The American Spectator

ruth| 4.17.09 @ 5:02PM

Sarah Palin didn't have to share this intensely personal story, and I admire her for her courage and honesty. There are so few women in politics with whom I can identify; Sarah pretty much stands alone in that regard. Her goodness shines forth to women everywhere. God bless you, Sarah.

Raymond| 4.17.09 @ 5:36PM

Sarah Palin is Joan of Arc of America!!! Truly a conservative one who does not flip-flop unlike other traditional republican pundits. She and Steele can be a potential running mates in 2012 or 2016. With her populism, she can even form her own political real conservative party that can attract both conservative democrats and independents. The problem most of the time in electing a political leader that has elite education is that they can easily manipulate and fool the common citizens. Look at Marcos of the Philippines and other elite dictators of other countries.

MT| 4.17.09 @ 5:44PM

Hell, look at Obummer!

MT| 4.17.09 @ 5:45PM

Sarah Palin for sure--Steele not so sure.

Gardener| 4.17.09 @ 6:41PM

As much as I'd like to admire the woman - certainly she has accomplished a lot professionally, I just cannot forget the totally callous and passive-aggressive way she punished her daughter by drawing all that media attention to her pregnancy. As a mom, the last thing I would ever do would be to publicly humiliate my daughter for her mistakes. That is just too repugnant for me to ignore. And seemed way to calculating to draw on more "conservative" support.

Mary| 4.17.09 @ 6:50PM

Even before she gave this speech, what was and is so obvious to me is that Sarah as Trig's Mom is a person in full possession of her womanhood. Like a man who will not leave a friend behind on a field of battle is in full possession of his manhood.

And it's this strength that earns her enmity too. I can't remember the name of the female professor who declaimed her as being not a woman at all, but she was a buffoon whose education couldn't lift her to the height of Palin's slim, shapely ankles.

Another woman in full possession of her womanhood is Jill Stanek. She's the nurse from Illinois who blew the cover on PBA and the babies that were left to writhe and die on some hospital shelves.

Obama, daft as the day is long, in his defense of voting against the born alive act, referred to a baby "born alive" as a "temporary life." You're going to have to go back in history a whole bunch of centuries to find a man as stupid as that.

I agree with John Derbyshire who wrote in a comment on his blog that the terms pro-life and pro-choice are really misnomers. The terms should be pro-abortion and anti-abortion.

Sarah Palin can speak on this subject all day and all night, she has no public equal. She's the Abraham Lincoln of "choice."

But here's the problem; if churches are offering women the role of other victim the philosophical waters become really murky. The baby's life and his right to life hangs by something unstable, and the woman's sovereignty over her own will is seriously undermined.

As Patsy Cline said when asked how she made it in the man's world of Country music: "keep your chin up and your skirt down."

On one of Mr. Hillyer's recent threads a woman who called herself Anon showed the philosophical journey a woman has to make if she's taken the life of her child. A lot of the Palin haters for whom she is a reminder of their inferiority are too fearful or dishonest to make the journey that Anon made. At bottom, Anon has integrity. Even though she got caught up in the amoral zeitgeist of the age, her conversation with God, she did not reject.

Carl Jung said that all mental illness issued from the desire to escape suffering. He also said that none of his patients who found recovery found it without a cry and submission to God. I think he worded it as Supreme Being, but that's God.

Not really connected to this thread, but to an ethos in general that should really be appreciated. Why don't you enjoy a little Born Fighting.

RogerCfromSD| 4.17.09 @ 7:58PM

I am sick of people who have nothing better to do than slam Gov. Palin for one thing or another.

She's a WOMAN. No one is calling her a goddess (unlike the groups who have the audacity to refer to Obama as a Messiah).

She's FAR more accomplished than Obama, and she still manages to juggle many things.

For goodness sake, if anyone is TRULY better than her, even THAT person wouldn't stoop to berating her for doing the best she can.

