Eh, you have to admit, she’s quite likable when she’s talking, and she’s got that whole adorable Tina Fey look going on and that cute little Alaskan accent.

Another observation: between Bristol “Juneau” Palin and her hottie boyfriend, Meghan and Cindy McCain and Sarah Palin’s hot librarian look, this has gotta be one of the most physically attractive Presidential tickets in the history of the United States. I mean, the Obama camp has Michelle, who is admittedly quite beautiful, but can she really hold up all alone against the sheer photogenicism of the McCain/Palin ticket? I can’t help but think that McCain must have taken all this into consideration as he was choosing Palin — the McCain and Palin families standing together, well, they sure do look pretty.

And I have to make yet another observation — I know many (not all!) of you are fond of getting chatty in the comments about how I should stay away from politics because I don’t know anything about it. And I’ll happily admit to the latter. I don’t know much about politics at all. But you know what, motherfuckers? I’m an adult citizen of the United States who has never been convicted of a felony (thanks to my awesome lawyers!!) and my totally uninformed ass can march to the polling center and vote however I damn well want, and it will count every bit as much as Bill Clinton’s or Karl Rove’s or your vote in the general election. And you know what else, motherfuckers? Most people in this country know even less about politics than I do. They have their opinions — either deeply or loosely held — about things like gay marriage and stem cell research and the war in Iraq and Roe v. Wade or whatever, but, when it comes down to it, they understand the short- and long-reaching impact of economic and foreign and domestic policy decisions even less than I do. But you know what’s super duper funny? Their vote counts! Yes! It does! Just as much as yours, Mr. Genius Political Ingenue Who Occasionally Enjoys Leaving Unpleasant Comments on Celebrity Gossip Blogs.

So, frankly, the fact that my understanding of politics — or lack thereof — is representative of the majority of Americans actually makes my opinions more valuable than the opinions of people who know big words and important-sounding phrases and statistics and history and read The Economist and whatnot. Because I’m going to make my decision based entirely on what I see and hear and think on the surface, because I’m not equipped with the economic, historical or international framework to delve a whole lot deeper than that. And that makes me unique among American voters only to the extent that I am willing to admit that publicly. That’s kind of one of the grotesque beauties of politics in a functional democracy: I don’t have to know what I’m talking about for my opinion to matter more than the people who do know what they’re talking about.

I’m just saying.

120 Responses to “Sarah Palin Speaks at the Republican National Convention”

1. Rita says:

   September 4, 2008 at 3:15 pm

   I agree with gumball 100%.

   Reply
2. Felicia says:

   September 4, 2008 at 3:30 pm

   Oh my god you guys are so dramatic.

   Beet, you can call me a motherfucker any day you need too. It won’t break my heart too badly.

   Reply
3. Lah-Dee-Dah says:

   September 4, 2008 at 3:41 pm

   AHHHHHH HAHAHAHAHA brilliant post! I repeat: AHHHHHHHH HAHAHAHAHA brilliant post!

   I must add: At some point, the camera panned over to this old guy (doesn’t narrow it down I know) with this nose. This nose was so peculiarly shaped that I can’t stop thinking about. I really do hope that the nose makes an appearance this evening, and hopefully the cameraman will have the good sense to hold the shot a little longer, so that I may fully reflect on it.

   Reply
4. tigerlille says:

   September 4, 2008 at 4:12 pm

   Beet:

   You are right, it is very difficult to get past the rhetoric to find out the facts about politicians’ opinions, political performance, and character. But this is an extraordinarily important election, and although I am usually a-political, I think it is vital to get informed.

   With the Internet at hand, getting informed is so much easier than it used to be. What I did was to run Google searches, that became successively more and more specific. When you read a good article, follow up on the links. Sometimes the most important information is on relatively obscure sites.

   You will never find a completely objective source, which means you have to read and read, use your critical thinking skills, and come to your own conclusion. In the end, I suspect that the best candidate, to borrow an old Buddhist aphorism, may be the one who is likely to do the least harm.

   This site address given below has a liberal bias, but I like the way they have organized information regarding Sarah Palin’s speech and career. Almost everything they reference is documented, most unusual! And lets face, all sites that address politics are biased, and the best are quite straight forward about the nature of their bias.

   http://thinkprogress.org/palin-digest/

   Reply
5. Donkey Punch says:

   September 4, 2008 at 5:22 pm

   I think what some people aren’t understanding is that Beet is jokingly calling only a small percentage of people “motherfuckers”. These people were telling Beet to shut up on her OWN website because they didn’t agree with her choice of political party.

