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Beck Calls 'Bullcrap' On Palin's Non-Answer About Favorite Founding Father (VIDEO)
Eric Kleefeld | January 13, 2010, 6:18PM
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During Sarah Palin's interview with Glenn Beck today, something extraordinary happened -- Beck challenged Palin on a stock, noncommittal answer to a question. Beck asked: "Who's your favorite Founder?"
"You know, well, all of them, because they came collectively together with so much--" Palin began, in a manner much like her non-answers to Katie Couric's questions about which newspapers she's read ("All of them.") and which Supreme Court decisions she's disagreed with (which brought a similarly broad answer about how there are a lot of decisions).
"Bullcrap," Beck interrupted. "Who's your favorite."
"--so much diverse and so much diversity in terms of belief, but collectively they came together -- and they were led by, of course George Washington, so he's got to rise to the top." Palin then gave a short speech on Washington's virtues.
Comments (199) | Join the Conversation!
docrocktex
January 13, 2010 6:23 PM
Her depth of knowledge isn't very deep.
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jsdc007
January 13, 2010 11:21 PM in reply to docrocktex
Neither is his. So they're evenly matched.
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dem4life
January 14, 2010 9:07 AM in reply to jsdc007
AMEN!
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JNagarya
January 14, 2010 4:36 PM in reply to dem4life
Oh, please! Give them a break! They both show the profoundest depths of the quintessentially shallow.
Washington was the leader, of course -- as was each of all the other members who came together in that ["Commie"-sounding term alert] collectivist effort.
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Sailormarlowe
January 14, 2010 6:00 AM in reply to docrocktex
In fact, Sarah tried to explain that the founding of this country was a group effort of many patriots, not a one-man show, and that she considered Washington the first among equals. Beck & O'Reilly both failed to evoke simple-minded, one syllable responses from her. Sorry, misogynists.
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OhioMan
January 14, 2010 6:08 AM in reply to Sailormarlowe
Right.
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JNagarya
January 14, 2010 4:39 PM in reply to OhioMan
Yep. It's misogynist to state the fact that a woman is stupid -- because of the woman part of it.
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davcbr
January 14, 2010 7:33 AM in reply to Sailormarlowe
Hmm... that's kinda funny. I don't think Washington considered himself a "first among equals"
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mary from TN
January 14, 2010 11:37 AM in reply to davcbr
She got her info about the Founding Father's when she watched HBO's mini series about John Adams. That's exactly what came to mind with her bullshit answer. However, she wasn't paying too close attention.
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JNagarya
January 14, 2010 4:41 PM in reply to mary from TN
If she had she would have named John Adams (I would) -- not Washington.
Actually she watches tumbling laundry in the belief it is the essence of patriotic soap opera.
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Sailormarlowe
January 14, 2010 3:43 PM in reply to davcbr
SHE considered Washington first...not Washington considered himself..Sorry about your dyslexia.
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farnsworth
January 15, 2010 2:01 AM in reply to Sailormarlowe
Do you know any of the founding fathers? I mean, besides the ones your masturbatory fantasy mentioned.
And dyslexia has nothing to do with anything going on here. The term you are looking for is "mind-bogglingly stupid." And it applies to both you and Palin.
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Marinus van der Lubbe
January 14, 2010 7:50 AM in reply to Sailormarlowe
Sorry Apologist..of the 7 major founding fathers, she took the lowest hanging fruit, Washington being the most memorable and easily plucked, but the less cerebral of the 7.
You seem to have your hackles up these days, SailorManLove?...Mysogynists? and I'm sure youre supportive of all things Hillary or Wasserman-Shulz as well?
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dem4life
January 14, 2010 8:48 AM in reply to Sailormarlowe
Darn idiot Palin....come on
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tmpusr
January 14, 2010 8:54 AM in reply to Sailormarlowe
Which is exactly why she brought up the ideas that George Washington was the "leader" of the founders, rather than the leader of the colonial army who had support due to the popularity this provided rather than for his ideas as a statesman, and that he could've been king.
