has to do with our K-12 education. There are quite a few high school graduates who need to basically redo high school &#8212; especially if they are returning to college after years away as mature students.</p><p>Back in the day, there were all sorts of public services and night schools that were virtually free &#8212; they allowed people to take remedial course, to bone up before moving on, and to learn English as a second language.  Are these sorts of services still serving Americans or have they all become privatized into the sundry schools soliciting me late at night?</p><p>Please join me in the comments &#8212; I would love to continue the conversation and sort out my thoughts along with you.  Thanks in advance.</p><script type="text/javascript">(function() {var s = document.createElement('SCRIPT'), s1 = document.getElementsByTagName('SCRIPT')[0];s.type = 'text/javascript';s.async = true;s.src = 'http://widgets.digg.com/buttons.js';s1.parentNode.insertBefore(s, s1);})();</script><a
class="DiggThisButton DiggCompact" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2008%2F06%2F21%2Fno-matter-what-they-say-college-is-not-for-everyone%2F"></a>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/21/no-matter-what-they-say-college-is-not-for-everyone/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>Will an Expansion Dilute or Expand the Yale Brand?</title><link>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/07/will-an-expansion-dolute-or-expand-the-yale-brand/</link> <comments>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/07/will-an-expansion-dolute-or-expand-the-yale-brand/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Sat, 07 Jun 2008 23:00:23 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Chris Abraham</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[College]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Echo Boom]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Echo Boomers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Education]]></category> <category><![CDATA[University]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Yale College]]></category> <category><![CDATA[33 years]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Academia]]></category> <category><![CDATA[aim]]></category> <category><![CDATA[attractiveness]]></category> <category><![CDATA[authorities]]></category> <category><![CDATA[baby boom]]></category> <category><![CDATA[baby boomer]]></category> <category><![CDATA[baby boomer generation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[baby boomers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[benefit]]></category> <category><![CDATA[billions]]></category> <category><![CDATA[brand]]></category> <category><![CDATA[brand integrity]]></category> <category><![CDATA[campaigning]]></category> <category><![CDATA[campaigns]]></category> <category><![CDATA[change]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Children]]></category> <category><![CDATA[citizen]]></category> <category><![CDATA[collectives]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Community]]></category> <category><![CDATA[corporations]]></category> <category><![CDATA[crowd]]></category> <category><![CDATA[crowds]]></category> <category><![CDATA[discipline]]></category> <category><![CDATA[echo boom generation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Email]]></category> <category><![CDATA[emulation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[evenings]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Exercise]]></category> <category><![CDATA[expectation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[experiences]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Family]]></category> <category><![CDATA[fellow]]></category> <category><![CDATA[generations]]></category> <category><![CDATA[grate]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Harvard]]></category> <category><![CDATA[heart]]></category> <category><![CDATA[hearts]]></category> <category><![CDATA[heritage]]></category> <category><![CDATA[humanities]]></category> <category><![CDATA[incoming class]]></category> <category><![CDATA[intellectuals]]></category> <category><![CDATA[interns]]></category> <category><![CDATA[leadership]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Learning]]></category> <category><![CDATA[learnings]]></category> <category><![CDATA[live births]]></category> <category><![CDATA[masters]]></category> <category><![CDATA[models]]></category> <category><![CDATA[national passion]]></category> <category><![CDATA[nationalities]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[objective]]></category> <category><![CDATA[offerings]]></category> <category><![CDATA[onli]]></category> <category><![CDATA[openness]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Parenting]]></category> <category><![CDATA[parents]]></category> <category><![CDATA[passions]]></category> <category><![CDATA[pastes]]></category> <category><![CDATA[people]]></category> <category><![CDATA[percentages]]></category> <category><![CDATA[perception]]></category> <category><![CDATA[perceptions]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Physics]]></category> <category><![CDATA[placements]]></category> <category><![CDATA[pledge]]></category> <category><![CDATA[population]]></category> <category><![CDATA[promising