USAToday: Palin hits Obama on another 'WTF' policy (missile defense)
Potential Republican presidential candidate Sarah Palin is again using the phrase "WTF" to describe a Barack Obama policy, this one a plan to share missile defense technology with Russia.
"President Obama wants to give Russia our missile defense secrets because he believes that we can buy their friendship and cooperation with this taxpayer-funded gift," Palin writes on her Facebook page. "But giving military secrets and technologies to a rival or competitor like Russia is just plain dumb. You can't buy off Russia."
She concludes: "What it will do is create a situation where we are facing an arms race with ourselves. Russia gets access to our technologies, and we are forced to spend even more money because of the need to stay ahead. Does this make sense to you? Me neither. File this under 'WTF.'"
For all of you techno-phobes out there, WTF is an Internet-driven acronym designed to avoid spelling out the 'F word"; it stands for "what the (expletive)."
Palin -- who may or may not seek the GOP presidential nomination next year -- also used WTF to attack an Obama slogan with the same initials: Winning The Future.
The Obama administration has offered to share some missile defense technology to allay Russian concerns that a system based in Eastern Europe is aimed at them; U.S. officials say the system is designed to ward off missile threats from such rogue states as Iran and North Korea.
After a meeting last month with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Obama said, "We committed to working together so that we can find an approach and configuration that is consistent with the security needs of both countries, that maintains the strategic balance and deals with potential threats that we both share."
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Sarah Palin On Bus Tour: 'One Of The Best Weeks Of My Life'
HuffPostPolitics: Sarah Palin On Bus Tour: 'One Of The Best Weeks Of My Life'
Sarah Palin says her bus tour of the eastern United States was "one of the best weeks" of her life.
In a new web video released by the former Alaska governor's political action committee, Palin reflects on the trip, which just wrapped up after launching in Washington, D.C. Memorial Day weekend. The three-minute clip features footage of the big name Republican on the road, as well as clips of interviews with voters.
Palin took the opportunity to scold the media in a statement statement released with the video.
"Even though the media too often sadly chose sound-bites over substance, they did get lots of substance during our 'One Nation' tour from the nearly two dozen opportunities I got to speak candidly with them and talk about policy, politics, history, and everything in between," she said. "Not surprising, some members of the media missed a lot of this due to their relentless and futile search for scuttlebutt."
While Palin appeared to more actively engage with members of the press during stops on her trip, the former governor had to contend with some less favorable coverage along the way.
The former governor came under scrutiny when she snatched the spotlight from Mitt Romney in New Hampshire the day he launched his presidential campaign.
Shortly after, Palin sparked criticism with questionable remarks she made about the history of Paul Revere. The AP relays background on her comments:
...Palin said Revere warned the British "by ringing those bells, and makin' sure as he's riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be sure and we were going to be free, and we were going to be armed." Story continues below
While colonists were British subjects when Revere made his ride, historical accounts indicate secrecy was critical as Revere sought to carry out his mission to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British troops were coming to arrest them.
Facing criticism over the remarks, Palin came to her own defense during an appearance on "Fox News Sunday."
Below, the video released by SarahPAC looking back at the former governor's trip:
(NOte, video isn't viewable by Kindle folks, you have to use a computer to see it. It's 3 min 17 seconds of very quick intercut shots of the bus, the places she visited, a few words from Sarah, and so on.)
Sarah Palin says her bus tour of the eastern United States was "one of the best weeks" of her life.
In a new web video released by the former Alaska governor's political action committee, Palin reflects on the trip, which just wrapped up after launching in Washington, D.C. Memorial Day weekend. The three-minute clip features footage of the big name Republican on the road, as well as clips of interviews with voters.
Palin took the opportunity to scold the media in a statement statement released with the video.
"Even though the media too often sadly chose sound-bites over substance, they did get lots of substance during our 'One Nation' tour from the nearly two dozen opportunities I got to speak candidly with them and talk about policy, politics, history, and everything in between," she said. "Not surprising, some members of the media missed a lot of this due to their relentless and futile search for scuttlebutt."
