Sam Harris, Horseman Speaks on Palin and McCain and how bad they really are...

[Deicide]

Palin: average isn't good enough
She's not qualified to be president, and in picking her, McCain shows that he has little respect for the presidency.
By Sam Harris
September 3, 2008
» Discuss Article
So let us ask the question that should be on the mind of every thinking person in the world at this moment: If John McCain becomes the 44th president of the United States, what are the odds that a blood clot or falling object will make Sarah Palin the 45th?

The actuarial tables on the Social Security Administration website suggest that there is a better than 10% chance that McCain will die during his first term in office. Needless to say, the Reaper's scything only grows more insistent thereafter. Should President McCain survive his first term and get elected to a second, there is a 27% chance that Palin will become the first female U.S. president by 2015. If we take into account McCain's medical history and the pressures of the presidency, the odds probably increase considerably that this bright-eyed Alaskan will become the most powerful woman in history.


As many people have noted, placing Palin on the ticket has made these final months of the already overlong 2008 campaign much more interesting. Is Palin remotely qualified to be president of the United States? No. But that's precisely what is so interesting. McCain not only has thrown all sensible concerns about good governance aside merely to pander to a sliver of female and masses of conservative Christian voters, he has turned this period of American history into an episode of high-stakes reality television: Don't look now, but our cousin Sarah just became leader of the free world! Tune in next week and watch her get sassy with Pakistan!

Americans have an unhealthy desire to see average people promoted to positions of great authority. No one wants an average neurosurgeon or even an average carpenter, but when it comes time to vest a man or woman with more power and responsibility than any person has held in human history, Americans say they want a regular guy, someone just like themselves. President Bush kept his edge on the "Who would you like to have a beer with?" poll question in 2004, and won reelection.

This is one of the many points at which narcissism becomes indistinguishable from masochism. Let me put it plainly: If you want someone just like you to be president of the United States, or even vice president, you deserve whatever dysfunctional society you get. You deserve to be poor, to see the environment despoiled, to watch your children receive a fourth-rate education and to suffer as this country wages -- and loses -- both necessary and unnecessary wars.


McCain has so little respect for the presidency of the United States that he is willing to put the girl next door (soon, too, to be a grandma) into office beside him. He has so little respect for the average American voter that he thinks this reckless and cynical ploy will work.

And it might. Palin's nomination has clearly excited Christian conservatives, and it may entice a few million gender-obsessed fans of Hillary Clinton to vote entirely on the basis of chromosomes. Throw in a few million more average Americans who will just love how the nice lady smiles, and 2009 could be a very interesting year.

Tune in next week and watch cousin Sarah fuss with our nuclear arsenal ... .



Sam Harris is a founder of the Reason Project and the author of "The End of Faith" and "Letter to a Christian Nation."

Discuss...

[JOCKTHEGLIDE]

is it baseball season yet.............

[Deicide]

is it baseball season yet.............

No.

[240 is Back]

If Palin gets him 1 in 10 Hilary voters, then Mccain wins.  She's a tool used to draw away voters who use "girl power" as their sole deciding factor in who they trust to lead the free world.

There are a lot of folks out there who hate obama, and are so excited to be handing the nuclear football to a woman who was a stay-at-home housewife working as a part-time mayor in a town of 6000, just 5 years ago.  They don't understand the importance of experience on the world stage, and believe a degree in journalism from 20 years ago is plenty to be President.

If there are enough of them, Mccain wins.

[Weez]

If Palin gets him 1 in 10 Hilary voters, then Mccain wins.  She's a tool used to draw away voters who use "girl power" as their sole deciding factor in who they trust to lead the free world.

There are a lot of folks out there who hate obama, and are so excited to be handing the nuclear football to a woman who was a stay-at-home housewife working as a part-time mayor in a town of 6000, just 5 years ago.  They don't understand the importance of experience on the world stage, and believe a degree in journalism from 20 years ago is plenty to be President.

If there are enough of them, Mccain wins.

Yeah, you wanna talk experience, and you know where I'm going with this. A stint in the Illinois legislature, and a mere 140 some odd days in the US Senate (before he announced his candadicy) does not make your boy much more qualified than this "Goverener Newby". Just because he has had a few more speech classes than she does, and has a verbal knack for making " change beleivers" out of the likes of yourself means squat on "the world stage". N' you know this....

