Sep 30th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Palin Claims She Reads All Newspapers
Katie Couric asks Sarah Palin which newspapers she reads and Palin replies “um, all of them.”:
COURIC: But what ones specifically? I’m curious.
PALIN: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years.
COURIC: Can you name any of them?
PALIN: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news.
Bizarre. I mostly read The New York Times and secondarily The Washington Post as well as individual articles that I find being recommended by others, with The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Financial Times, USA Today, and The Guardian coming up frequently. But there are an awful lot of newspapers and even though reading stuff is a big part of my job I certainly don’t read “um, all of them.”
143 Responses to “Palin Claims She Reads All Newspapers”
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September 30th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
She may have a vast variety of sources where we get our news. But is she aware of all Internet traditions?
September 30th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
its like she cant even realize when a question is just a question. she is looking for all kinds of hidden meanings or attacks or gotchas even in the most innocuous of circumstances. i think she has had a major loss of confidence after the past few train wrecks.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
all yr paper ar belong to her
September 30th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Well Matt, I’m sure if you had people just putting papers in front of you all these years, you’d read ‘em all too.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
she has no chance to survive make her time
September 30th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
The only person that could have credibly given that response is Andrew Sullivan.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Maybe if you had 5 kids you would have more time to read.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
She reads the Anchorage Daily News and the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. Maybe the Juneau Empire when the legislature is in session. Possibly the Alaska Journal of Commerce for oil bidness news.
She does not read the New York Times. That would be silly.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
But there are an awful lot of newspapers and even though reading stuff is a big part of my job I certainly don’t read “um, all of them.”
That’s one more reason why you’re not qualified to be CinC. Why, what would you do when the Russians invaded our airspace? I bet you wouldn’t have a fucking clue. Experience matters, my friend.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
James, I’m sure she reads Chuck Norris on Townhall and checks in with her main girl K-Lo at The Corner. She’s certainly more savvy on the ‘Net than McCain, but still has some issues to work out.
Note to Embarrassing Public Figures: If your private Yahoo address gets out, stop using the service or at least register a new, free address that nobody knows about but your friends and families. You will get hacked, you see. Its sort of inevitable, like the Rapture but true.
Try:lipstick_pitbull@GeeIDon’tKnowCharlie.com
September 30th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
She was just hesitant to state the true source of her news all these years, which is, of course, The Bible. (Other than the Jew parts.)
September 30th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Dear Republicans:
OK, you win. We surrender. Just take Palin off the ticket and we’ll all vote for McCain. It’s not worth the risk otherwise.
Sincerely, The Democrats.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Couldn’t we answer this question by finding out whose job it was to put newspapers in front of Sarah Palin?
Apparently it’s sort of a passive activity — someone sets a paper up in front of her, and she reads at least some portion of it.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
This is ridiculous. No one could be that dumb. There are mainstream obvious choices – NYT, CNN, LAT – and then there are right-wing obvious choices – FOX, Weekly Standard, whatever – and even if the truth was that she just skims the front-page headlines of the Juneau Empire once a week, she could just name that newspaper and she’d look less dumb than if she claimed to read “all of them”.
It almost makes me wonder if the stupidity is an act as part of some complicated strategy. Maybe she’s getting coached intensively for the debate and she’ll handle it actually kinda well, which would knock everyone’s socks off? Maybe they’re trying to provoke someone into making some wise-ass remark that they’re hoping would be interpreted as unfair? Maybe she’ll be replaced with a serious VP candidate who would look competent under normal circumstances and therefore would look like Einstein compared to her?
On preview, though, gaucho politico is probably right. Palin probably realizes that she looks like an idiot, so she could be getting paranoid and overcompensating.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
“I read the Juneau Empire whenever I can, of course, and I also like Time and Newsweek sometimes. But to be honest, Katie, like a lot of ordinary Americans I get most of my daily news from TV. Heck, I used to be in the business, you know what I’m sayin’?”
Now how hard was that?
September 30th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Hey, Grumpy… if that’s the case, then why didn’t she just say those are the papers she reads?
I would expect any Governor to immediately cite their most relevant state newspapers as daily reads, but she failed to do that.
