Tuesday, February 09, 2010

She wrote on her hand.

My son used to do this and it bothered me. Maybe he still does but, as an adult, he just makes sure I don't know. There is something about it that strikes me as too casual. Perhaps I'm just a bit of a dualist and this integrates mind and body too much. I'd be willing to say it's because I am older but my wife says she used to do it when she was young. At the time, she was way cooler than me so I have nothing to say.

But please. It may well be that Sarah Palin is not ready to run for President, but the fact that she wanted to list a few talking points is not one of them. Sometimes, in preparing for class, I'll write down four topics. It's not because I can't remember them or don't understand them. It's a way to remind myself that this is what I want to emphasize and to avoid getting carried off message. Maybe I'll look at them in the course of a class. Most often, I won't. But writing them down somehow - or at least I believe - makes it less likely that I'll forget something.

These four points - believe me - are not going to be profound. They'll be pretty general. They are really cues for whatever spiel I have that lies behind them.

So, really, the point is not what was on her palm, but what she had to say.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have never written notes on any part of my body but I think those who do are afraid to lose notes written on paper. It makes them feel more secure.

Anonymous said...

Person at the Tea Party convention, quoted on NPR: "Sarah Palin is the smartest person in the Republican Party today."

That's a compliment. Sort of.

Curt said...

"at the time, she was way cooler than me".....she still is. :-)

Anonymous said...

Spin it whatever way you want to, but Half Guv Palin is hardly ready to be POTUS! Say, how's that "SarAmerica-y" going for ya?

Anonymous said...

"It may well be that Sarah Palin is not ready to run for President . . . ."

I think this statement gives the woman more credit than she deserves. The issue here is not that she referred to a few talking points. It's that she 1) couldn't commit these points to memory long enough to make a national appearance for which she was being ridiculously over-compensated and, 2) chose the least professional possible way to keep her comments on track.

She's a rube who's become a caricature of herself. It's a national embarrassment that she's still in the news.

Anonymous said...

It wouldn't be such a big deal if she hadn't been mocking Obama for using a teleprompter.

Except of course it would have, since the invention of paper. And how do we know those notes were about her speech? Maybe she had a test afterword.

George Mitchell said...

The compulsion of those who obsess over Sarah Palin keeps them from focusing on more effective political strategies. Good.

Dad29 said...

George, I have seen deeee-mentia. And it's right here in River City!

"Pack-dementia". Probably a new DSM category for the shrinks.

Anonymous said...

The point is not that she needed the notes, but she tried to hide them by putting them on her hand rather than a note card or a piece of paper.

George Mitchell said...

The bogus story Charlie Sykes is discussing today re the bracelet reinforces the craziness of the Palin-obsessed.

Anonymous said...

Missing from your post is any account of what she actually had to say. For example: "It is just so inspiring to see real people -- not politicos, not inside-the-Beltway professionals -- come out and stand up and speak out for common sense conservative principles." Or, "A lot of that stimulus cash -- it ended up in some pretty odd places, including districts that didn't exist." "This is about the people . . . And it's a lot bigger than any charismatic guy with a teleprompter."

Give the woman a teleprompter, and a speechwriter. Maybe then she'd actually something worth remembering.

Display Name said...

Standard Contradictory Disclaimer™: They are really cues for whatever spiel I have that has lies behind it.

Anonymous said...

Relax, George. Most of us "liberals" pray daily that the Republican Party nominates Palin in 2012.