students]]></category> <category><![CDATA[prospects]]></category> <category><![CDATA[providence]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Publicity]]></category> <category><![CDATA[realities]]></category> <category><![CDATA[renaissance]]></category> <category><![CDATA[residential colleges]]></category> <category><![CDATA[resourcefulness]]></category> <category><![CDATA[richard c levin]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Science]]></category> <category><![CDATA[social]]></category> <category><![CDATA[socialism]]></category> <category><![CDATA[socialization]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Spirit]]></category> <category><![CDATA[students]]></category> <category><![CDATA[studies]]></category> <category><![CDATA[think]]></category> <category><![CDATA[undergraduate education]]></category> <category><![CDATA[universe]]></category> <category><![CDATA[virtual]]></category> <category><![CDATA[web]]></category> <category><![CDATA[yale corporation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[yalie]]></category><guid
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style="display:none">Richard C. Levin, the President of Yale, just popped its alumni an email announcing the expansion of Yale College &#8212; growing the hallowed university by two residential colleges: I am pleased to announce that the Yale Corporation has authorized increasing the enrollment of Yale College through the creation of two new residential colleges. This expansion [...]</span></a></div><p></p><div
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/> </a></div><p>Richard C. Levin, the President of Yale, just <a
href="https://light.its.yale.edu/messages/UnivMsgs/detail.asp?Msg=33799">popped its alumni an email</a> announcing the expansion of Yale College &#8212; growing the hallowed university by two residential colleges:</p><blockquote><p>I am pleased to announce that the Yale Corporation has authorized increasing the  enrollment of Yale College through the creation of two new residential colleges.  This expansion will allow us to make an even greater contribution to society by  preparing a larger number of talented and promising students of all backgrounds  for leadership and service.</p></blockquote><p>This is an excellent time for Yale to expand. Harvard and Yale had to reject most of all the applicants who applied to matriculate this Fall &#8212; many of whom were exceptional and some of whom were the sons and daughters of Harvard and Yale graduates &#8212; legacy applicants. The questions remains: will the increase of placement supply affect the brand integrity of this exclusive &#8212; and arguably finest &#8212; undergraduate education?  What do you think?</p><p><span
id="more-4668"></span>You may not have heard but we&#8217;re entering what is called the &#8220;<a
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echo_boom_generation">echo boom</a>:&#8221;</p><blockquote><p>The Echo Boom generation is an expansive term for children born between roughly 1988 and 1992 (though sources disagree on the exact years). In 1989 the number of live births exceeded four million for the first time since 1964, and the Echo Boom peaked in 1990 (33 years after the peak of the Baby Boom) with 4.16 million live births, the greatest number since 1962 in the United States.<sup
id="cite_ref-0" class="reference"><a
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echo_boom_generation#cite_note-0">[1]</a></sup> Children of this generation are called Echo Boomers, a reference to the fact that the generation falls between about 30 and 36 years after the <a
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_boomer" title="Baby boomer">Baby Boomer</a> generation, and thus many Echo Boomers are the children of Baby Boomers.</p></blockquote><p>While the lure of a larger incoming class of elite and monied incoming Freshmen into their undergraduate programs may be too attractive to resist, there is always the possibility that the quality and exclusiveness of Yale &#8212; its brand reputation &#8212; could well be eroded by this expansion.  Also, since one of Yale College&#8217;s appeal is the tradition behind each of its residential college, I wonder how incoming Freshmen will take to becoming part of starting a new tradition?</p><p>There is a serious deficit of elite university inventory. We are going through a renaissance of academia and a national passion to be truly rewarded with a spot at a top-five undergraduate education where a second tier college won&#8217;t do. Many universities are desperately trying to expand not just their capacity but also their services, their resources.  And, why not generate more income and also expand the ranks of a very devoted, generally well-healed alumni who will generally do whatever they can to give back on the investment that Yale made in them &#8212; and that devotion is palpable.</p><p>So, what to do, what to do?</p><p>What&#8217;s more, many of the children of baby boomer Yalies can&#8217;t get their children into Yale.  So, many of these expansion are being made to be able to accept more legacy student as well as the growing tide of superboys and supergirls who have their hearts set on the Harvards, Yales, Princetons, Berkeleys, Stanfords, and the lesser Ivies.</p><p>Anyway, for you amusement, here&#8217;s the letter that President Richard C. Levin sent its alumni (also <a