While Palin appeared to more actively engage with members of the press during stops on her trip, the former governor had to contend with some less favorable coverage along the way.
The former governor came under scrutiny when she snatched the spotlight from Mitt Romney in New Hampshire the day he launched his presidential campaign.
Shortly after, Palin sparked criticism with questionable remarks she made about the history of Paul Revere. The AP relays background on her comments:
...Palin said Revere warned the British "by ringing those bells, and makin' sure as he's riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be sure and we were going to be free, and we were going to be armed." Story continues below
While colonists were British subjects when Revere made his ride, historical accounts indicate secrecy was critical as Revere sought to carry out his mission to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British troops were coming to arrest them.
Facing criticism over the remarks, Palin came to her own defense during an appearance on "Fox News Sunday."
Below, the video released by SarahPAC looking back at the former governor's trip:
(NOte, video isn't viewable by Kindle folks, you have to use a computer to see it. It's 3 min 17 seconds of very quick intercut shots of the bus, the places she visited, a few words from Sarah, and so on.)
News: The Feminine Effect On Presidential Politics
NPR: The Feminine Effect On Presidential Politics
By one count, of the more than 200 people who have run for president over the years, fewer than 30 have been women.
While women have made headway in the nation's boardrooms and science labs — and even in politics — in recent times, they have not received top-of-the-ticket nominations from the Democratic or Republican parties.
With Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann considering runs as Republican candidates, the 2012 political race might be a game-changer.
The two women are winning straw polls here and there. At Liberty University, for instance, Bachmann won a straw vote in April, indicating she can attract younger conservatives. And Palin has won reader-response polls this year on the Free Republic and Hot Air websites.
Both women are popping up for photo ops and sending signal flares to get attention. Palin recently launched a glitzy bus tour; Bachmann reportedly has hired campaign consultant-to-the-stars Ed Rollins. In the next few weeks — with official announcements — these water-testing moments could turn into watershed events.
But what, if any, difference will the participation of Palin or Bachmann make in the campaign? Does the presence of women in a field of candidates have any effect on the issues discussed, on the tone of debate, on the behavior of the male candidates?
Yes, says former U.S. Rep. Connie Morella (R–MD).
"Whenever women try and succeed in elective office, it sends a message to all women that there is opportunity for them and their children," Morella says. When they are engaged in the political process, "women bring a new perspective and values."
And, Morella adds, "so far, civility."
'Catnip To The Media'
A Bachmann or Palin candidacy will have an immediate effect on the already-declared Republican men who hope to challenge President Obama in 2012, says Matthew Dallek, who teaches history and politics at the University of California's Washington Center.
First, their campaigns would attract and absorb considerable media attention, Dallek says. Spotlights would turn away from the more traditional male Republican candidates, such as Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty and Newt Gingrich, and would shine on "a pair of ultra-conservative women who are both exciting on the stump — to their respective constituencies — and catnip to the media and pundits."
Second, Dallek says, Bachmann and Palin "have both raised millions for a potential presidential campaign, and even if they win few votes on Election Day, their campaign war chests will likely be spent attacking Romney as too squishy, and they will take some of the money and activists at the grass roots that otherwise might have gone to and rallied behind a Romney or Pawlenty or [Jon] Huntsman."
Furthermore, Dallek doesn't believe that Palin and Bachmann will automatically attract legions of female voters. He points to the presidential runs of Elizabeth Dole and Hillary Clinton, neither of whom drew overwhelming female support. But, Dallek adds, a Bachmann or Palin campaign "will generate significant enthusiasm from Tea Party women activists and will benefit from some measure of identity politics on the right."
Madam President
But what difference does it make to the body politic to have female presidential candidates making the rounds through the Tuesday night town hall meetings, Saturday afternoon fish fries and Sunday morning talk shows? Do female presidential wannabes change the way voters look at the election?