Instead, she said, “all of them.” Now, since of course she doesn’t read, like, you know, all of them, she’s doing one of two things:
1. Dodging
2. Lying
I’m going with #2, because it just seems to be something she does instinctively.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Is it just me, or is Couric mostly effin with Palin at this point? I mean, this really just seems cruel:
September 30th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
It’s funny because it’s false. She also claimed to be feeling the economic crunch these days, which is a bit much coming from a plane owner. Fortunately, we have her debating to look forward to:
http://theenlighteneddespot.wordpress.com/2008/09/30/palin-debate-countdown-t-minus-53-hours/
September 30th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
I am surprised no one has seen why she would not answer, not that she could not. If she names a East Coast main stream paper, the NYT or Washington Post, she is saying she used those to “keep informed.” But she cannot admit that she is informed about current events from the East Coast Left wing Media. On the other hand, she does not want to appear too right wing, so she cannot say the Washington Times. When the right wing candidate believes (or has been told to act like she believes) that the main stream print press is full if left wing lies, than any answer is suspect.
I don’t think she could not remember a paper or magazine she reads, I think it was that there is no answer that se could give that would be OK.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
I like both kinds of music.
Country, and Western!
September 30th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
PaLOLin
September 30th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
“I try to read the Daily Ain’t No Damn Arugula-Eatin’ Fancy Pants Big Head Academic Type Starbucks Liberal Sh*t Type Newspaper, If That’s What You Was Thinking at least several times a week, especially the letters to the editors.”
September 30th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
I can’t wait for the McCain camp to scream “gotcha journalism” on this one. We all know that sticking a mic in someone’s face and asking them to name some newspapers they read is unconscionable.
Palin here quite fittingly reminds me of the other Palin in the Holy Grail: “What is your favorite color? Blue. No Yellowwwwwwww…………” She is outsmarting herself now.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
I wonder if she’s also aware of all internet traditions.
And since Charlie Savage moved over to NYT, I guess there’s no real reason to read the Boston Globe any more.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
What would have been the best answer for her, for real?
Probably: “I read the Alaska papers religiously to help me keep in touch with my constituents’ lives. Although not as often as I’d like, I’ll also pick up the Wall Street Journal to stay on top of economic matters, and even the Washington Post, if only to keep myself informed on all the DC inside-baseball I want to stay away from. Also, to be honest Katie, I love to tune in to Hannity and O’Reilly on Fox, and Rush Limbaugh as well, to remind myself of the passionate, patriotic views that are at the heart of my conservatism. And don’t forget Field & Stream — those critters don’t catch themselves.”
September 30th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Ropty,
We all know she couldn’t say she reads the New York Times, that’s kind of a “no duh.” You piss off Lower Wingnuttia when you read that professorial dirty hippy America-hatin’ left-wing rag, you know.
Thing is, the obvious answer to this question would have been to talk about the Alaskan dailies. One would expect a Governor to read up on the goings-on of her own state. Or, fer gawds sake, how “controversial” is it to say you read USA Today?
September 30th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Jim,
The proper line in Holy Grail was, “What is your favorite color? Red. I mean bluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuueeeee…”
Sorry. I am a nerd.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Many have suggested we not misunderestimate Palin, because to have gotten as far as she has she must have some serious skills. But if that’s true, how is it that she doesn’t know how to bullshit? I mean, of all the embarrassing clips to have come out from the Gibson and Couric interviews, I think this is the worst for just that reason — it’s an incredibly simple question to answer, even if the real answer is “nothing.” “Katie I read X, Y and Z sometimes, but blah blah blah.” These are not obscure concepts, and I’m sure she knows the names of some major national and regional publications. Really. Think about your representatives in Congress, or your governor. Could they handle this head-scratcher?
September 30th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Now I’m wondering how she knew that the guy on the rope line the other day wasn’t a reporter.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Every time this woman opens her mouth again to dissemble, equivocate, or attempt in vain to project an air of sincerity, I am reminded of this classic Cascade O’Excuses.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
She lived most of her life in a suburb of Anchorage Alaska. The only major newspaper there is the Anchorage Daily News. This is not a tricky name for a newspaper.