href="https://light.its.yale.edu/messages/UnivMsgs/detail.asp?Msg=33799">viewable via the web</a>):</p><blockquote><p>Dear Yale Alumni and Parents:</p><p>I am pleased to announce that the Yale  Corporation has authorized increasing the enrollment of Yale College through the  creation of two new residential colleges. This expansion will allow us to make  an even greater contribution to society by preparing a larger number of talented  and promising students of all backgrounds for leadership and service.</p><p>We will achieve this goal while ensuring that the quality of the Yale College  educational and social experience will be as extraordinary as ever.</p><p>As I stated in February, when we shared the report of the Study Group to  Consider New Residential Colleges, the last significant increase in the size of  the Yale College student body came with the admission of women in 1969. By 1978,  undergraduate enrollment first reached 5,200, and it has remained between 5,150  and 5,350 ever since. When women were first allowed to apply to Yale College,  the number of applications soared immediately from 6,781 to 10,039, and the  number fluctuated between 9,000 and 13,000 until 2001, when it began a steady  rise to its current level of 22,500, spurred by dramatic improvements in  financial aid, wider awareness of Yale&#8217;s accessibility, the extension of full  need-based aid to international students, and a growing appreciation of the  quality of a Yale College education. Along with the rise in applications has  come an equally dramatic increase in the percentage of those admitted who accept  Yale&#8217;s offer, from 53 percent when I became president, to over 70 percent in  recent years.</p><p>The principal result of these changes in the admissions picture is that Yale  College has become significantly more selective. From 1969 to 2000, the  percentage of applicants admitted to Yale College ranged from 18 to 27 percent.  It was above 20 percent as recently as 1999. Today, Yale College admits fewer  than 10 percent of its applicants. Admissions officers agree that in each of the  past several years we have denied admission to hundreds of applicants who would  have been admitted ten years ago.</p><p>The mission of Yale College is to seek exceptionally promising students of  all backgrounds from across the nation and around the world and to educate them,  through mental discipline and social experience, to develop their intellectual,  moral, civic and creative capacities. The aim of this education is the  cultivation of citizens with a rich awareness of our heritage to lead and serve  in every sphere of human activity. For three centuries, we have made this  aspiration a reality, to the great benefit of the nation and, increasingly, the  world. Today, we have a long queue of highly qualified applicants who  collectively would allow Yale to make an even greater contribution to society if  more could be educated here. In addition, since the late-1970s, when the  undergraduate population ceased to grow, Yale is larger in virtually every  dimension: faculty, staff, library and museum resources, and physical presence.  We are well poised, therefore, to expand.</p><p>Our 12 existing residential colleges are admired because they create intimate  communities and a superb environment for learning. The new colleges will emulate  Yale&#8217;s proven model with a master, dean, fellows, and students forming a  close-knit family, supported by the highest caliber public and private spaces  for living and study. With an anticipated opening in 2013, these colleges will  allow us not only to increase the undergraduate student body by about 15  percent, but also to alleviate crowding throughout the residential college  system. We expect to reduce the population of the existing colleges by  approximately 140 students and largely eliminate the need for annex housing.</p><p>Our goal is that students in every residential college, old and new, will  have an even more robust and enlivening experience as a result of this  expansion. Thus, we are adding facilities in the vicinity of the new colleges  that support academics and student life, including classroom space, a student  café, exercise facilities, a theater, and more. We are also expanding the  faculty to sustain our favorable ratio of students to teachers, particularly in  highly subscribed majors, and we are growing our system of academic advising.  New resources will augment curricular development, student research, study  abroad, and the whole range of extracurricular activities so important to a Yale  education.