During the 2008 campaign, candidate Hillary Clinton was asked by NPR: How do you navigate the different expectations that people have of a woman leader? "That is such a great question," she said, "because that's what I'm doing. And I'm doing it out here in public, kind of on a high wire, trying to strike the right balance. I can only be myself. You know, I am a serious person, and I think these are serious times and deserve serious leadership. But I'm also — I hate to admit it — a human being, with all of the feelings and experiences and real hopes and dreams for myself and my family and my country that I think every one of us have."
Nichola D. Gutgold, author of Almost Madam President: Why Hillary Clinton 'Won' in 2008, says, "It is tremendously important to have women in every presidential election."
If for no other reason, Gutgold says, "there is evidence that the more women who run for president the less that gender matters — because women will not be seen as novelty candidates."
As research for a future book, Gutgold — who teaches communications at Pennsylvania State University's Lehigh Valley campus — and her co-authors recently conducted a survey of women ages 18 to 25 asking them if the presidential bid of Hillary Clinton and the vice presidential bid of Sarah Palin made them believe that a woman would be president in their lifetimes.
In the 518 surveys returned so far, Gutgold says, 291 women said Hillary Clinton's bid encouraged them to believe that they would live to see a woman be president. Some 120 respondents were encouraged by Palin's vice-presidential bid, 57 respondents were not encouraged by either woman, and 50 were encouraged by both women's efforts.
Respondents' comments about Clinton's influence included: "She was one of the first women who looked like she could win," and, "She made me believe that a woman will be a strong candidate."
As for Palin, one student wrote: "The media focused too much on her personal life and not enough on her politics." Another respondent said Palin made her a believer in a female president in her lifetime because, "As soon as Obama won, many people were already campaigning for Palin in 2012."
But Jennifer Lawless, director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University, says that even with the potential candidacies of Palin and Bachmann, and even given Hillary Clinton's 2008 bid, "there are still too few female presidential candidates for scholars and analysts to begin to assess the manner in which women candidates reshape presidential elections.
"The extent to which they energize voters or affect the gender gap in vote choice, for example, are important questions. But there are still simply too few cases from which we can generalize," Lawless says.
Coaching Against Condescension
The same statistical conundrum comes into play when trying to determine the effect female candidates have on male candidates in a presidential race. In order to determine the upshot of women on presidential campaigns, political scientists need a larger sampling of women who have participated in presidential campaigns.
Joan Hoff, a political historian at Montana State University, says that because only two women have participated in vice presidential debates — Geraldine Ferraro versus George H. W. Bush in 1984 and Sarah Palin versus Joe Biden in 2008 — it is difficult to generalize about what impact a female candidate has on debates. "Both men apparently had to be coached not to be condescending," Hoff says, "and Biden succeeded better than Bush in this regard."
Using Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign as an example, Hoff says, it is clear that any woman running for president on a major national party ticket "must appear as macho, if not more so, on foreign policy than the men who want their party's nomination — for fear of appearing weak in the defense of the nation. In Clinton's case she was already a hawk when her husband was president and continues to be one as Secretary of State."
In the end, "American women usually don't succeed in politics — or other professions — unless they act like men," Hoff says. "And so, aside from the condescension issue, they don't usually have a distinctly female impact on the tone or issues discussed in political debates."
The standard for running for national office, she says, "remains distinctly male."
A Few Good Women: Female Presidential Candidates
With all the commotion about Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin potentially running for president, perhaps it's time to take a look at some female presidential candidates of the past. The National History Museum and the Shana Alexander Charitable Foundation are featuring a dozen subjects in an online exhibit titled: "First But Not The Last: Women Who Ran For President." Here are a half-dozen, with excerpts from the exhibit notes:
Victoria Woodhull, 1872
"The first woman to declare herself as a candidate for president, Woodhull announced her run on April 2, 1870... without contacting any leading suffragists, who by then had been well organized for more than two decades. Susan B. Anthony and others were stunned by the action of this controversial woman, whose 'open marriage' was the talk of New York City."
Belva Lockwood, 1884
Lockwood upset the National Woman Suffrage Association "with her decision to run as a presidential candidate for the National Equal Rights Party in 1884. Susan B. Anthony and others felt that Lockwood's decision was self-serving and distracting from their greater mission, but she saw it as a way to bring attention to women as genuine citizens."