[divcom]

Yep...experience and about kick the can is what the office about in the US. 

Chimp's job



I'd vote for her if I thought she would be a real VP.  That would have been Bobby or Rice but they declined.  Aint going to happen.  She is there to steal the election for a guy who should be in a retirement home.

Experience is BS...based on the current fool in office.

This election will prove how weak minded Americans are.  Change the course of an election because a woman is ex-playmate matter. 

[gymguy]

and Sam Harris is an expert at what???  Gheez, you guys are easily manipulated.

[RagingBull]

Is Obama remotely qualified?  A man with absolutely no legislative history. 

Would you vote for a candidate who attended KKK rallies?  How is this any different?

&feature=related

http://obamatruth.org/

Would you vote for a candidate who has a racist wife?

[CalvinH]

NFL starts Thursday night.

[chainsaw]

Obama is all hype.

Has done nothing but be black,

and speak well.

I don't trust him, and I don't know how anyone can.

[leon]

Obama is all hype.

Has done nothing but be black,

and speak well.

I don't trust him, and I don't know how anyone can.

After what the Republicans have done to this county over the past eight years you want to trust them. why not just put a gun to your head instead of waiting for McCain and his fascist minions to destroy what's left of American decency and freedom.

[m8]

Would you vote for a candidate who attended KKK rallies?

yes

Would you vote for a candidate who has a racist wife?

yes

[delta9mda]

If Palin gets him 1 in 10 Hilary voters, then Mccain wins.  She's a tool used to draw away voters who use "girl power" as their sole deciding factor in who they trust to lead the free world.

There are a lot of folks out there who hate obama, and are so excited to be handing the nuclear football to a woman who was a stay-at-home housewife working as a part-time mayor in a town of 6000, just 5 years ago.  They don't understand the importance of experience on the world stage, and believe a degree in journalism from 20 years ago is plenty to be President.

If there are enough of them, Mccain wins.

240? how can you write that bullshit when obama has been working in the senate (NOT AND EXECUTIVE POSITION) and you forgot that she is the governor of Alaska (an executive position). her resume is much better and bigger than obamas. oh and what about his ties to ayers and the communist party of the usa, rev white etc etc?

[delta9mda]

If Palin gets him 1 in 10 Hilary voters, then Mccain wins.  She's a tool used to draw away voters who use "girl power" as their sole deciding factor in who they trust to lead the free world.

There are a lot of folks out there who hate obama, and are so excited to be handing the nuclear football to a woman who was a stay-at-home housewife working as a part-time mayor in a town of 6000, just 5 years ago.  They don't understand the importance of experience on the world stage, and believe a degree in journalism from 20 years ago is plenty to be President.

If there are enough of them, Mccain wins.

240? how can you write that bullshit when obama has been working in the senate (NOT AND EXECUTIVE POSITION) and you forgot that she is the governor of Alaska (an executive position). her resume is much better and bigger than obamas. oh and what about his ties to ayers and the communist party of the usa, rev white etc etc?

[240 is Back]

240? how can you write that bullshit when obama has been working in the senate (NOT AND EXECUTIVE POSITION) and you forgot that she is the governor of Alaska (an executive position). her resume is much better and bigger than obamas. oh and what about his ties to ayers and the communist party of the usa, rev white etc etc?

here's what I found when I researched their resumes:

Really, let's compare Palin and Obama objectively, since the Republicans claim Palin is Obama's equal, or even that Palin is more qualified to possibly be President.

Undergraduate
Obama
-early undergrad at Occidental college, ranked 37th among liberal arts colleges by US News and World Report
-he did well enough to transfer to Columbia, the third most selective Ivy League college, Columbia being only slightly less selective than Harvard and Yale

Palin
-Went to the University of Idaho. While a decent school, it's considered a third tier school by the US News rankings.


Graduate
Obama
Harvard Law School.
-editor of law review in first year based on grades and writing ability. For those of you who are unaware, this essentially marks him as among the smartest and most able in a group full of very smart and able people.
-President of Law review in his second year. First black president of Harvard Law Review. Again, a very prestigious position, and marks him as both a leader, and as someone of exceptional ability.
-Graduated Magna Cum Laude (highest academic honors), again a significant achievement among a group of significant achievers.