</p><p>The new colleges will be built in a triangle just north of the Grove Street  Cemetery bounded by Prospect, Canal, and Sachem Streets, creating a new sense of  the geography of our campus by enlarging the footprint of Yale College. I  believe that the presence of undergraduate residences north of Grove Street will  alter the perception that Science Hill is &#8220;too far away&#8221; from the &#8220;center&#8221; of  campus. In fact, the site proposed for the new colleges is only three blocks  north of Elm Street, which divides the Old Campus and the Cross Campus. As the  Study Group Report indicates, the new colleges have the potential of making the  whole campus seem smaller, more effectively linking Science Hill with the  historic &#8220;center&#8221; through the proper treatment of Prospect Street, the creation  of appropriate &#8220;stepping stones&#8221; along the way, and the development of  facilities for student activities at, near, and beyond the site of the new  colleges.</p><p>To support the expansion of Yale College, the Corporation has authorized an  increase in the goal of the Yale Tomorrow fundraising campaign from $3 billion  to $3.5 billion. I am delighted to announce that, thanks to generous commitments  from a handful of leadership donors, we have already secured $140 million in  gifts and pledges for this purpose.</p><p>Almost 80 years ago, Edward H. Harkness, B.A. 1897, gave the funds to create  Yale&#8217;s residential college system. He saw the residential colleges as a way to  sustain the collegiate spirit in a school that was fast becoming a university.  Since then, Yale College has grown in ways that Harkness never predicted. The  student body has doubled, women have been enrolled, and young people have been  welcomed from more than 100 nations. Remarkably, the members of this vast and  vibrant enterprise still consider themselves part of a family. This is  Harkness&#8217;s great legacy, and one that we will preserve in a new era of  expansion. I am grateful for the outstanding work of the Study Group for  providing us with wise counsel on how to achieve this objective.</p><p>Sincerely yours,</p><p>Richard C. Levin</p></blockquote><p>So, what do you think?</p><script type="text/javascript">(function() {var s = document.createElement('SCRIPT'), s1 = document.getElementsByTagName('SCRIPT')[0];s.type = 'text/javascript';s.async = true;s.src = 'http://widgets.digg.com/buttons.js';s1.parentNode.insertBefore(s, s1);})();</script><a
class="DiggThisButton DiggCompact" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2008%2F06%2F07%2Fwill-an-expansion-dolute-or-expand-the-yale-brand%2F"></a>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/07/will-an-expansion-dolute-or-expand-the-yale-brand/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>14</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>I Prefer The Original Recipe Mortal Sins</title><link>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/04/i-prefer-the-original-recipe-mortal-sins/</link> <comments>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/04/i-prefer-the-original-recipe-mortal-sins/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:09:04 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Chris Abraham</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Anger]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Diane Grzyb]]></category> <category><![CDATA[envy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Gluttony]]></category> <category><![CDATA[greed]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lust]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Pride]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Religion]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sloth]]></category> <category><![CDATA[advertiser]]></category> <category><![CDATA[advertisers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Advertising]]></category> <category><![CDATA[apparent reason]]></category> <category><![CDATA[consumption]]></category> <category><![CDATA[control anger]]></category> <category><![CDATA[crowd]]></category> <category><![CDATA[crowd control]]></category> <category><![CDATA[crowds]]></category> <category><![CDATA[debates]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[evenings]]></category> <category><![CDATA[excessive wealth]]></category> <category><![CDATA[experiences]]></category> <category><![CDATA[genetic manipulation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[goodness]]></category> <category><![CDATA[grzyb]]></category> <category><![CDATA[heck]]></category> <category><![CDATA[humanities]]></category> <category><![CDATA[international relations]]></category> <category><![CDATA[interns]]></category> <category><![CDATA[kids]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Learning]]></category> <category><![CDATA[learnings]]></category> <category><![CDATA[leverage]]></category> <category><![CDATA[list of seven deadly sins]]></category> <category><![CDATA[littl]]></category> <category><![CDATA[manipulation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[marketers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[marketing strategies]]></category> <category><![CDATA[mayflower]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[old