Margaret Chase Smith, 1964
"Smith served 32 years in Congress and was the first woman elected to both the House and Senate. Although a champion for women's issues, she was always clear about being seen as a U.S. Senator and not a woman Senator. In 1964, she became the first credible female candidate for president. Unlike her predecessors, she had legislative experience."
Patsy Takemoto Mink, 1972
"In 1972, a group of liberal Democrats in Oregon asked Mink to be their presidential candidate, and she was on the ballot in Oregon's May primary. She received 2 percent of the vote, coming in eighth out of nine candidates. Nevertheless, Mink achieved her objective of getting Americans to find a female president thinkable."
Shirley Chisholm, 1972
"Overall, people in 14 states voted for Chisholm for president. After six months of campaigning, she had 28 delegates committed to vote for her at the Democratic Convention. The 1972 Democratic Convention was in July in Miami, and it was the first major convention in which an African American woman was considered for the presidential nomination. Although she did not win the nomination, she received 151 of the delegates' votes."
Lenora Branch Fulani, 1988 and 1992
"Lenora Branch Fulani has spent almost three decades fighting to end the two-party system and create a 'viable, national, pro-socialist' party for those who feel ignored by the Democratic and Republican parties."
By one count, of the more than 200 people who have run for president over the years, fewer than 30 have been women.
While women have made headway in the nation's boardrooms and science labs — and even in politics — in recent times, they have not received top-of-the-ticket nominations from the Democratic or Republican parties.
With Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann considering runs as Republican candidates, the 2012 political race might be a game-changer.
The two women are winning straw polls here and there. At Liberty University, for instance, Bachmann won a straw vote in April, indicating she can attract younger conservatives. And Palin has won reader-response polls this year on the Free Republic and Hot Air websites.
Both women are popping up for photo ops and sending signal flares to get attention. Palin recently launched a glitzy bus tour; Bachmann reportedly has hired campaign consultant-to-the-stars Ed Rollins. In the next few weeks — with official announcements — these water-testing moments could turn into watershed events.
But what, if any, difference will the participation of Palin or Bachmann make in the campaign? Does the presence of women in a field of candidates have any effect on the issues discussed, on the tone of debate, on the behavior of the male candidates?
Yes, says former U.S. Rep. Connie Morella (R–MD).
"Whenever women try and succeed in elective office, it sends a message to all women that there is opportunity for them and their children," Morella says. When they are engaged in the political process, "women bring a new perspective and values."
And, Morella adds, "so far, civility."
'Catnip To The Media'
A Bachmann or Palin candidacy will have an immediate effect on the already-declared Republican men who hope to challenge President Obama in 2012, says Matthew Dallek, who teaches history and politics at the University of California's Washington Center.
First, their campaigns would attract and absorb considerable media attention, Dallek says. Spotlights would turn away from the more traditional male Republican candidates, such as Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty and Newt Gingrich, and would shine on "a pair of ultra-conservative women who are both exciting on the stump — to their respective constituencies — and catnip to the media and pundits."
Second, Dallek says, Bachmann and Palin "have both raised millions for a potential presidential campaign, and even if they win few votes on Election Day, their campaign war chests will likely be spent attacking Romney as too squishy, and they will take some of the money and activists at the grass roots that otherwise might have gone to and rallied behind a Romney or Pawlenty or [Jon] Huntsman."
Furthermore, Dallek doesn't believe that Palin and Bachmann will automatically attract legions of female voters. He points to the presidential runs of Elizabeth Dole and Hillary Clinton, neither of whom drew overwhelming female support. But, Dallek adds, a Bachmann or Palin campaign "will generate significant enthusiasm from Tea Party women activists and will benefit from some measure of identity politics on the right."
Madam President
But what difference does it make to the body politic to have female presidential candidates making the rounds through the Tuesday night town hall meetings, Saturday afternoon fish fries and Sunday morning talk shows? Do female presidential wannabes change the way voters look at the election?