This is the kind of answer I'd expect from a 4th grader.
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Sailormarlowe
January 14, 2010 3:50 PM in reply to tmpusr
Beck butted in rudely, and insisted on Washington. Frankly, my dear, Sarah doesn't give a damn.
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JNagarya
January 14, 2010 4:44 PM in reply to Sailormarlowe
This parrot is dead!
He's simply pretending to be more-patriotic-than-Michael-Palin.
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Marinus van der Lubbe
January 14, 2010 6:27 PM in reply to Sailormarlowe
And you accuse me of sipping annisette? tsk tsk tsk....Now youre inside her head? Speaking for her or is this like some 'Silence of the Lambs' thing where you dress up in Sarah-drag and start prancing? I'm sure you do that weeny-tuck thing easily....
all things creepy, sailor-boy.
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Marinus van der Lubbe
January 14, 2010 6:30 PM in reply to Sailormarlowe
And you accuse me of sipping annisette? tsk tsk tsk....Now youre inside her head? Speaking for her or is this like some 'Silence of the Lambs' thing where you dress up in Sarah-drag and start prancing? I'm sure you do that weeny-tuck thing easily....
all things creepy, sailor-boy.
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LiesPrevail
January 15, 2010 1:00 PM in reply to Sailormarlowe
WORST.
TROLL.
EVER.
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onecrappyusername
January 14, 2010 10:35 AM in reply to Sailormarlowe
Bullcrap.
:)
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L0ngT0m
January 14, 2010 10:49 AM in reply to Sailormarlowe
I guess Washington was a "founding father", but isn't the phrase usually reserved for those who participated in the writing of the Constitution or who signed the Declaration of Independence? Of course, my favorite founding father, Thomas Paine, doesn't qualify on that score either.
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slb
January 14, 2010 1:42 PM in reply to L0ngT0m
No, "Founding Fathers" to me has always referred to the leaders of the Revolutionary generation, not necessarily just the men who were either part of the Second Continental Congress or the Constitutional Convention. (I consider Patrick Henry a Founding Father, for example.) But even by your limited criteria Washington qualifies: he was sent to Philadelphia as a delegate to the 1789 Constitutional Convention and was unanimously elected its president.
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slb
January 14, 2010 2:50 PM in reply to slb
Sorry, that should have been the 1787 Constitutional Convention...
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JNagarya
January 14, 2010 4:48 PM in reply to slb
Patrick Henry asked the VA House of Burgesses to appoint him head of the militia. It refused because his colleagues saw him as unstable.
"Give me liberty, or give me death!" is easy to say so long as someone else is in the line of fire as consequence of such verbal bravery.
Stirring rhetoric is fine; but it doesn't necessarily make a revolutionary of an aristocrat.
Moreover, Henry was an anti-Federalist -- opposed to ratification of the Constitution -- until he wanted to be governor, at which point he switched to Federalist.
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JNagarya
January 14, 2010 5:00 PM in reply to L0ngT0m
Tom Paine was a one-note propagandist, useful during the early appeal-to-the-emotions rabble-rousing phase of the "revolution," then useless and discarded thereafter. Moreover, he wasn't elected to anything, and hadn't any practical law-making/gov't-founding skills.
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L0ngT0m
January 14, 2010 10:51 AM in reply to Sailormarlowe
She's a moron. The founding fathers weren't led by Washington at all.
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Beetlejuice
January 14, 2010 1:06 PM in reply to L0ngT0m
We're witnessing history being rewritten to suit a political ideology. Washington had to be the leader otherwise why would anyone want him as the first President?
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slb
January 14, 2010 1:55 PM in reply to Beetlejuice
Indeed. It's true that Washington had his detractors, but there is just no question that in general, he was greatly respected and looked to for leadership.
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JNagarya
January 14, 2010 5:03 PM in reply to slb
In general, as a general.