sins]]></category> <category><![CDATA[origins]]></category> <category><![CDATA[people]]></category> <category><![CDATA[polluters]]></category> <category><![CDATA[presidential candidates]]></category> <category><![CDATA[resourcefulness]]></category> <category><![CDATA[reviewers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[run]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Running]]></category> <category><![CDATA[sacrament of reconciliation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[sales and marketing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[seven deadly sins]]></category> <category><![CDATA[seven mortal sins]]></category> <category><![CDATA[sevens]]></category> <category><![CDATA[surprise]]></category> <category><![CDATA[surprises]]></category> <category><![CDATA[taked]]></category> <category><![CDATA[think]]></category> <category><![CDATA[war on terrorism]]></category><guid
isPermaLink="false">http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/04/i-prefer-the-original-recipe-mortal-sins/</guid> <description><![CDATA[Diane Grzyb, the Polish Diva, and I grew up Catholic and I think we both agree that the original Seven Deadly Sins are pretty good but that &#8220;kids nowadays&#8230;&#8221; What I mean is that most kids nowadays don&#8217;t even know (or care) what many of these sins even mean: Sloth? Gluttony? Envy? What does that [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div
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style="display:none">Diane Grzyb, the Polish Diva, and I grew up Catholic and I think we both agree that the original Seven Deadly Sins are pretty good but that &#8220;kids nowadays&#8230;&#8221; What I mean is that most kids nowadays don&#8217;t even know (or care) what many of these sins even mean: Sloth? Gluttony? Envy? What does that [...]</span></a></div><p></p><div
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/> </a></div><p><a
href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/07038437516395120655">Diane Grzyb</a>, the <a
href="http://polishdivadc.blogspot.com">Polish Diva</a>, and I grew up Catholic and I think we both agree that the original <a
href="http://polishdivadc.blogspot.com/2008/03/new-seven-mortal-sins.html">Seven Deadly Sins are pretty good but that &#8220;kids nowadays&#8230;&#8221;</a> What I mean is that most kids nowadays don&#8217;t even know (or care) what many of these sins even mean: Sloth? Gluttony? Envy? What does that mean?</p><p>Even so, most of these mortal, deadly, sins aren&#8217;t even sins any more, they&#8217;re American and good for the economy.  The economy would collapse were advertisers not able to leverage Pride, Envy, Lust, Gluttony, and Greed for their sales and marketing strategies! Come on, it is true, these &#8220;sins&#8221; drive the economy!</p><p>Also, when it comes to international relations and crowd control, Anger and Sloth pretty much drive the war on terrorism and make it easier for the Powers That Be to extricate our liberties from our cold Slothful fingers.</p><p>I am not making any sense on this &#8212; Diane nails it when she says, <em>&#8220;the problem is that people either don&#8217;t believe that they sin or that they don&#8217;t believe that telling someone else their sins will make them better people&#8221;</em> Diane says it better than me in <a
href="http://polishdivadc.blogspot.com/2008/03/new-seven-mortal-sins.html">The New Seven Mortal Sins</a>:</p><blockquote><p>&#8220;I was a little <span
class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">surprised</span> to learn that the Vatican has issued a new list of seven deadly sins, particularly since the apparent reason for revisiting the list was because people aren&#8217;t taking advantage of the sacrament of reconciliation enough. But just looking at today&#8217;s headlines alone suggests that the old sins were the problem (i.e., lust at the Mayflower, envy of more popular presidential candidates). No, the sins aren&#8217;t the problem: the problem is that people either don&#8217;t believe that they sin or that they don&#8217;t believe that telling someone else their sins will make them better people.&#8221;</p><p>But for giggles, let&#8217;s review the list:</p></blockquote><blockquote><p><strong>THE OLD MORTAL SINS</strong><br
/> - Pride<br
/> - Envy<br
/> - Lust<br
/> - Gluttony<br
/> - Anger<br
/> - Greed<br
/> - Sloth</p><p><strong>THE NEW MORTAL SINS</strong><br
/> - Environmental pollution<br
/> - Genetic manipulation<br
/> - Accumulating excessive wealth<br
/> - Inflicting poverty<br
/> - Drug trafficking and consumption<br
/> - Morally debatable experiments<br
/> - Violation of fundamental rights of human nature</p><p>Now, father forgive me, I have no idea what some of these mean, nor do I believe that I have the resources to commit these sins. Genetic manipulation? I&#8217;m not running any cloning labs in my basement. And violation of fundamental rights of human nature? What the heck does that mean? Requiring Catholics to take a philosophy course before they make amends with G-d just doesn&#8217;t sound like an enticing way to get them back in the confessional.</p></blockquote><script type="text/javascript">(function() {var s = document.createElement('SCRIPT'), s1 = document.getElementsByTagName('SCRIPT')[0];s.type = 'text/javascript';s.async = true;s.src = 'http://widgets.digg.com/buttons.js';s1.parentNode.insertBefore(s, s1);})();</script><a