   Basically the conservative visitors were angry because Beet wasn’t falling for the corporate run conservative media white-wash. John McCain would probably be one of the most hated candidates ever in American politics if the conservative press would properly cover McCain. Instead they have censored and edited the stories to protect him from his own gaffs, flip-flops and lies.

   Reply
6. Absyntheballot says:

   September 4, 2008 at 6:05 pm

   EB said… “Because I’m going to make my decision based entirely on what I see and hear and think on the surface, because I’m not equipped with the economic, historical or international framework to delve a whole lot deeper than that.”

   Assuming you’re not busy curing cancer in your spare time, why not learn about the impacts of global economies of scale, our nation’s socio-economic history & development, and the causes and long-term effects of our foreign policies, energy decisions, and other vital issues? These issues affect you, me, and all Americans when it comes to our current and future circumstances.

   Try the unbiased site http://factcheck.org if you’re curious what the parties and candidates represent. It’s a starting point at least, and issues you mentioned like Roe v Wade are fundamental candidacy platforms, whether you like it or not Beet. I have my own political opinions and I keep them to myself – it’s not my place to tell you or anyone who they should or shouldn’t vote for. But I urge you to learn WHO and WHAT you’re voting for before submitting your ballot. That’s all I request of anyone, and firmly believe it’s not too much to ask. Everyone is accountable. Knowledge is power Beet, or as my grandmother used to say…. “You can get by on charm for about 15 minutes – after that you’d better know something.”

   You also failed to recognize the real beauty of a Democracy is being able to cast a ballot for the candidate of your choice without fear of reprisal. I agree with Tigerlille’s recent post….no politician can cure all of the nation’s ills. Many of us will be headed to the polls to select the person we believe will do the least harm. But isn’t that better than the alternative???

   I usually enjoy your posts, but agree you’ve strayed far from your comfort zone of gossip where you should quickly retreat. From one writer to another….stick to what you know and save the bravado for those moments – avoid topics altogether that are not your specialty or research them carefully before posting lest they come back to haunt you later. If I hedge my bets, you hope your blog would be bankable resume experience one day…a syndicated news or magazine column, editor, etc. Remember it’s a fine line between admitting what you don’t know (admirable) and boasting about it (ignorance), even in jest. The results of the latter are never flattering.

   You’re right about one thing only – an ignorant vote carries the same weight as an informed and impassioned one. If you’re post is representative of the majority of Americans (which you claim are even less informed than you), I am deeply saddened by the number of ppl that have the ability and opportunity to educate themselves but choose not to delve beneath the sound bytes. This would take too much time and effort I presume, or perhaps it bores them.

   Personally I’d rather you stay home this November, lest our nation’s next leader be elected based on their physical appearance (or how attractive their family appears on stage) versus their skills and strategies for fixing some things in this country that are most certainly in need of repair.

   If you believe your uninformed opinion is more valid (because the masses are on your side) than those that use big words and speak in think tank lingo, I suggest you visit DC. Random people on the sidewalks here are rather politically informed and they don’t even use big words. Even our taxi drivers (many of whom cannot even vote in the US) can logically debate the pros and cons of a given party or candidate employing reasoning and critical thinking skills. So why aren’t you (and the masses) up to the challenge?

   Reply
7. cj says:

   September 4, 2008 at 6:07 pm

   One more thought about getting informed–it’s true that a lot of what we have to rely on (website, news etc) is filtered through other people’s opinions, but–and I hope I’m not being obvious here–we all have our own internal bullshit meter that tells us whether or not a source is trustworthy. The problem comes from relying on intuition alone–it’s a tool that has to be combined with research. I’m not into politics, but I am a pretty good judge of character and I keep my eyes and ears open. And, like another poster said, I look at what has been happening for the past eight years. (Not good. Time for something different.)

   You could sort of use this site as an example of what I’m talking about. I’ve been reading this site for a year, so I’m “informed” enough about it not to be offended by “motherfuckers.” :)

   Reply
8. Texas Gal says:

   September 4, 2008 at 6:20 pm

   I’ve enjoyed reading all of your posts. Some of them fall right on their party lines, and others offer suggestions to become informed and make your own opinions (my favs). However, the post from LISE “I’m European and we are scared shitless about what the next US president will be” disturbed me… Why would you be scare of our president, no matter who wins? What do you think either one of these guys is going to do? I’m truly interested in your reasoning.

   Reply
9. Anonymous says:

   September 4, 2008 at 7:06 pm

   I love the incorrect use of you’re (when it should be your) in so many of the anti-Beet responses. Talk about ignorance! :)

   Reply
10. Samantha says:

    September 4, 2008 at 7:35 pm

    Motherfucking AGREED, Beet!