During the 2008 campaign, candidate Hillary Clinton was asked by NPR: How do you navigate the different expectations that people have of a woman leader? "That is such a great question," she said, "because that's what I'm doing. And I'm doing it out here in public, kind of on a high wire, trying to strike the right balance. I can only be myself. You know, I am a serious person, and I think these are serious times and deserve serious leadership. But I'm also — I hate to admit it — a human being, with all of the feelings and experiences and real hopes and dreams for myself and my family and my country that I think every one of us have."
Nichola D. Gutgold, author of Almost Madam President: Why Hillary Clinton 'Won' in 2008, says, "It is tremendously important to have women in every presidential election."
If for no other reason, Gutgold says, "there is evidence that the more women who run for president the less that gender matters — because women will not be seen as novelty candidates."
As research for a future book, Gutgold — who teaches communications at Pennsylvania State University's Lehigh Valley campus — and her co-authors recently conducted a survey of women ages 18 to 25 asking them if the presidential bid of Hillary Clinton and the vice presidential bid of Sarah Palin made them believe that a woman would be president in their lifetimes.
In the 518 surveys returned so far, Gutgold says, 291 women said Hillary Clinton's bid encouraged them to believe that they would live to see a woman be president. Some 120 respondents were encouraged by Palin's vice-presidential bid, 57 respondents were not encouraged by either woman, and 50 were encouraged by both women's efforts.
Respondents' comments about Clinton's influence included: "She was one of the first women who looked like she could win," and, "She made me believe that a woman will be a strong candidate."
As for Palin, one student wrote: "The media focused too much on her personal life and not enough on her politics." Another respondent said Palin made her a believer in a female president in her lifetime because, "As soon as Obama won, many people were already campaigning for Palin in 2012."
But Jennifer Lawless, director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University, says that even with the potential candidacies of Palin and Bachmann, and even given Hillary Clinton's 2008 bid, "there are still too few female presidential candidates for scholars and analysts to begin to assess the manner in which women candidates reshape presidential elections.
"The extent to which they energize voters or affect the gender gap in vote choice, for example, are important questions. But there are still simply too few cases from which we can generalize," Lawless says.
Coaching Against Condescension
The same statistical conundrum comes into play when trying to determine the effect female candidates have on male candidates in a presidential race. In order to determine the upshot of women on presidential campaigns, political scientists need a larger sampling of women who have participated in presidential campaigns.
Joan Hoff, a political historian at Montana State University, says that because only two women have participated in vice presidential debates — Geraldine Ferraro versus George H. W. Bush in 1984 and Sarah Palin versus Joe Biden in 2008 — it is difficult to generalize about what impact a female candidate has on debates. "Both men apparently had to be coached not to be condescending," Hoff says, "and Biden succeeded better than Bush in this regard."
Using Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign as an example, Hoff says, it is clear that any woman running for president on a major national party ticket "must appear as macho, if not more so, on foreign policy than the men who want their party's nomination — for fear of appearing weak in the defense of the nation. In Clinton's case she was already a hawk when her husband was president and continues to be one as Secretary of State."
In the end, "American women usually don't succeed in politics — or other professions — unless they act like men," Hoff says. "And so, aside from the condescension issue, they don't usually have a distinctly female impact on the tone or issues discussed in political debates."
The standard for running for national office, she says, "remains distinctly male."
A Few Good Women: Female Presidential Candidates
With all the commotion about Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin potentially running for president, perhaps it's time to take a look at some female presidential candidates of the past. The National History Museum and the Shana Alexander Charitable Foundation are featuring a dozen subjects in an online exhibit titled: "First But Not The Last: Women Who Ran For President." Here are a half-dozen, with excerpts from the exhibit notes:
Victoria Woodhull, 1872
"The first woman to declare herself as a candidate for president, Woodhull announced her run on April 2, 1870... without contacting any leading suffragists, who by then had been well organized for more than two decades. Susan B. Anthony and others were stunned by the action of this controversial woman, whose 'open marriage' was the talk of New York City."