class="DiggThisButton DiggCompact" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2008%2F06%2F04%2Fi-prefer-the-original-recipe-mortal-sins%2F"></a>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/06/04/i-prefer-the-original-recipe-mortal-sins/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>Let&#8217;s Go Check out the Clärchens Ballhaus!</title><link>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/04/25/lets-go-check-out-the-clarchen%e2%80%99s-ballhaus/</link> <comments>http://chrisabraham.com/2008/04/25/lets-go-check-out-the-clarchen%e2%80%99s-ballhaus/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:16:05 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Chris Abraham</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Berlin]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Berlin Culture]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Berlin Germany]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Berlin Nightlife]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Clärchen’s Ballhaus]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Prenzlauer Berg]]></category> <category><![CDATA[american apparel]]></category> <category><![CDATA[attractiveness]]></category> <category><![CDATA[baby sitter]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ballhaus]]></category> <category><![CDATA[berlin nightclub]]></category> <category><![CDATA[berliner]]></category> <category><![CDATA[berliners]]></category> <category><![CDATA[blood alcohol level]]></category> <category><![CDATA[cellophane]]></category> <category><![CDATA[christian schulz]]></category> <category><![CDATA[christians]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Coffee]]></category> <category><![CDATA[coffees]]></category> <category><![CDATA[colleagues]]></category> <category><![CDATA[commentator]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Comments]]></category> <category><![CDATA[couples]]></category> <category><![CDATA[crowd]]></category> <category><![CDATA[crowds]]></category> <category><![CDATA[dance hall]]></category> <category><![CDATA[dinner parties]]></category> <category><![CDATA[doors]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Drinking]]></category> <category><![CDATA[drinks]]></category> <category><![CDATA[east berlin]]></category> <category><![CDATA[enchantment under the sea]]></category> <category><![CDATA[experiences]]></category> <category><![CDATA[fashion design student]]></category> <category><![CDATA[films]]></category> <category><![CDATA[foreign exchange students]]></category> <category><![CDATA[game]]></category> <category><![CDATA[installation artist]]></category> <category><![CDATA[jimi hendrix]]></category> <category><![CDATA[leaves]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Love]]></category> <category><![CDATA[neighborhood]]></category> <category><![CDATA[night crowd]]></category> <category><![CDATA[nightclub experience]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ny times]]></category> <category><![CDATA[onli]]></category> <category><![CDATA[partying]]></category> <category><![CDATA[photograph]]></category> <category><![CDATA[photographer]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Restaurants]]></category> <category><![CDATA[run]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Running]]></category> <category><![CDATA[stage designer]]></category> <category><![CDATA[students]]></category> <category><![CDATA[taked]]></category> <category><![CDATA[tango]]></category> <category><![CDATA[think]]></category> <category><![CDATA[thomas demand]]></category> <category><![CDATA[tires]]></category> <category><![CDATA[transformation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Wine]]></category><guid
isPermaLink="false">http://chrisabraham.com/2008/04/25/lets-go-check-out-the-clarchen%e2%80%99s-ballhaus/</guid> <description><![CDATA[Mark pointed me to this article in the NY Times with this simple comment, &#8220;Berlin really is the best city in the world.&#8221; Anybody game to checking this place out? I have yet to go out dancing at all in Berlin. For me, it has been 100% dinner parties, lounges, bars, restaurants, and homes. It [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div
style="float:left;margin:10px 10px 0px 0px;"> <a
class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium" href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchrisabraham.com%2F2008%2F04%2F25%2Flets-go-check-out-the-clarchen%25e2%2580%2599s-ballhaus%2F&title=Let%26%238217%3Bs+Go+Check+out+the+Cl%C3%A4rchens+Ballhaus%21" rel="news, tech_news"><span
style="display:none">Mark pointed me to this article in the NY Times with this simple comment, &#8220;Berlin really is the best city in the world.&#8221; Anybody game to checking this place out? I have yet to go out dancing at all in Berlin. For me, it has been 100% dinner parties, lounges, bars, restaurants, and homes. It [...]</span></a></div><p></p><div