    Reply
11. Donkey Punch says:

    September 4, 2008 at 8:14 pm

    Texas Gal are you really serious? The USA spends more on war than any other country on the planet. You guys have wars lined up for the future like airplanes on the runway waiting to take off. America is the single greatest threat to world peace in my opinion.

    The world wants to know will the next president be a war monger that is controlled by the American war machine and oil tycoons like Bush and McCain?

    Reply
12. Donkey Punch says:

    September 4, 2008 at 8:15 pm

    By the way, the man who wrote Palin’s speech was Bush’s speech writer.

    Mavericks my ass.

    http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1838808,00.html

    Reply
13. jojo says:

    September 4, 2008 at 8:40 pm

    btw: I should have said this much earlier today, but @MW – :-) thank you.

    Reply
14. TheCircusIsFalling... says:

    September 4, 2008 at 9:21 pm

    @ Texas Gal-
    If you don’t realize at this point why people in other parts of the world are scared of us-you haven’t been paying attention. Bush began this war for personal reasons and has murdered thousands of innocent people in the name of it. (Innocent people goes for both US soldiers as well as civilians in Iraq.) People are scared because they have an outsider’s view of how war hungry Bush was, and they are frightened to imagine what could follow, (See: John McCain).

    And frankly, YOU should be scared as well. If McCain wins, and something should happen to him-do you honestly want someone who hasn’t even led the tiny population of Alaska leading the entire country? Just something to think about.

    Oh and I love Donkey Punch-sometimes it seems as though you are the only one with half a brain on this site.

    Reply
15. bsm says:

    September 4, 2008 at 11:41 pm

    I read the paper daily, subscribe to Newsweek and Time, watch political commentary in the evening, and read articles from various Internet sources, and honestly, I don’t feel like I know everything. Not even close. I think that’s very important — knowing that no matter what you’re told in this country, you don’t really know what’s going on. I try my best to follow along, but it’s a deceitful system. We’re probably never REALLY going to know what happens in many situations, which makes it more fun to gossip about in the first place. Isn’t that what MSNBC, CNN, and FOX News do all day and all night? It’s punditry. Right now, that’s American politics. When you put your opinion out there, you’re going to get comments from those who disagree urging you to put politics to rest and keep documenting Lily Allen’s stumbles. Luckily, I agree with most of your stances.

    Reply
16. quirkygirlkitten says:

    September 5, 2008 at 10:50 am

    reading these entries i am stunned and slsightly sickened. in this day and age, in this country, anyone -democrat, republican or independant- who says “i don’t know how to get informed” on politics is a lazy, ignorant fucker and shouldn’t bother to vote anyway. what are you, living under the fucking taliban? living without tv, radio or internet, like the amish (who probably have a better grasp on politics than some on this board)? locked up in a closet with only the people magazine for your information? here’s a tip, slackers: save those votes for things you understand… like american idol, and leave the important votes to those of us who actually bother to do a little research. newsflash, asswipes: there are people in this world who are fighting their government to get information, and to vote in a real election, and some of those people are paying with their lives, and we have people in this country who actually whine that getting on the internet is too hard? you should be ashamed of yourselves.

    Reply
17. Absyntheballot says:

    September 5, 2008 at 12:38 pm

    @ Anonymous

    “If you’re post is representative of the majority of Americans (which you claim are even less informed than you), I am deeply saddened by the number of ppl that have the ability and opportunity to educate themselves but choose not to delve beneath the sound bytes.”

    Yes Anonymous, I used incorrect grammar in that sentence – it should have read “If your post…” You’re totally on to me Anonymous….. I made an error in the first (and last) post I will ever make here. I am totally ignorant. You win.

    Reply
18. jrvandco says:

    September 5, 2008 at 3:28 pm

    Bravo I love this artical. It’s just straight, honest, shootin’ from the hip.
    But I like Monica more (I think she’s hotter) and I would love to see some pics of her doing bill in the oval office while smokin’ a cuban from the wrong end (wink).

    Reply
19. JESS says:

    September 6, 2008 at 6:45 am

    I love you beet… and Donkey punch…sometimes ! :)

    Reply
20. jrvandco says:

    September 7, 2008 at 10:41 am

    To quote a popular bumper sticker: “mean people suck”. You’re right on Beet, “a bit of all right”. I’m voting for the beauty queen if only to spite those you who hate so much. Semper Fi Beet!

    Reply

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