Palin
N/A

Objectively then, Obama is either significantly smarter, harder working or both than Palin. His undergraduate education is objectively and provably better. His grad work proves that he was leaps and bounds beyond Palin in terms of intellectual and leadership ability. You don't get to be President of Harvard Law Review by being average, or a shrinking violet.

Advantage: Obama

Work, non governmental:
BIC-1983-1984
NY Public Interest Research Group-1984-85
Developing Communities Project, Director-85-88
University of Chicago School of Law-Constitutional law lecturer, 92-2004
(University of Chicago is ranked 7th among US Law schools. The fact that Obama got emplyment here, and then was able to continue, marks him as someone exptionally smart and able)
Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, 1993-2004, attorney

Palin
with husband in commercial fishing
and a brief stint as a TV reporter

Advantage: Obama His non-governmental work experience is more diverse, and objectively marks him as someone smarter and more able than Palin.

Governmental Experience

Obama
1997-2004 State senator of Illinois' 13th district. That district has nearly 800,000 people in it.

2005-present Illinois Senator

Palin
City councilwoman of Wasilla, a town of 6k, 1992-1996
Mayor of Wasilla, 1996-2004
governor of Alaska, 2006-present. Note that Alaska has 600k people in the whole state.

Advantage: Obama As both senator and state representative, Obama has experience representing more people, and larger districts with larger issues than does Palin.

Honestly, if you were on the search committee for, say, a board of director's position of a fortune 500 company, who would get the nod, Obama or Palin? It's Obama, if you have even a shred of honesty in your body. Given that, why is Palin even in the ballpark as number 2 in line for the Presidency? Don't get me wrong, Sarah Palin has some achievements, and she has a right to be proud of them. But realistically, in any category that matters Obama is better than Sarah Palin.

[The True Adonis]

here's what I found when I researched their resumes:

Really, let's compare Palin and Obama objectively, since the Republicans claim Palin is Obama's equal, or even that Palin is more qualified to possibly be President.

Undergraduate
Obama
-early undergrad at Occidental college, ranked 37th among liberal arts colleges by US News and World Report
-he did well enough to transfer to Columbia, the third most selective Ivy League college, Columbia being only slightly less selective than Harvard and Yale

Palin
-Went to the University of Idaho. While a decent school, it's considered a third tier school by the US News rankings.


Graduate
Obama
Harvard Law School.
-editor of law review in first year based on grades and writing ability. For those of you who are unaware, this essentially marks him as among the smartest and most able in a group full of very smart and able people.
-President of Law review in his second year. First black president of Harvard Law Review. Again, a very prestigious position, and marks him as both a leader, and as someone of exceptional ability.
-Graduated Magna Cum Laude (highest academic honors), again a significant achievement among a group of significant achievers.

Palin
N/A

Objectively then, Obama is either significantly smarter, harder working or both than Palin. His undergraduate education is objectively and provably better. His grad work proves that he was leaps and bounds beyond Palin in terms of intellectual and leadership ability. You don't get to be President of Harvard Law Review by being average, or a shrinking violet.

Advantage: Obama

Work, non governmental:
BIC-1983-1984
NY Public Interest Research Group-1984-85
Developing Communities Project, Director-85-88
University of Chicago School of Law-Constitutional law lecturer, 92-2004
(University of Chicago is ranked 7th among US Law schools. The fact that Obama got emplyment here, and then was able to continue, marks him as someone exptionally smart and able)
Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, 1993-2004, attorney

Palin
with husband in commercial fishing
and a brief stint as a TV reporter

Advantage: Obama His non-governmental work experience is more diverse, and objectively marks him as someone smarter and more able than Palin.

Governmental Experience

Obama
1997-2004 State senator of Illinois' 13th district. That district has nearly 800,000 people in it.

2005-present Illinois Senator

Palin
City councilwoman of Wasilla, a town of 6k, 1992-1996
Mayor of Wasilla, 1996-2004
governor of Alaska, 2006-present. Note that Alaska has 600k people in the whole state.

Advantage: Obama As both senator and state representative, Obama has experience representing more people, and larger districts with larger issues than does Palin.