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style="text-align: center"><img
src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/04/20/travel/20berlin600.jpg" alt="20berlin600 Lets Go Check out the Clärchens Ballhaus!"  title="Lets Go Check out the Clärchens Ballhaus!" /></p><p>Mark pointed me to <a
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/travel/20berlinnight.html?_r=2&amp;oref=login&amp;oref=slogin">this article in the NY Times</a> with this simple comment, &#8220;Berlin really is the best city in the world.&#8221; Anybody game to checking this place out?  I have yet to go out dancing at all in Berlin. For me, it has been 100% dinner parties, lounges, bars, restaurants, and homes. It looks like my first  Berlin nightclub experience will surely need to be this democratic, egalitarian, Prenzlauer Berg night spot, <a
href="http://www.ballhaus.de">Clärchen’s Ballhaus</a>.</p><blockquote><p>There is no door policy at the nearly 100-year-old Clärchen’s Ballhaus, no bored-looking blond <a
href="http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/germany/berlin/overview.html?inline=nyt-geo" title="Go to the Berlin Travel Guide.">Berlin</a> fashion design student dressed like an American Apparel ad surveying the late-night crowd. There is a coat check, run by the same nattily dressed mustached gentleman who’s been running it since the 1960s, when Clärchen’s was a dance hall in Communist East Berlin. His colleague Klaus Schliebs, dressed in a tuxedo every weekend night, takes your ticket after you’ve paid the cover charge of 3 euros, about $5 at $1.60 to the euro.</p><p>All come all served.</p><p>“As long as you don’t look like you have a seriously high blood-alcohol level, we’ll let you in,” says the owner Christian Schulz.</p><p>The democracy at the door is immediately evident inside, where couples of varying ages and sartorial styles dance with abandon to songs from <a
href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/jimi_hendrix/index.html?inline=nyt-per" title="More articles about Jimi Hendrix.">Jimi Hendrix</a> to <a
href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/abba/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More articles about Abba.">Abba</a> to the schlager singer Udo Jürgens played by a cover band. Mothers from the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood, ignoring the baby sitter’s calls for just a few minutes longer, groove with Italian foreign-exchange students and older men dressed in their Sunday suits. Cellophane streamers contributed by a stage designer from the nearby Volksbühne theater lend the place an “Enchantment Under the Sea” vibe. The atmosphere is flirtatious, uninhibited and eclectic.</p><p>“You’re there, and you think, you’re in an Austrian film of the late 1980s,” says Thomas Demand, a Berlin-based photographer and installation artist. Like most Clärchen’s regulars, Mr. Demand is an after-midnight guest, when dinner has been cleared from the white cloths of the restaurant tables, leaving only empty coffee cups and half-full bottles of prosecco.</p><p>“People come here with the hope that they will find the love of their life,” said Mr. Schulz, who took over Clärchen’s (Auguststrasse, 24; 49-30-282-92-95; <a
href="http://www.ballhaus.de/" target="_">www.ballhaus.de</a>) in 2005 with his partner, David Regehr, and transformed it from a faltering restaurant to a wildly successful dinner and late-night dance club.</p><p>A veteran of the theater, Mr. Schulz sees Clärchen’s as the stage on which a night’s adventures are improvised. There are some star players as well: Willem Defoe, <a
href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/bjork/index.html?inline=nyt-per" title="More articles about Bjork.">Bjork</a>, the artist <a
href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/matthew_barney/index.html?inline=nyt-per" title="More articles about Matthew Barney.">Matthew Barney</a>, <a
href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/r/charlotte_rampling/index.html?inline=nyt-per" title="More articles about Charlotte Rampling.">Charlotte Rampling</a> and other names Mr. Schulz is too tired to tick off, have come to Clärchen’s. But they come because they can, unperturbed, perform elegant tangos, grind to <a
href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/james_brown/index.html?inline=nyt-per" title="More articles about James Brown.">James Brown</a> or drink wine upstairs amid the cracked mirrors and haunted atmosphere of the Mirror Salon. No longer the main attractions, they dance on parquet made sticky by spilled alcohol and become bit players in the late-night show.</p></blockquote><script type="text/javascript">(function() {var s = document.createElement('SCRIPT'), s1 = document.getElementsByTagName('SCRIPT')[0];s.type = 'text/javascript';s.async = true;s.src = 'http://widgets.digg.com/buttons.js';s1.parentNode.insertBefore(s, s1);})();</script><a
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