Parakeets in Wasilla know the name of the paper.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
By now, Palin is afraid to tell the truth, which is a bad instinct for a statesman to have. The correct answer is no doubt something like her local paper, US News, plus what her staff clips from any number of sources that they think she needs to read. Most people would have been fine with that answer, and most people are under no illusion that she reads the New Republic or Le Figaro, for pete’s sake.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Sarah froze up because she was afraid Katie Couric would guess what dwellers in the Alaskan outback really use newspapers for.
I myself prefer transcripts of Bill O’Reilly broadcasts printed on soft paper.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Re “Parakeets in Wasilla know the name of the paper.”
———–
Parrots in Wasilla would be better candidates for Vice President. At least they could state McCain sound bites with more aplomb.
“Errrkkkk. Bomb the Motherfuckers.
Bring me another beer,Cindy, you worthless cunt.”
September 30th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Jenjen (16), if I have to pick either 1) dodging, or 2) lying, but not both, I’ll go with #1. That she won’t admit to so much as her home town paper tells me she’s like a lot of my acquaintances who I’m finding don’t read newspapers, online or dead tree.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Geek,
Sorry to out-nerd you, but it is in fact “blue. No, yellowwww…”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWS8Mg-JWSg
Minute 1:10.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Absolutely priceless.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
I read the Alaska papers religiously to help me keep in touch with my constituents’ lives.
Except that we already know that her enemies’ list included local journos. Grumpy’s right: she probably reads the local papers (and watches the local news and checks the wingnut enclaves of the interwebs. Meaning that she no longer needs print copies of Bircher monthlies.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Aaron S. Veenstra (28), living in a small, out of the way state myself, I suspect the even less populated Alaska doesn’t sport a lot of depth in political talent, either. So, I don’t think it requires extraordinary political skills to climb to the top up there, just the ambition to go for it.
This gets us back to our original thesis. For McCain to pick someone like Palin makes as much sense as Obama reeling in the mayor of Honolulu.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
I bet mayor Hannemann can name at least one national newspaper. Plus he he’s got national security experience, since he can see Pearl Harbor from his house.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
It would be funny if somebody asked Palin who her favorite sports team is.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Sure, it’s funny. But also, it’s worrisome, because her first inclination, when cornered, is to lie.
She doesn’t become candid, and say “You’ve caught me off-guard; give me a sec.” Or even pause for a moment, to think. She launches straight into lying, and poor lying at that.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
I want to feel sorry for her since she keeps topping herself with ever more idiocy. But I don’t. After Bush, stupidity in power isn’t funny. Her vanity and vacuity is a menace to this country. The Republicans aren’t out of this race. “President Palin” is an actual possibility.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
I think this is what happens. Someone out to get Ted Stevens takes these on-line newspapers. They are taken and dropped onto the internet like they are truck, and they are doing this to block up the tubes so that he can’t get his internet for a few days.
Well when everything gets sorted out, all these on-line newspapers that were dumped on the internet tubes end up at Palin’s computer. Now Palin gets surprised by this because they aren’t flagging the molecules so they don’t know they are coming, and that is why she had trouble answering Katie Couric this time.
If you don’t get the references, check out my blog.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Seeing her drown herself like this makes me really want to run for president some day. I mean, if this idiot can get this far, just imagine what even an average person could do.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
She reads both kinds – country and western.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
“I want to feel sorry for her”
Don’t. This scumbag took the job, which means she either deluded herself into thinking she’s qualified (”It’s God’s will” or some other bullshit) or she doesn’t, which means she’s just after the power. Either way, fuck her.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
By the way, at the end of this exchange she explains that Alaska is really a microcosm of America.
So, um, where’s my oil money check?
September 30th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Matt, get a load of this “interview” with Hugh Hewitt:
HH: Now Governor, the Gibson and the Couric interview struck many as sort of pop quizzes designed to embarrass you as opposed to interviews. Do you share that opinion?
SP: Well, I have a degree in journalism also, so it surprises me that so much has changed since I received my education in journalistic ethics all those years ago.
Apparently asking a vice presidential candidate a question about the Bush Doctrine is unethical.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Tut, tut. Give her some credit. I’m sure she’s spent many an hour in the doctor’s office poring over the wisdom of the U.S. News and World Report. Hell, probably even the occasional Time.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
It would be funny if somebody asked Palin who her favorite sports team is.