Honestly, if you were on the search committee for, say, a board of director's position of a fortune 500 company, who would get the nod, Obama or Palin? It's Obama, if you have even a shred of honesty in your body. Given that, why is Palin even in the ballpark as number 2 in line for the Presidency? Don't get me wrong, Sarah Palin has some achievements, and she has a right to be proud of them. But realistically, in any category that matters Obama is better than Sarah Palin.

AWESOME BREAKDOWN!
You did forget to add this though!  See if you can work this in there and then update it! Otherwise PERFECT!

 and returned to Chicago where he had worked as a summer associate at the law firms of Sidley & Austin in 1989 and Hopkins & Sutter in 1990.[18][20]

The publicity from his election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review led to a contract and advance to write a book about race relations.[21] In an effort to recruit him to their faculty, the University of Chicago Law School provided Obama with a fellowship and an office to work on his book.[21] He originally planned to finish the book in one year, but it took much longer as the book evolved into a personal memoir. In order to work without interruptions, Obama and his wife, Michelle, traveled to Bali where he wrote for several months. The manuscript was finally published as Dreams from My Father in mid-1995.[21]

Obama directed Illinois Project Vote from April to October 1992, a voter registration drive with a staff of 10 and 700 volunteers that achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African Americans in the state, leading Crain's Chicago Business to name Obama to its 1993 list of "40 under Forty" powers to be.[22][23]

Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School for twelve years, as a Lecturer for four years (1992–1996), and as a Senior Lecturer for eight years (1996–2004).[24]

In 1993 Obama joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a 12-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development, where he was an associate for three years from 1993 to 1996, then of counsel from 1996 to 2004, with his law license becoming inactive in 2002.[12][25]

Obama was a founding member of the board of directors of Public Allies in 1992, resigning before his wife, Michelle, became the founding executive director of Public Allies Chicago in early 1993.[12][26] He served on the board of directors of the Woods Fund of Chicago, which in 1985 had been the first foundation to fund Obama's DCP, from 1993–2002, and served on the board of directors of The Joyce Foundation from 1994–2002.[12] Obama served on the board of directors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge from 1995–2002, as founding president and chairman of the board of directors from 1995–1999.[12] He also served on the board of directors of the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and the Lugenia Burns Hope Center.[12]

State legislator, 1997–2004

[The True Adonis]

I find this VERY, VERY, VERY Significant about Obama and his resume that should be at the forefront:

Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School for twelve years, as a Lecturer for four years (1992–1996), and as a Senior Lecturer for eight years (1996–2004).[24]

[The True Adonis]

Obama is probably one of the nations foremost knowledgeable United States Constitutional scholars and is also WELL versed in American History.


whereas

Sarah Palin thinks the Pledge of Allegiance was wrote by the founding fathers and should be protected at all costs.


She does not realize that in fact the original Pledge of Allegiance was written simply for a commemoration of the 1892 World`s Fair in Chicago to be recited by school-boys.  The Pledge also made ZERO reference to god.  the Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy (1855-1931), a Baptist minister, a Christian Socialist, and the cousin of Socialist Utopian novelist Edward Bellamy (1850-1898). Bellamy's original "Pledge of Allegiance" was published in the September 8th issue of the popular children's magazine The Youth's Companion.

I have a copy of the original myself!

[The True Adonis]

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in August 1892 by the socialist minister Francis Bellamy (1855-1931). It was originally published in The Youth's Companion on September 8, 1892. Bellamy had hoped that the pledge would be used by citizens in any country.

In its original form it read:

    "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

[sgt. d]

I think women should just give birth and be put in cages

[JOCKTHEGLIDE]

NFL starts Thursday night.

already bro damn thats quicker than shit....

[JOCKTHEGLIDE]

After what the Republicans have done to this county over the past eight years you want to trust them. why not just put a gun to your head instead of waiting for McCain and his fascist minions to destroy what's left of American decency and freedom.

another brutally savage attempt from a noobie to sign onto the boards just to defend politics 

[YoungBlood]

waiting for McCain and his fascist minions to destroy what's left of American decency and freedom.

You mean there is still something left after the raping we've taken over the last 8 years?

[JOCKTHEGLIDE]

You mean there is still something left after the raping we've taken over the last 8 years?

remember the regan years...........

[NarcissisticDeity]

Discuss...

I always enjoy reading Sam's opinons