Belva Lockwood, 1884
Lockwood upset the National Woman Suffrage Association "with her decision to run as a presidential candidate for the National Equal Rights Party in 1884. Susan B. Anthony and others felt that Lockwood's decision was self-serving and distracting from their greater mission, but she saw it as a way to bring attention to women as genuine citizens."
Margaret Chase Smith, 1964
"Smith served 32 years in Congress and was the first woman elected to both the House and Senate. Although a champion for women's issues, she was always clear about being seen as a U.S. Senator and not a woman Senator. In 1964, she became the first credible female candidate for president. Unlike her predecessors, she had legislative experience."
Patsy Takemoto Mink, 1972
"In 1972, a group of liberal Democrats in Oregon asked Mink to be their presidential candidate, and she was on the ballot in Oregon's May primary. She received 2 percent of the vote, coming in eighth out of nine candidates. Nevertheless, Mink achieved her objective of getting Americans to find a female president thinkable."
Shirley Chisholm, 1972
"Overall, people in 14 states voted for Chisholm for president. After six months of campaigning, she had 28 delegates committed to vote for her at the Democratic Convention. The 1972 Democratic Convention was in July in Miami, and it was the first major convention in which an African American woman was considered for the presidential nomination. Although she did not win the nomination, she received 151 of the delegates' votes."
Lenora Branch Fulani, 1988 and 1992
"Lenora Branch Fulani has spent almost three decades fighting to end the two-party system and create a 'viable, national, pro-socialist' party for those who feel ignored by the Democratic and Republican parties."
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Another Misleading Headline
Here's the headline at RushLimbaugh.com
Obama Loses His Cool with White College Kids
Now, that headline would make you think Obama was in a room full of white college kids and he got angry for some reason and screamed at them.
Now, that's just the headline on the website. When you read the transcript of it, Rush does make it clear what he's talking about - that white college students no longer think Obama is "cool." But that headline is very deceptive.
The actual headline from the article itself, which is at the DailyMailOnline (an English paper):
Obama losing the youth vote 'because white students don't think he's cool anymore'
Obama Loses His Cool with White College Kids
Now, that headline would make you think Obama was in a room full of white college kids and he got angry for some reason and screamed at them.
Now, that's just the headline on the website. When you read the transcript of it, Rush does make it clear what he's talking about - that white college students no longer think Obama is "cool." But that headline is very deceptive.
RUSH: There's a story in the stack today: Obama's no longer cool with white kids on campus. He's lost his cool. White college guys don't think Obama's got it anymore. He's not cool. They don't know why. They don't know why they thought he was in the first place. (interruption) They thought he was gonna help 'em get girls just by being on his team? The girls liked Obama so the boys did? Oh, give me a break! Well, obviously it didn't work because if liking Obama helped the guys get anywhere with the girls, they'd still like him. Obviously it didn't work.
The actual headline from the article itself, which is at the DailyMailOnline (an English paper):
Obama losing the youth vote 'because white students don't think he's cool anymore'
News: Is Sarah Palin Wrong to Stand by her Paul Revere Statements?
USNews&WorldReport: Is Sarah Palin Wrong to Stand by her Paul Revere Statements?
The Sarah Palin-Paul Revere incident, though overshadowed Monday by a certain tweeting member of Congress, is still making waves. In case readers forgot, at a deli stop on Palin’s walk through historic Boston sites over the weekend, Alaska’s former governor, obviously distracted, delivered her now-famous rambling rendition of Paul Revere’s midnight ride:
And—reminiscent of when Palin’s fellow Tea Party favorite, Rep. Michele Bachmann, made historical gaffes of her own earlier in the year—the media pounced. Palin fans came to her defense online by taking to the online collaborative encyclopedia site Wikipedia, which had to put a lockdown on its Revere page when users tried to revise it to match her version.