Um, all of them.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
demisod,
My guess is she went straight for the Highlights.
September 30th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
No, no, it’s “Somebody set up her the paper.”
September 30th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Don’t forget Gary Farber.
September 30th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
If McCain does get elected, let’s hope to god that he lives through his term. Palin as President would turn this country into a living hell (and you think I’m exaggerating!).
September 30th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Hate to say it, but the CBS trainwreck is now helping Palin. It lowers expectations for the VP debate and makes it much easier for her to “win,” provided she doesn’t pass out or throw up on herself. Remember GWB in 2000? It’s happening all over again. History repeats itself.
September 30th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
She probably gets all her news from right wing radio.
September 30th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
She has been completely ruined by this campaign. Even Andrew Sullivan wouldn’t be able to argue she was this incoherent before joining McCain. Something had to have happened between the Gibson interview and the Couric interview to really rattle her. Palin-Biden will be so entertaining, it should be on pay-per-view.
But yikes, she still seems to be lying:
“Oh my goodness, yes, Hugh. I know what Americans are going through. Todd and I, heck, we’re going through that right now even as we speak, which may put me again kind of on the outs of those Washington elite who don’t like the idea of just an everyday working class American running for such an office.”
They also own an airplane and two boats, and made 250K last year. Regular working class family.
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/30/wealth-makes-palins-no-ordinary-alaskans/
September 30th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
I actually ask this very question to the interns I hire at our office, solely for the purpose of giving them something nice and easy to talk about before we get into the real substance of their application. 95% them manage to BS something more coherent than this.
September 30th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
“Hate to say it, but the CBS trainwreck is now helping Palin. It lowers expectations for the VP debate and makes it much easier for her to “win,” provided she doesn’t pass out or throw up on herself.”
In one sense, yes people tuning in to a see a disaster could be disappointed, which could slow down the very negative narrative that’s playing right now. But she could also offend in new and spectacular ways, by being dumb *and* sarcastic. Polls show that people expect her to be likable, and that may not happen.
In another sense, it’s absurd to think this is all about expectations. Minimzing damage is one thing, but you don’t help a presidential ticket by proving to the world that you’re a mentally functioning adult. Pundits proclaiming “better than expected” for a news cycle doesn’t win her any admirers.
“Remember GWB in 2000?”
Yes, I remember that the pundits were surprised at how well he did, but the public thought that Gore won the debates. It’s a good example of how the expectation game is largely removed from public opinion.
September 30th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Sarah Palin is OMNEWSIENT!
September 30th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
The sad truth is most voters doesn’t care what she reads (as long as its not The International Socialist or something similar). The main question they ask themselves is “Is this a person I would like to share a few beers with?”. So, unfortunately, it looks like McCain and Palin will win this election.
September 30th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
MattY writes: I mostly read The New York Times and secondarily The Washington Post as well as individual articles that I find being recommended by others, with The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Financial Times, USA Today, and The Guardian coming up frequently.
That’s nice. However, how many times have you spread smears and then not issued any sort of correction? Even after ThinkProgress itself has issued a modest correction? I mean, getting things wrong is one thing, but then not having the ethical grounding to issue a correction, that’s something else entirely. Somehow I don’t think Palin would do things that way. So, there’s that difference.
P.S. Is that MattY in the back row?
September 30th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
Well, well, well.
Palin reads all the newspapers, whereas you only read two and scattered others as they come up.
Who’s intellectually incurious now, Matt?
September 30th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
This was just painful. I subscribe to the Tacoma News Tribune. I read on a more or less daily basis the Web sites of the Washington Post, New York Times, Seattle P.I., Time, and Newsweek, not to mention ThinkProgress, Huffington Post, Ars Technica, and a smattering of other sources from Google News.
I would expect Palin to mention the Anchorage Daily News, the Fairbanks News Miner (where I’m told my grandfather used to work), or even the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersmen. USA Today? The Wall Street Journal? People? Cosmo? Guns and Ammo? You couldn’t even mention FoxNews or something?