KMX| 4.17.09 @ 8:46PM

This is not the first time I've heard Sarah say she was tempted to consider abortion. The reason most of you did not hear it, is because the liberal media drown her out with other petty crap.

Alan Brooks| 4.17.09 @ 8:52PM

Ray,
you are fantasizing, Palin wont run with or without Steele (Steele??) in '12 or '16.
to be an Iron Lady she has to age gracefully-- and she may not be able to.
when women get old and their hormones stop making them totally loopy, then they can run for high office.
Next you'll write "Daphne Kenward in 2010"!

get real.

Lynne| 4.17.09 @ 9:41PM

Alan, what's your excuse for being totally loopy? Still having your 'time of the month'? Or are you just naturally nuts?

Angel| 4.17.09 @ 9:52PM

It would have been truly repugnant of Sarah if she'd coerced Bristol into having an abortion so as not to interfere with her political life. A lot of families (including those not in the public spotlight) do not want to deal with the embarrassment of an unwed pregnancy. Bristol was old enough to understand the consequences of her actions--and now she's taken responsibility for them. Regardless of Sarah's political future, I will always admire her for her strength and integrity.

Alan Brooks| 4.18.09 @ 12:32AM

Lynne,
in that case you would be as loopy as I am if you would think Palin could be elected in the next decade.
that would be horribly deluded-- and only a fool could think so, a TOTAL fool.
So who is the bigger bimbo? you or I?
at least I know not to indulge in such a fantasy.

But there is nothing wrong with women, they are just too weak.

Alan Brooks| 4.18.09 @ 12:34AM

...however with another 15 years experience the Divine Sarah could overcome her weakness.

Alan Brooks| 4.18.09 @ 12:54AM

look, it is so hard to communicate with you, but pay attention.
Two-bit countries like India and Pakistan can elect womyn for president because they are third world shitholes. But ENORMOUS nations such as America, Russia, China do NOT.

It will be a long time before a woman is POTUS-- get it? Palin will not be elected president in the next decade; can you understand that?

Alan Brooks| 4.18.09 @ 12:58AM

your conservatives! you cant just remake America the way you want:
Abra Kadabra, Palin is now president.

Just like that! the way you want.

MT| 4.18.09 @ 1:00AM

Not only are you a fool, you are a dim-witted, sexist fool.

MT| 4.18.09 @ 1:01AM

Alan, take your meds, stat!

Lynne| 4.18.09 @ 1:05AM

Every blog has its crazies!

Alan Brooks| 4.18.09 @ 9:44AM

Obama is the incumbent so he is going to be re-elected, as Clinton was.
which means Palin couldn't be president before 2017-- at the earliest.
(almost) eight years. at the very earliest. well if you are that patient then perhaps you wont mind waiting till 2020 or later--you almost certainly will have to.
And this is a rightwing blog sometimes containing comments from total whack jobs like Daphne Kenward, she is enough to make even Gloria Steinem into a misogynist.
Since this is a rightwing blog I dont have to be diplomatic. My message was, if you would stop being defensive, is: it takes older, seasoned NON-DEFENSIVE women like Jeanne Kirkpatrick and Maggie Thatcher to make the grade.

Alan Brooks| 4.18.09 @ 10:02AM

again, I did NOT say Palin can't be president... but you will have to wait.
and after spending all those years being diplomatic to my liberal parents, i do NOT have to be diplomatic at a right wing blog.

Basil Plumley| 4.18.09 @ 10:16AM

Alan Brooks| 4.18.09 @ 12:54AM
look, it is so hard to communicate with you, but pay attention.
Two-bit countries like India and Pakistan can elect womyn for president because they are third world shitholes. But ENORMOUS nations such as America, Russia, China do NOT.

It will be a long time before a woman is POTUS-- get it? Palin will not be elected president in the next decade; can you understand that?

Yeah ...... there were some Neanderthals who also said that about Blacks. Then again, all this debt and spending will ultimately lead us to third world shiite status.
Alan, if you keep this up, you will become a FoB ............ Friend of Bob. I understand misery loves company.