Under criticism, Palin herself didn’t retreat; she reloaded. “You know what? I didn’t mess up about Paul Revere,” she said On Fox News Sunday. She continued:
U.S. News blogger Susan Milligan takes issue with Palin’s remarks for making Revere’s ride about gun control, when it was clearly about warning revolutionary Americans that the British were coming. “One could argue that Revere (who was then captured by the British) was also making it clear to the British that the armed colonizers weren’t going to give up. But to suggest that the point of the ride was a warning to the British—instead of a warning to Revere’s neighbors—is a stretch,” she writes. “And … Revere didn’t ring bells. The whole point of the mission was secrecy.”
But Peter Roff, another U.S. News blogger, thinks Palin was right on. He paraphrases (and some would say, slightly revises) her remarks: “Palin recently said that Revere, as part of his famous ride, warned the British that they would have a fight on their hands if they tried to seize the caches of arms and ammunition that the colonists had hidden at places like Lexington and Concord,” Roff writes. “Revere’s own record of that fateful night includes statements that buttress Palin’s argument that he, Revere, did warn the British that they were, by marching on Lexington and Concord, asking for trouble.”
The Sarah Palin-Paul Revere incident, though overshadowed Monday by a certain tweeting member of Congress, is still making waves. In case readers forgot, at a deli stop on Palin’s walk through historic Boston sites over the weekend, Alaska’s former governor, obviously distracted, delivered her now-famous rambling rendition of Paul Revere’s midnight ride:
He who warned the British that they weren’t going to be taking away our arms, by ringing those bells, and making sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be secure and we were going to be free and we were going to be armed.
And—reminiscent of when Palin’s fellow Tea Party favorite, Rep. Michele Bachmann, made historical gaffes of her own earlier in the year—the media pounced. Palin fans came to her defense online by taking to the online collaborative encyclopedia site Wikipedia, which had to put a lockdown on its Revere page when users tried to revise it to match her version.
Under criticism, Palin herself didn’t retreat; she reloaded. “You know what? I didn’t mess up about Paul Revere,” she said On Fox News Sunday. She continued:
Part of his ride was to warn the British that were already there. That, hey, you're not going to succeed. You're not going to take American arms. You are not going to beat our own well-armed persons, individual, private militia that we have. He did warn the British. And in a shout-out gotcha type of question that was asked of me, I answered candidly. And I know my American history.
U.S. News blogger Susan Milligan takes issue with Palin’s remarks for making Revere’s ride about gun control, when it was clearly about warning revolutionary Americans that the British were coming. “One could argue that Revere (who was then captured by the British) was also making it clear to the British that the armed colonizers weren’t going to give up. But to suggest that the point of the ride was a warning to the British—instead of a warning to Revere’s neighbors—is a stretch,” she writes. “And … Revere didn’t ring bells. The whole point of the mission was secrecy.”
But Peter Roff, another U.S. News blogger, thinks Palin was right on. He paraphrases (and some would say, slightly revises) her remarks: “Palin recently said that Revere, as part of his famous ride, warned the British that they would have a fight on their hands if they tried to seize the caches of arms and ammunition that the colonists had hidden at places like Lexington and Concord,” Roff writes. “Revere’s own record of that fateful night includes statements that buttress Palin’s argument that he, Revere, did warn the British that they were, by marching on Lexington and Concord, asking for trouble.”
News: Palin aide fires back at Bachmann team for criticism
thehill.com/blog: Palin aide fires back at Bachmann team for criticism
A senior aide to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) fired back at an adviser to Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) Wednesday for criticizing Palin as unserious.
Veteran GOP strategist Ed Rollins, who is aligned with Bachmann, said during a radio appearance this week that Palin "has not been serious over the last couple of years" and that "she didn’t go to work in the sense of trying gain more substance."
Michael Glassner, the chief of staff at Palin's political action committee, SarahPAC, said that Rollins has a history of making foolish comments.
"Beltway political strategist Ed Rollins has a long, long track record of taking high profile jobs and promptly sticking his foot in his mouth," Glassner said in the statement.
Glassner's comments could add fuel to the fire between the simmering dispute between Palin and Bachmann, who could both compete for the support Tea Party activists should they decide to run for president.
But he also sought to tamp down talk of a full-fledged dispute between the two potential presidential candidates.