I’m sure the conservatives will tell us about how she gets her news without the “filter” of the liberal media. Osmosis perhaps.
September 30th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
Oh and this isn’t at all a tricky question or a gotcha question. It’s like asking a musician who his influences are. It’s an easy question which gives the interviewee a chance to talk about pretty much anything they want for a moment.
September 30th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Never mind what Palin reads. How can we even be sure she can read, period.
September 30th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
“Is this a person I would like to share a few beers with?”.
Who on God’s green earth would want to have a few beers with McCain or Palin?
You’d be hard pressed to find someone who is less a Republican than I, but I readily admit that I would rather have a beer with Bush than Kerry or Gore. Bush wins that hands-down. But McCain? He seems like he’s about to explode at any moment — at you. In your face. He just comes off as an angry, cranky old man. And Palin? Most people don’t like to cringe in their beer.
Obama, on the other hand, he’s the hip black friend I never had!
September 30th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
This has got to be a trick to lower the expectations for her debate performance. There’s no way anyone could actually be that clueless.
September 30th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
First off, Palin has not backtracked on any of her countless and bazaar lies. Sullivan has a list of at least a dozen.
Second off, you can’t just claim Matt spreads lies without listing a single one. Can you list them?
September 30th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Beer with Bush, Jim?
Think this through before you sign on.
And, oh, check this out:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/42590
September 30th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Here is the first of a, so far, 15 part series on the odd lies of Palin:
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/09/the-lies-and-li.html
September 30th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
Can you list them?
WhackHeadKelly’s subsistence model relies upon driving people to his shitpile of sites. Unfortunately for him, no one clicks on his links. He also thinks that you never have to issue a correction when you’ve spent the entire decade darkly hinting that a Hispanic insurgency is coming to the US, any time now. That’s because he’s a fucking turd.
October 1st, 2008 at 12:10 am
Miatch: you must be new here. Back at the old place, MattY referred to me as a “long-time troll”. And, in fact, I’ve been fact-checking MattY for over half a decade. Just recently, I pointed out how MattY helped someone else smear two people… based on data that was a decade out of date. MattY has still not issued a correction. The original smearer has posted a correction of a sort: by deleting those pointing out his error and locking the thread.
See also my comment here:
yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/09/
life_begins_at_conception_and_ends_at_death.php
As for Sully, he’s a national joke who hears things. See my comment here, and if you don’t immediately burst out laughing see this: peekURL.com/zhdjjyn
October 1st, 2008 at 12:21 am
This is what scares me about her upcoming debate with Biden. Most people expect Biden to carve her up like a roast turkey at Thanksgiving, but it could actually backfire. If Biden slaughters her, a lot of voters who are independents or are undecided may end up sympathizing with her. “Poor Sarah”! “Mistreated by that awful Joe Biden”! Of course this is exactly what her supporters will say and it may get a lot of traction with people who don’t necessarily support her but who don’t like watching her get embarrassed on national tv. I think that Biden has to be very careful how he treats her during the debate. If he comes across as patronizing or condescending, or simply treats her like an idiot, it could blow up in his face.
October 1st, 2008 at 12:22 am
Matt,
You should be a bit more fair. You totally took her comment out of context. Her comment wasn’t just about newspapers.
She was also talking about magazines. She reads all magazines.
So, somehow, in addition to all newspapers, she reads Newsweek, Time, US News and World Report, The Economist, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The Weekly Standard, The New Republic, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, the Nation, Cat Fancy, Better Homes and Gardens, Cosmopolitan, Tatoo, Playboy, Playgirl, Hustler, Men’s Health, Maxim, etc.
She must have crates delivered every day. She really hates the environment.
October 1st, 2008 at 12:31 am
Geez, it’s pretty obvious. All of them you dummies – The Star, The Globe, The National Enquirer, all of them. What’s the big deal? All of them. Was it the spelling? OK – all of em.
October 1st, 2008 at 12:37 am
Actually, Gov Palin doesn’t seem like the kind of woman who drinks beer.
A Long Island Iced Tea in her younger years maybe, or a cosmopolitan or cheap champagne now perhaps.
She probably drank a lot of Long Island Iced Teas back in her younger years, she seems like a lot of girls who I went to college with.
