The American Spectator

Sebastian B. O. Buniontow V| 1.27.09 @ 2:46PM

Much akin to the HillPac, I will energetically campaign on Sarah's behalf for president in 2012 and plan to make a significant contribution.

Quin| 1.27.09 @ 2:56PM

Gag me, please.

ruth| 1.27.09 @ 6:18PM

Can't believe Bob hasn't already trashed this thread.

Frosty| 1.27.09 @ 6:28PM

I would love to oblige you, Quin, would waterboarding do the trick?

Thom| 1.27.09 @ 7:28PM

Speaking of Bob, I worked with a guy back at NASA in the early seventies that had a combined IQ with his wife that broke 360. They both went to school until their late twenties. Not having the “weight of paper” that Bob values so much back then I asked them why they stopped going to school since they stood head and shoulders above anyone else I knew at the time (this was NASA remember). They both said the same thing, “there is more to life than degrees”. They said this in front of their two very young sons. This Man’s capacity to absorb complex iterations (that I had to program) was impressive but despite all this “brain power” he needed someone like me to put it all together to make it work. My strengths were his weakness, etc.

What these two certified geniuses had that the Bobs of the world don’t have is 1) a sense of humor, 2) wit, 3) humility. Neither of these people would have ever tried to win an argument or point by “weight of paper”. I had to pry it out of them what their education was and that took some time. The Bobs of the world can’t fathom that there are other people in the world that have an education and that schooling is not the same as an education nor does an education necessarily make one a successful leader or politician. In fact, one of the most influential leaders in mankind was nothing but a simple carpenter. Hardly someone that could carry on a conversation with the Bobs of the world.

Ran| 1.27.09 @ 7:31PM

Quin...
Don't gag just yet. Tell us first of a better candidate or better idea. The contest for the '10 Congressionals starts about now.

Jeremiah| 1.27.09 @ 8:18PM

No! Ran, please! His word is his command. I don't wanna know what his better idea would be.

Jeremiah| 1.27.09 @ 8:55PM

What's your problem, Queen? Wrong blog. We're not into S&M;here.

ruth| 1.28.09 @ 1:22AM

Thom, great post. Bob reminds me of John 'Francois' Kerry, the Viet Nam vet who never ceased to broadcast to the world his heroic deeds in combat (Three Purple Hearts!). I found Kerry's behavior curious because the veterans I'd always known never spoke of their valor or their medals. One man in particular, my father in law, now deceased, was a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne during WWll. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge through that freezing, interminable winter, had his helmut shot off by shrapnel and was knocked unconscious by the concussion of a tank shell. He nearly froze to death and he came close to starving, but you know what? He never talked about his wartime glories, his wife (my mother in law) told us about them. He's been gone two years now, and nearly to the end he was still having traumatic flashbacks of that terrible winter so long ago. So, when I contemplate the true measure of a man, men like my father in law, Leo C. Martin, surely measure up. American men, so valiant yet so humble, like 'Dad', are the men I hold most dear. I thank God for them.

Deborah| 1.28.09 @ 5:16AM

Ruth, what a beautiful tribute to your father-in-law. Yes, that generation of men never talked about what they did. They just got on with life and worked hard for their families. I had the privileged to interview a man who was part of the D-Day landing. He was only 18 at the time of D-Day, and at 72, he had a difficult time getting through the story his son wanted told. I felt privileged to sit with him.

My husband's brother was in the Army in Vietnam. He received two purple hearts and a (bronze or silver star, not sure). He never spoke of that time except to my husband. He and another buddy were all that were left of their unit. They were totally outnumbered and one would fire while the other ran back for ammunition. They traded off the firing and the running. They saved their own lives after watching the rest of their unit fall.

God bless them all.

Deborah| 1.28.09 @ 5:27AM

By the way, since I didn't mention the topic of this post. Go, Sarah. She's tough, smart and has common sense. She was thrown into the pit of vipers and came out bitten, but not beaten. After Obama, we're going to need her -- if Republicans can ever win another election after the ACORN-stimulus.

Bob| 1.28.09 @ 7:08AM

I see that you are all obsessed with me, so I shall respond. I find it curious that all of the posts bash the value of education. Psychologically, that does make some sense as you almost all support Sarah, and thus must devalue knowledge and education as a positive attribute. Perhaps you should go to a surgeon who learned his/her trade by attending church on weekends. Perhaps you should choose a surgeon that did poorly in school. Why not? That logic is surely consistent.

To be clear, I value education and those who SUCCEED in it. Getting a degree is not necessarily success (i.e., weight of paper). Doing well, something Bush and McCain did not, is also relevant as it shows discipline and effort. But I've also said that life experience, i.e., serving in the military, doing well in business, raising children, helps broaden your perspective and add depth to your education.

It took about 30 years before I could talk in public about my experience in Vietnam, but now I am proud that I enlisted and fought even though I could have obtained a deferment. How many of you had the patriotic values to do the same? My respect for many of the generals today comes from my respect for them many years ago.

So, you can support Sarah and devalue education as much as you desire, but it tells people more about you than you think. I, for one, want my children to see their leaders as effective and educated. I want my children to desire to do well in school. Examples are important to that end.