Mary| 4.18.09 @ 11:32AM

My message was, if you would stop being defensive, is: it takes older, seasoned NON-DEFENSIVE women like Jeanne Kirkpatrick and Maggie Thatcher to make the grade.

Alan, I think you're right. Palin is a fundraising powerhouse, but that's partially because she empties the pockets of those arrayed against her too.

She's polarizing and doesn't have the padding of race or some other factor of disenfranchisement to glom on to and palliate that polarization.

Oh, and I hope you're wrong about Obama. Based on how I've seen him govern so far, and based on not allowing him more years to establish a tipping point from which the Country can't draw back from, I hope in a couple of years he sees a move against him on his own flank.

I think he's a "drop of talent in an ocean of ambition" and ideology, and I think he means to exert greater control over the lives of us all. His wife did warn us, after all.

From Krugman's pen to the proprietor of Hotel California's ear.

Angel| 4.18.09 @ 1:35PM

Palin is polarizing because of her beliefs not because she menstruates: Only a demented fool would say otherwise. Alan, you are rapidly losing your goofy charm--you have become a crank. I wish this blog had a rubber room, because I would put you in it.

Tom Paine| 4.18.09 @ 2:29PM

Angel --

At least we agree on one thing. That guy needs a time-out.

Palin has immense personal charm, and that IS a political gift. She speaks with conviction and she's a great deal smarter than some think.

However, as of now her appeal is that she doesn't sound like a politician. That's understandable, up to a point, but one of the reasons she doesn't sound like a politician is that she doesn't seem to understand a great many national issues.

I doubt she's interested in my advice, but I'd tell her four years is enough time to get a first rate education. She should hit the books. She should read newspapers (really). She should become conversant in international affairs and Constitutional issues. If she does, she'll be a powerful contender for the White House -- probably the best hope the Republicans have right now.

Tom Paine| 4.18.09 @ 2:33PM

That being said, people on the right get absorbed into these little echo-chambers and think they're speaking for the vast majority of people.

A poll this week suggested that 71% of Americans "trust" Obama to fix the economy. That's almost three quarters of the electorate.

The tea-parties were just not that big, and if that's the best the right wing can do -- on tax day! -- they're going to have try something else. I think you'll find Obama will not be knocked down by an angry mob calling him a fascist.

Angel| 4.18.09 @ 2:51PM

No anger here, TP/Jeremiah. I calmly and coolly aver that you are a Liberal Fascist/Progressive (as Hillary has also stated). I've read more problematic poll results for your Obamassiah--high negatives, for one. TEA PARTY, WASHINGTON DC--July 4, 2009 is going to be HUGE!! I'll be there; maybe I'll see you there, too. I'll be the brunette carrying the giant Obama-Hitler sign--with a big smile on my face.

Tom Paine| 4.18.09 @ 3:41PM

Angel --

There is a whole tradition of American dissent. It's one of the most noble parts of our heritage.

Name-calling and puerile labeling doesn't come to mind as any part of that tradition.

Here's my recommendation. Before your big rally on 4 July, read some of the following authors:

H.D. Thoreau
R.W. Emerson
W.E.B. Dubois

And while you're at it, try to get a few facts under your belt about what is actually going on in the world. Because at the rate you're going, you'll just end up being another hooligan embarrassing herself on youtube.

Tom Paine| 4.18.09 @ 3:43PM

Angel --

As for your reading of the polls, I saw that segment on Fox News where Karl Rove tried to put the darkest spin on them possible.

Well, it's nonsense. The fact is, Independents remain for the most part positive towards Obama. Anyone that would say that Obama is a "fascist" (which is false) wouldn't vote for him no matter what he did.

Thank God the electorate is far more diverse, educated, and thoughtful than people like you.

Tom Paine| 4.18.09 @ 3:48PM

One final thing. What difference does it make what "Hillary has stated." What you don't seem aware of is that the term "progressive" was an old label the Republicans used of themselves. It has no inherent connection to "fascism." I think you've misread posts above that are themselves faulty.

