Palin – Brooks: She’s a Joke; Ifill: Don't Underestimate Her Appeal

David Brooks needs to understand that his rudeness makes him look like the intellectual weakling.

Ms Ifill, as a woman, I could not disagree with you more. Down here in the trenches, it is the women who are especially turned off by Palin. As an Ivy League educated, Masters level professional woman, I am insulted and saddened that this woman is what the GOP considers acceptable in a female candidate. As details about Palin's book emerge, I am certain that Mr. Brooks is correct. She is simply not a serious contender, let alone a person to be taken seriously. She appears to have the emotional maturity of a teenager and an utter disregard for facts and the world around her.

I resent the notion that Palin appeals to ALL women...I'm a woman and have ZERO respect for her... She was elected governor as the anti-candidate and didn't even bother to finish her term "owed the the people of her state she claims to be concerned for". Book deals and talk show circuits seem more important to her... yeah, that's who I want in my corner when the going gets tough...the one who jumps ship!!!! I don't think so!!!!

Wow, a talk show host and a joke. What an insult to all of those who gravitate towards her basic message of let us remember the individual freedoms that have led us to become the greatest nation. Her opinions are obviously dismissed by the great minds of DC and NY (David Brooks)but they resignate with this joke and may others. To call her a talk show host and a joke when you look at what she has accomplished in her life by her mid forties illustrates the arrogance of Brooks (who writes about what others like Sarah Palin actually do vs. actually doing something productive himself).

When Mr. Stepanopoulus and company become a part of the United States America, then I will take them seriously.

Brooks, exposing an irony that he is ill equipped to recognize, says Palin is a joke. Woodward, a man who used to be a reporter, continues the Palin bashing with "Americans don't elect presidents based on a compelling story".

Clearly Woodward believes that we elected Obama based on his vast experience while Brooks is watching Palin laugh all the way to the bank.

Seriously, these are the best people you can get for your roundtable?

Do not under estimate Sarah, I defy you to find another woman who can excite the issues as well, plus remain straight forward in her agenda,that is as sexy,and likeable.

"When Mr. Stepanopoulus and company become a part of the United States America, then I will take them seriously." ---- Interesting... by your standards or is there a handbook we all need to read? You do what the Constitutions says?

If she runs again, she's going to lose. She's no Margaret Thatcher - and that's what our country needs. Not a runway model.

Alan Keyes 2012!

Is Palin a nitwit? Yes. ...But.

Given the fact that we have underfunded and overcrowded our school's classrooms over the last 40 years or so due to fears and complaints about taxes, what do you expect?

People made a big deal about kids being taught things other than the "3 Rs" and yet you fail to see that teaching to pass exams isn't going to be an improvement? The best equivalent that I can think of for the effect that NCLB will have on schools is the Cheshire Cat as it slowly disappears into its smile and then is completely and totally gone.

So how in the world do you expect people to be smart enough to see Palin for what she is at this point?

The reason 62% of the American voters think Palin is not ready to be president, is the same reason 54% of the current American voters think Obama is not ready to be president...neither is qualified. At least Palin has not proven herself unqualified.

A woman is in her 3rd month of pregnancy and the baby she is carrying dies. (These things do happen.) However, if Sarah Palin, had her way, this woman would not be able to terminate her pregnancy because that would be considered an abortin.

A 14 year old girl is brutally raped and beaten by her mother's live-in boyfriend and becomes pregnant as a result. She too cannot terminate that pregnancy, if Sarah Palin had her way.

When Sarah Palin was mayor of Wasilla, she permitted bars to stay open until 5 AM. When the chief of police objected because of the increase in DUI's she fired him. Of course, permitting saloons to stay open until 5 AM, gives a lot of husbands more time to drink away their pay checks. It increases the likelihood of domestic violence. It increases the number of sexual assaults. But as mayor of Wasilla, Sarah Palin, made rape victims pay for their own rape kits, so that sexual assaults really became a form of municipal revenue.

Is this what the women of America want??? If so, maybe I should invest money in a company that produces padded coat-hangers. If Sarah Palin gets elected, that will become a thriving business.

Talk about a joke! David Brooks is a joke. The liberals on George's panel (which by the way, has a secret crush on sarah) are scared to death of Sarah Palin. For Brooks to insinuate that Barack Obama is out there facing the war in Afghanistan is laughable. Obama is out there rockstaring it like he always does. Sarah Palin has more experience in being Mayor of Wassila! Such a condesending panel, even Gwen Ifil was ridiculous. They are so insulated in the beltway, they have no idea what we think out here in America.

Ivy League educated, Masters level professional women are apparently not perceptive enough to recognize, much less understand the enormous appeal Palin has to blue-collar and home-oriented women, to mention two significant demographics. Then, there are the men, the Republican strategists who do, and plan to employ it. Like it or not, you underestimate Palin's political potential at your peril. Even if she does not run for office ever again, she is a formidable campaigner who will draw like Oprah when the conservatives trot out their contenders. And those constituents could care less what Ivy League educated Masters level trench dwellers think.