And McCain probably isn’t quite aware as to what…beer…is.
McCain’s reaction to a can of PBR: “A barley-wine? A frosty beverage made from fermented barley and hops? Absurd! Jeeves! My snifter and a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue! Now, Dammit!”
Late night poker games and cigarette smoking, however? In Springfield, IL? Betcha Obama’s had a Stag or two in his day. Yes, you can buy Stag in Springfield.
October 1st, 2008 at 1:10 am
And McCain probably isn’t quite aware as to what…beer…is.
Oh, I’m sure he is: beer is what pays his gambling debts.
(Miatch: see what I mean about Kelly The Paranoid Twunt?)
October 1st, 2008 at 1:18 am
What an odd answer and so obviously not true. It actually comes across to me as if she doesn’t read newspapers or magazines at all and can’t even think of the name of one to lie about. I’m not sure if that is really the case – maybe she was flustered and simply drew a blank, but refusing to give one example sure seems like she couldn’t even name a single newspaper or magazine to me. Combined with her apparent inability to name a single Supreme Court case outside Roe v. Wade – you really start to wonder.
I mean I know a lot of people who have no interest in public affairs who probably couldn’t name a single issues oriented newspaper, magazine or especially a Supreme Court case. The thing is none of them are running for Vice President of the United States.
Amazing.
October 1st, 2008 at 1:23 am
“I know a lot of people who have no interest in public affairs who probably couldn’t name a single issues oriented newspaper, magazine”
Really? I honestly can’t think of a single person I know (and it’s not like I hang out with only geniuses or anything) who couldn’t name a single newspaper or news magazine. Who hasn’t heard of Time or the NYT?
October 1st, 2008 at 1:28 am
What is troubling about Palin is her disinterest in foreign affairs and her snide remarks about people who care about global experience as if being globally aware is unamerican. Running on ignorance as a virtue can only be a political ploy not a serious reason to be a leader.
October 1st, 2008 at 1:44 am
>>Beer with Bush, Jim?
I’d be curious what nickname he’d give me. Plus, borderline retarded night managers of 7-11’s like Bush lead weird, interesting lives.
October 1st, 2008 at 1:59 am
No need to overdo this. It has been demonstrated that she is unprepared, uninformed, incurious, and possible unintelligent. Let’s move on.
October 1st, 2008 at 2:02 am
Matt
You are an elitist pig to think that a candidate for VP should not only be able to read a newspaper and a book, but should actually do so on some regular basis. An elitist pig, I say. But I don’t presume to know whether lipstick has been put on you.
October 1st, 2008 at 2:03 am
Zachary: here is a case where ‘lack of interest’ as opposed to ‘disinterest’ is an important distinction. And James Bryce long ago said this:
October 1st, 2008 at 2:06 am
Couric: “Specifically, what internet traditions are you familiar with?”
October 1st, 2008 at 3:25 am
And, in fact, I’ve been fact-checking MattY for over half a decade. Just recently, I pointed out how MattY helped someone else smear two people… based on data that was a decade out of date. MattY has still not issued a correction. The original smearer has posted a correction of a sort: by deleting those pointing out his error and locking the thread.
Really? Itlooks to me like what Bainbridge has done is write an addendum to the original post starting with “Update: Although that data is about 10 years old, the pattern continues to hold” at the end of the original post. Do you want Yglesias to post a “correction” saying “turns out somebody I linked to used an out-of-date pdf as evidence”? Is that really important or his responsibility? Anyway as you know there are people all over the internet debunking this theory, the argument against it doesn’t rest on a single PDF Stephen Bainbridge posted. And what’s the “smear” exactly? That Michelle Malkin and Mark Krikorian are racists and embarrassments to conservatism? What makes that a smear other than the fact that you don’t agree with it?
October 1st, 2008 at 3:34 am
To be charitable: If Palin were clearly an intelligent and curious person, then her answer could be seen as a curt way of dismissing Couric’s slightly condescending, slightly “gotcha” question.
But Palin has not established such bona fides, so we cannot give her that benefit of the doubt.