Basil Plumley| 1.28.09 @ 11:33AM

@Bob

I also value one getting an education. However, sometimes it seems a little overrated.

My Father-in-law does not have a High School diploma. That did not stop him from enlisting in the Army. He went through Jump School and became a Pathfinder. He earned two Purple Hearts the hard way; one in Korea and one in Vietnam. He still has medical problems resulting from those injuries but that did not stop him from putting in his "twenty".

My Father-in-Law is a fascinating man. He is also an almanac of common sense. You would never know his lack of educational bona fides if you spoke to him.

Contrast him the "The Professor". "The Professor" used to walk/live on the streets of Boston at the time I went to BU in the very early 1980's. He impressed many of us with his brains, thus, the moniker.
He was a PhD in something and taught at Yale. Something snapped upstairs and he couldn't handle reality. He never realized his potential to society.

Education is important but it is only as important as one gets any use from it. I read somewhere that Colleges should get rid of any majors that have the word "Studies". I agree.

Bob| 1.28.09 @ 12:55PM

Basil, an education is a beginning, not an end. I've certainly learned a lot from being in the Army and in business for 40 years and raising a family. The problem is not that I devalue life experience, but that many Republicans and most social conservatives devalue education and knowledge. You see it here.

Deborah| 1.28.09 @ 1:27PM

No one devalues education and knowledge. Some just also believe that common sense and experience are equally important. Quit using those "many Republican and most social conservatives" lines, Bob. They're beneath you.

ruth| 1.28.09 @ 2:34PM

Bob, that's not obsession, that's contempt.

Thom| 1.28.09 @ 5:06PM

Bob, you can hardly find a post where you disagree with someone where you don’t bring up your “weight of paper” stance. That’s snobbish at the very least. The smartest people in the world, I hear, got us into this situation and several more like it going back throughout my entire life, including Vietnam, and Korea where we lost because the smartest people on the planet couldn’t come to grips with what anyone with common sense already knew from the get go. You call sitting Governor names despite her education and accomplishments over that last decade in an elected office where performance counts not theory, while giving credit to a letch for doing a good job when he had no choice after 1994 and did nothing to stop the Dot.com melt down that started on his watch. You clearly have a problem with a person of faith that lives their faith to the best of their ability that happens to disagree with your beliefs. As Ruth said, that is contempt pure and simple. You have contempt for anyone that disagrees with you. You think the world should be ruled by Mr. Spoke. I suspect you have complete contempt for the bulk of humanity simply because they don’t have your definition of an education and views. President FUD has a similar problem.

ruth| 1.28.09 @ 5:32PM

That's it right there, Thom. I knew Bob attacked Palin because she's pro-life, and because of that, he thought he could get away with his vicious insults. He just hides behind the 'Sarah is dumb' baloney. Can you say bigot? That's you, Bob.

Thom| 1.28.09 @ 6:03PM

Ruth, actually I think just narcissist will do. Bob’s world revolves around Bob. Every chance he has he has to impress someone. You would think he was the only one that served in Vietnam by choice. The bulk of the other 3.5 million that served might have a problem with that. I served but didn’t have to go to that hell hole. I respect those that served with honor but have never understood how any such person could support Clinton at any level or not recognize the shear insult Obama is to that honor. I’ve got several 20, 30, 40 something friends in this current fight and they have nothing but Bob’s kind of contempt for the arrogant condescending fixtures passing for leadership today. As I said before a truly educated person has humility for all. Bob doesn’t or can’t. Narcissist to the hilt.

ruth| 1.28.09 @ 6:22PM

A narcissist, yes, but also a bigot. He doesn't dislike Palin because she's stupid (she's not), he dislikes her because she's a SoCon from middle America. May be that's class consciousness, I don't know, but I know an elitist bigot when I see him.

Thom| 1.28.09 @ 6:42PM

He does tend to go out of his way to offend people on a personal level outside of the matter at hand he comments on. Lots of negatives there looking for a vehicle to escape with. Even when is right, he turns off people at the speed of light by insulting them or the people that inspires them. The difference between somebody like Palin and Bob is that one has a skill for connecting and communicating with the masses while Bob has a skill for insulting them and then not understanding why no one respects his thoroughly thought out answers. One can (and is a leader of people) while the other only dreams of what it would be like if they were in charge. I don’t think Bob could stand the process that is politics to obtain what he thinks logic and reason alone should provide by default. Every great society fell from within first because it abandoned what holds the social fabric together. It isn’t reason and logic that do this. A balance is required. I’ve run across this mindset numerous times among the people of “science”. They can’t see the Forrest for the trees and it will burn down while they try to find a chart or stat to support what they think needs to be done. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses that properly employed can produce a positive outcome. Arrogance and condescension have been many a smart person’s downfall.

ruth| 1.28.09 @ 8:47PM

Lack of respect kills debate.

ruth| 1.28.09 @ 9:10PM

Bob, in my immediate family there are two Stanford University graduates; one with a J.D., one U.S.C. graduate now enrolled in advanced Opera studies, and one Santa Clara University graduate. So, don't tell me I don't value education; I have paid a fortune in tuition to prove it. I'm just not a narrow-minded snob like you, I don't judge people by the school they've attended.

sidnee| 12.12.09 @ 12:46PM

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