While I'm not sure Ms. Palin is ready for the white house just yet, I do believe she does have the blue collar, every-day-American's best interest in mind. She is more in-tune what is going on in our country than all of the people at your roundtable put together. It amazes me how self-important and all knowing you people seem to think you are, yet have no clue about what is happening in our country. Leave Sarah alone and start realizing that the fantasy-world you live in in Washington DC is not the world the rest of us deal with every day.

"... I defy you to find another woman who ... is as sexy,and likeable."

Posted by: David | Nov 15, 2009 11:35:26 AM

Let's cut to the chase, David. SHE'S HOT and EVERYONE knows it but HARDLY anyone wants to ADMIT it publicly. Even you want to throw in something about "issues."

HOTNESS is Palin's APPEAL.

She's not saying ANYTHING that INTELLECTUALLY inspires or arouses anyone. It's all about her HOTNESS.

Once we admit that, we can agree to disagree.

Personally, I don't think she's presidential material and I think at the end of the day, David (BROOKS, that is) will be right and the Republicans will turn to someone else (not Mitt "Mormon" Romney) to lead the party. Sarah's Minnesotan voice will not win the day. But she'll cash out nicely.

Gov. Palin has had so much more executive experience than David Brooks, Barack Obama, etc. She actually understands how to make important decisions within a reasonable amount of time. She exemplifies and holds dear the convictions and beliefs of many conserative voters. I would say that the "elites" could not nor will be able to understand her appeal. She is far from a joke. I haven't taken David Brooks seriously for years now. He's the ultimate moderate!!

I really have to wonder about the passionate, and vocal, condemnation the left heaps on Sarah Palin. Personally, I don't have a strong opinion of her politically, but I can say that based on what I've seen, she would be a great neighbor, and in any concievable election she would come out as the candidate most voters would 'want to have a beer with'.

Voters prefer people they understand, not stiff academics, folks married to billionaires, or career politicians.

In the last election, Gov. Palin was on the ticket as VP, not President, and the Republican candidate picked her, not the rank & file members of the party. The only group talking about Palin for POTUS are the Democrats, and why would the Republican party look to them for advice?

Your guest are missing the mood of the country. The bank bail out, car bail out and all the funny business in Washington is causing a mood I have never seen before. Going Rogue is exactly what this country needs right now. Not only in politics but in journalism. Wake up. Get out of Washington and talk to the people.

Has Palin talked about the economy,jobs,national security,or foreign policy?I would prefer these topics be discussed instead of the topics of the past.Also,I want to know how her mothering for her baby has been since she was put in the spotlight.Her stance on family values are to be questioned with her trotting around the country.I am sure the democratic leaders of this country smile every time Palin opens her mouth.If she wants to be a part of the national political scene she should throw her support to a Republican that can give Obama a run for the money in 2012.I hope Senator Mcain realizes he has created this monster for the republican party.Palin is a joke at the expense of all Americans concerned for the welfare of the United States.

Appeal? Many Americans see her as the loan chance to stop the country's headlong rush into leftist tyranny...

Considering we're only 9.5 months into THIS administration, I think it's hilarious that there's already so much speculation. My guess is that her book will make her less, not more, viable as a Prez candidate. I'm sure the book will be a great and entertaining read for those who both love and hate her and there will be plenty for both the left and the right to have some fun with. Whether she's trying to position herself as a 2012 candidate, I don't know and honestly don't care.

Palin currently appears to be an intellectual lightweight without the temperament to lead anything more than trust fund oil state with few people. If this is a false impression, she could counter it by giving interviews anywhere to anyone or doing a great job in as a governor (or Senator, see Hillary Clinton's successful transformation into a iron handed wonk over the last few years), but she doesn't. At this point, Palin is a punch line - the McCain campaign went for a poster girl rather than a woman with real chops like Kay Bailey Hutchison. And women across the board were justifiably appalled.

I disagree with Gwen Ifill and actually think the few who are drawn to palin aren't because of gender but rather because of her religious beliefs (even if obviously hypocritical on those) and ability to lie about issues and personally attack those she disagrees with while at the same time playing the victim.

I find it interesting that so many people who speak about "the common man" in these debates seem to hold the idea that there is some innate superiority to the common man of the U.S. compared to the common men of other countries. What has made our country great is the decoupling of opportunity from class, allowing the uncommonly gifted to rise to whatever level they can achieve through hard work and perseverance. By increasing the number of people who have educational and financial opportunities, we wound up with a larger group of people who were able to realize their unique visions and in the process lift our country to new heights of innovation and public well-being.

By definition, there is nothing exceptional about average Americans. What is exceptional about our country has been that we have not hamstrung ourselves by dismissing the potential abilities of large swaths of the populace. Recognizing the rare and unique abilities of certain individuals, which come would term "elitism," and providing them with the educational and financial resources to realize their potential is what has made this country great. We try not to strictly assign opportunity based on ancestral status. We have never done a perfect job of this, just better than countries with a more firmly established class system.

Disappointingly, the current trend seems to be to dismiss those of exceptional abilities the way we have previously dismissed claims individual superiority based on one's parent's social class. I fear that in a generation the attitudes that helped us achieve our current status in the world will have been undermined to the point that we will be stuck reminiscing about the U.S.'s former greatness, rather than reaching for the stars which previous generations saw as our nation's birthright.