October 1st, 2008 at 4:02 am
Lone 24 Wacko dot moron isn’t really “fact checking.” What he’s doing is called “smearing” and is part and parcel with his dishonest and racist compatriots. That he calls pointing out what a vile and moronic twit Malkin is “smearing” is typical of the projection seen from this the most loathsome segment of the Republican base.
October 1st, 2008 at 6:17 am
Not to defend Palin, but I only read the Sunday paper a few times a year and it is strictly for leisure. For business purposes, my staff does the reading and provides summaries. If an article is considered important or mentions our firm I will take a look at it.
October 1st, 2008 at 6:22 am
Palin’s response is of the type W gave when he was asked who his favorite philosopher was. He couldn’t think of actual philosophers who would qualify as politically correct for his GOP base – so he punted, answering Jesus Christ! Palin can name some actual newspapers, but no legitimate papers that would be acceptable to the GOP base, so she punts! What she needs to do is ask the current VP what he admits to reading, memorize his answer and voila!
October 1st, 2008 at 7:51 am
As everyone has obviously guessed…It’s because she doesn’t read them.
I used to work for someone in the government who was the exact same way. He/She would only receive two approved publications and then scoff at the rest. She never read anything that she didn’t agree with.
Needless to say, his/her view of the world was rather one-sided. Moreover, what I also found (predictably) was he/she was incapable of defending his/her position on a wide-range of issues because he/she had no idea of what arguments that would be used against him/her. It’s one thing to disagree with the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times, but you have to read them if you’re to truly understand an issue.
October 1st, 2008 at 8:01 am
Once again, you people just don’t get it.
NONE of the answers these idiots dump out are intended to have any real meaning. Just like Bush can’t say a complete sentence without making a mistake.
Bush doesn’t CARE what you think. McCain doesn’t CARE what you think. Palin doesn’t CARE what you think. They aren’t trying to make reasoned, coherent, rational, concise and accurate statements for your fucking benefit. They aren’t trying to do any of that.
So spending hours nit-picking every stupid, irrational and malicious thing these morons say is nothing to the purpose. You’d be better advised to hang out at a Terminator fan forum and argue over whether Cameron is self-aware. It would have about as much effect on the election.
It’s political bullshit. It’s ALL political bullshit. It’s intended to dismiss irrelevant crap – like who gives a shit what newspapers she reads? I guarantee you nobody considering voting for this stupid bitch reads papers, either! – and concentrate on driving home certain personality and policy memes they think will enable them to win the election.
That’s the level your stupid “democracy” operates on.
You’ll notice that I don’t nitpick Obama’s foreign policies. I flat out proclaim them completely wrong from the get-go. So is McCain’s. That’s the level you need to work on – the fact that if either of these morons gets elected, the US will be at war for the next decade, like it has been for the nearly the last decade. And the effect on the economy and civil rights will be disastrous.
You need to get back to basics – that the political system in this country is BROKEN because the politicians are OWNED by the oil companies, the financial companies, and the military-industrial complex, and the law-enforcement industry complex, and the intelligence industry complex. And both Obama and McCain are just going to keep on keeping on with the exact same policies that are killing millions of people in this world, including a million Iraqs, four thousand US troops, and three thousand 9/11 victims.
If you can’t handle that level of discussion, Yglesias, stop trying to pretend you have any level of a clue.
October 1st, 2008 at 8:09 am
As I look at the clip, I think that one plausible explanation is that she didn’t answer because she was afraid of a follow up question. If she had said Newsweek for instance, Couric might have asked her about specific writers or articles. Palin’s knowledge is obviously pretty shallow so she wanted to avoid going down that road and said something stupid to cut it off. My two cents anyway.
October 1st, 2008 at 8:11 am
Let’s recall that Palin JOURNALISM MAJOR in college, for christ’s sake, and she can’t name a single newspaper in the country?
October 1st, 2008 at 8:27 am
Couric: But, ideally, you think it should be illegal …
I’m surprised this isn’t getting more juice:
Um, isn’t that the pro-choice position? Isn’t part of being pro-life signing on to the unpleasant position that SOMEONE should go to jail if an abortion is performed?
October 1st, 2008 at 9:01 am
She listens to Howard Stern, who is the King of All Media. QED.