Fascism is an actual historical phenomenon studied by historians, philosopher, and political scientists. It has a definition; it has traits; it can be positively identified. Liberalism is not fascism. One can say that as certainly as he can say "An aardvark is not a moose."

The problem with debating you people is that it's impossible to get to the part where we debate. One spends all one's time teaching basic civics and US history that you should have been mastered in grade school.

Angel| 4.18.09 @ 5:12PM

Actions speak louder than words--no one likes being placed on a terrorist watch list, Jeremiah. At least I don't. You democrats are progressives now--you stopped being liberals a long time ago. Progressivism is coercive like fascism. Obama got elected because most Americans aren't as smart and well-educated as I am. It's not hard to fool the ignorant. Save your phony self pity and silly smug arrogance for a more naive blogger. You don't fool me--I know you and you fellow lib/fascists are a threat to my liberty. Look for me at the July 4 TEA PARTY, babe.

Angel| 4.18.09 @ 5:56PM

Jeremiah/TP: If you want to learn about true dissent, I suggest you read the New Testament. Jesus Christ knew something about speaking 'truth to power'. He made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom; I won't let petty tyrants like you and your fellow liberal fascists take it away from me.

Tom Paine| 4.18.09 @ 6:41PM

Angel --

How presumptuous, how obnoxiously, absolutely presumptuous of you to assume I don't read the New Testament.

Only a shallow, sanctimonious person could think as you do.

Perhaps you should try reading that book yourself.

Angel| 4.18.09 @ 7:24PM

Unlike you, Jeremiah, I take the New Testament to heart--I actually try to live my life by it. Try deeds--they mean more than pretty thoughts and words, boytoy.

Basil Plumley| 4.18.09 @ 11:40PM

Tom Paine

You certainly say a lot and much of it is wrong. Perhaps, that is why the comparison to the erstwhile Jeremiah.
You recommend that we read Thoreau, Emerson, and W.E.B. Dubois. Perhaps, you forgot to include Eugene V. Debs, Camus, and Sartre. Existential thought is probably not the correct and necessary reading for the Conservative Movement. Then again, it would explain your prickliness over the New Testament. If I had to guess, I would think you are a Unitarian.

Joke-What do you get when you cross a Jehovah's Witness and a Unitarian?

Answer-A person who rings your doorbell but forgets why he is there.

Your sense of history is quite peculiar. Perhaps, you should refresh yourself with Battlin' Bob LaFollette before you equate the Progressives of yore with the faux Progressives of today.

All in all, pretty weak material TP/Jeremiah.

Michael Dooley| 4.20.09 @ 10:34AM

“I agree with John Derbyshire who wrote in a comment on his blog that the terms pro-life and pro-choice are really misnomers. The terms should be pro-abortion and anti-abortion.”

As with many things ol’ lovable Derb goes on about, he can be insightful and so damn wrong. If one did a deeper survey, one would find the pro-abortion and anti-abortion folk line up on the opposite sides of the barricades on a host of issues.

Pro-life refers to a particular outlook to questions concerning embryonic research, human cloning, genetic engineering, end-of-life questions, and the treatment of those at the margins of humankind. All these as well as abortion.

Pro-choice folk can be counted on to stand in direct opposition to Pro-life folk on these same issues. Go figure.

As far as Sarah Palin and Bristol: in an earlier time decent people would not have brought the subject of a public figure’s errant offspring. But these days, the press eagerly searches for instances such as Bristol’s babymakin’ to “expose” Palin’s hypocrisy—because we all know moral folks are all hypocrites wanting to lord it all over us real and humble people. Why? Because us simply folk need to be reminded that the left doesn’t try to sell themselves as something they’re not!

MT| 4.20.09 @ 5:55PM

Media liberals are NOT decent. Alinskyites all, the desired end (power) always justifies the means.