"To no one's surprise [Rollins] has done it again, while also fueling a contrived narrative about the presidential race by the mainstream media," he said. "One would expect that his woodshed moment is coming and that a retraction will be issued soon."
During his interview Tuesday, Rollins drew a contrast between Bachmann and Palin.
"You know, I think Michele Bachmann and others have worked hard. She has been a leader of the Tea Party, which is a very important element here," he said.
But Bachmann and Palin have not publicly feuded themselves. The former said she is "friends" with Palin as recently as last week and the two have a history of being allies: Palin endorsed Bachmann and gave a high-profile speech on behalf of the congresswoman during the 2010 midterm elections.
A senior aide to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) fired back at an adviser to Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) Wednesday for criticizing Palin as unserious.
Veteran GOP strategist Ed Rollins, who is aligned with Bachmann, said during a radio appearance this week that Palin "has not been serious over the last couple of years" and that "she didn’t go to work in the sense of trying gain more substance."
Michael Glassner, the chief of staff at Palin's political action committee, SarahPAC, said that Rollins has a history of making foolish comments.
"Beltway political strategist Ed Rollins has a long, long track record of taking high profile jobs and promptly sticking his foot in his mouth," Glassner said in the statement.
Glassner's comments could add fuel to the fire between the simmering dispute between Palin and Bachmann, who could both compete for the support Tea Party activists should they decide to run for president.
But he also sought to tamp down talk of a full-fledged dispute between the two potential presidential candidates.
"To no one's surprise [Rollins] has done it again, while also fueling a contrived narrative about the presidential race by the mainstream media," he said. "One would expect that his woodshed moment is coming and that a retraction will be issued soon."
During his interview Tuesday, Rollins drew a contrast between Bachmann and Palin.
"You know, I think Michele Bachmann and others have worked hard. She has been a leader of the Tea Party, which is a very important element here," he said.
But Bachmann and Palin have not publicly feuded themselves. The former said she is "friends" with Palin as recently as last week and the two have a history of being allies: Palin endorsed Bachmann and gave a high-profile speech on behalf of the congresswoman during the 2010 midterm elections.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
News: Report: Sarah Palin to Visit Sudan in July
ABC News: The Note: Report: Sarah Palin to Visit Sudan in July
ABC News' Sheila Marikar (@sheilaYM) reports:
First the northeast, now the world. According to a report in The Sunday Times, Sarah Palin will visit Sudan in July.
“I am going to Sudan in July and hope to stop in England on the way,” the UK paper quoted her as saying. “I am just hoping Mrs. Thatcher is well enough to see me as I so admire her.”
Palin was of course referring to former Prime Minister of the UK Margaret Thatcher. But it’s unclear if they’ll actually meet. The British paper The Guardian quoted a Thatcher “ally” who said a meeting with the former Alaska governor/potential 2012 presidential contender “would be belittling for Margaret.”
A Palin aide refused to confirm or elaborate on Palin’s plans to go to Africa, telling ABC News, “I can’t go beyond what the governor said.”
Sudan would be the third notable international trip for Palin this year. In March, she traveled to India to speak at a conference in New Delhi and spent three days in Israel meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
ABC News' Sheila Marikar (@sheilaYM) reports:
First the northeast, now the world. According to a report in The Sunday Times, Sarah Palin will visit Sudan in July.
“I am going to Sudan in July and hope to stop in England on the way,” the UK paper quoted her as saying. “I am just hoping Mrs. Thatcher is well enough to see me as I so admire her.”
Palin was of course referring to former Prime Minister of the UK Margaret Thatcher. But it’s unclear if they’ll actually meet. The British paper The Guardian quoted a Thatcher “ally” who said a meeting with the former Alaska governor/potential 2012 presidential contender “would be belittling for Margaret.”
A Palin aide refused to confirm or elaborate on Palin’s plans to go to Africa, telling ABC News, “I can’t go beyond what the governor said.”
Sudan would be the third notable international trip for Palin this year. In March, she traveled to India to speak at a conference in New Delhi and spent three days in Israel meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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