October 1st, 2008 at 9:15 am
Of course she reads all of them .. when she isn’t watching Joe Biden’s 1929 era TV.
October 1st, 2008 at 9:38 am
Anyone notice the descending level of difficulty that the questions for Palin have taken. We’ve gone from the Bush Doctrine to giving the name of a newspaper she probably sees (and reads!) daily. And she flubbed them both. 2 points.
One can argue that the newspaper question was not a gotcha, but a softball, with the expected follow-up being the hard question.
Does her lack of ability to think on her feet make even the rightwingnuts question her ability to be the VP office.
October 1st, 2008 at 9:39 am
Sarah has a blog, Palin Drome. It reads like the entries of the sophomore class in the yearbook of an underperforming US high school. My favorite is the most recent post, from September 26: “It has been crazy around here since John went to fix the economy.” Where have you gone John Vance Garner?
http://sarahpalin.typepad.com/
October 1st, 2008 at 9:41 am
I would have said (on the assumption that this is the truth), “I get a pile of clippings every morning, and unless the content is particularly unique or controversial I don’t usually look at what the source was. I think they’re clipped mostly from … I then supplement as I have time with …”
But I bet she thought that would make her sound incurious and/or elitist (for having a clipping service).
October 1st, 2008 at 9:52 am
Chuckr: If you don’t realize that that’s a joke/parody, you’re the real dumb one. I assume you do know but are hoping to fool some more gullible people.
And it’s John Nance Garner, for that matter.
October 1st, 2008 at 9:56 am
M.S.,
That is actually a long-standing issue: many people are willing to say abortion should be illegal in these cases, but they aren’t willing to say what the consequences should be if those laws are broken. My best guess is that most of them are sincere in saying the woman shouldn’t go to jail, but the doctor is a whole different matter.
October 1st, 2008 at 10:29 am
Homer: [on the phone, disguising his voice]
There’s a $10,000 bill in it for you.
Barney: Oh yeah? Which president’s on it?
Homer: Uh… All of them. They’re having a party. Jimmy Carter’s passed out on the couch.
October 1st, 2008 at 10:39 am
the type W gave when he was asked who his favorite philosopher was.
What made Bush’s answer of “Jesus” so absurd was that the question was who was his favourite *political* philosopher…which is a bit like answering “Red Wings” when asked who your favourite NFL football team is.
October 1st, 2008 at 10:49 am
I dunno–I could see Bush thinking “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s” was a particularly insightful piece of political philosophy.
October 1st, 2008 at 11:04 am
Saying that she gets her news from a compilation put together by someone at the Alaska state house or even the McCain campaign would be fine. Even saying that she doesn’t read, but watches Fox News would make sense.
instead she choose to weasel around the question like a middle school student who has been caught not doing an assignment. Her non-answer is just pathetic.
I’m sure the campaign will release her extensive reading list in the next couple days and decry the gotcha journalism. I bet they’ll release a picture of her at the Sedona “cabin” with her feet up in bunny slippers, sucking on a latte, and doing a crossword puzzle, in the next couple days.
October 1st, 2008 at 11:20 am
Not sure why a commenter above dragged Mayor Hanemann into this, but the man is a Harvard graduate and mayor of a well populated island with an actual city on it. He was also a scholarship kid at a Honolulu private school, which these days is not a bad qualification to have.
October 1st, 2008 at 1:42 pm
McCain-Palin are LIARS, HYPOCRITES and FRAUDS.
McCain-Palin are LIARS, HYPOCRITES and FRAUDS.
McCain-Palin are LIARS, HYPOCRITES and FRAUDS.
McCain-Palin are LIARS, HYPOCRITES and FRAUDS.
McCain-Palin are LIARS, HYPOCRITES and FRAUDS.
October 1st, 2008 at 2:47 pm
She reads Pravda, Izvestia, and the Syria Times. For the news weeklies – it’s Jack & Jill and Ammo. Online, it’s Commentary, Echidine, and LGF.
October 1st, 2008 at 3:08 pm
It’s possible to disagree with Roe v Wade as a matter of constitutional law and still oppose the criminalization of abortion.
I suppose some commentors will call me a troll for making this observation (I admit that the number of influential people who hold such position is tiny) but that’s actually my position.
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