Otherwise, had things gone according to promise made, we coulda had dim-bulb John Hancock as first president.
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Hyla Brook
January 14, 2010 10:54 AM in reply to Sailormarlowe
No way - sounds like the non-answers students give on tests they are totally unprepared for.
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slb
January 14, 2010 1:57 PM in reply to Hyla Brook
Or the non-answers that beauty pagent contestants make to the judges' questions...
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Kuyleh
January 14, 2010 9:19 PM in reply to Sailormarlowe
Which is just her bullshit way of pretending to answer a question she's really too stupid to answer. Are you done buying her stupid yet?
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alaskajack
January 14, 2010 1:32 PM in reply to docrocktex
She is an idiot that Alaska is trying to distance itself from. Her reason for quitting as Governor was to, "Answer a higher calling",in her words. That higher calling is fame and fortune at our expense. I hope people will tune in to Fox just for a good laugh.
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RocketEngineer
January 14, 2010 10:02 PM in reply to docrocktex
The only thing deep about her, might - might - be her throat.
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tbs
January 13, 2010 7:57 PM
My favorite founding father was Benjamin Franklin because he could see England from his house.
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yellowdogD
January 13, 2010 10:40 PM in reply to tbs
And Paris, too!
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Massenois
January 14, 2010 8:23 AM in reply to tbs
And Uranus
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Egypt Steve
January 14, 2010 9:54 AM in reply to Massenois
Speak for yourself. Maybe Franklin could see your anus from his house, but he never saw my anus.
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tmpusr
January 14, 2010 8:57 AM in reply to tbs
And he invented electricity!
(note: My mother actually made a statement to this effect yesterday. I died a little inside.)
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JNagarya
January 14, 2010 4:51 PM in reply to tbs
My favorite is John Adams. Notr only because he drove the Congress to declaring independence, but more so becasue he was able to separate politics from rule of law.
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nova voter
January 15, 2010 7:45 AM in reply to JNagarya
same here. of course, i'm reading mccullough's biography of him right now, so he's the one i know something about.
from what i've read, i'm positive that adams would have been absolutely disgusted to the point of despair with people like beck and palin.
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frsbdg
January 13, 2010 9:08 PM
Last night, she struggled with the made-up word "uncomfortableness" (hint: discomfort is an actual word). Tonight, it was "diversity." Her segment really does need to come with english subtitles.
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Zell
January 13, 2010 10:11 PM in reply to frsbdg
It's actually never exactly clear to me what anyone means when they say that something is or is not a "real" word, as if there's some official source that confers "real" status upon a word (which there is not). However, since you seem to be of the opinion that there are such things as "real" words and (presumably) "fake" words:
I'm going to go out on a limb, and guess that inclusion in the Oxford English Dictionary would satisfy whatever strange requirement you have for something being a "real" word. If that guess is correct, then "uncomfortableness" is a "real" word, as it is in the Oxford English Dictionary.
Just because there's a word that you know ("discomfort") does not imply that no other word means the same thing.
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CEOsMustGo
January 13, 2010 10:46 PM in reply to Zell
I'll give you a hint - if a word rolls off your tongue like a 3 legged dog falling down a flight of steps, it's probably not a real word.
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Zell
January 13, 2010 11:50 PM in reply to CEOsMustGo
Well, then, luckily for the word "uncomfortableness", I have no problem enunciating it. Good thing for it that you have proclaimed me to be the standard by which the realness or fakeness of a word is measured.
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BrianSkuse
January 14, 2010 7:22 PM in reply to CEOsMustGo
That is a great rule ! Excellent ... I am stealing it forthwith.
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navamske
January 13, 2010 11:11 PM in reply to Zell
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Zell
January 13, 2010 11:29 PM in reply to navamske
Wow, it's like you entirely missed the point, and then some.
I am arguing against a prescriptivist. This prescriptivist ideology is, in general, absurd.
I am not saying that being in the dictionary means it is "real" and not being in the dictionary means that it is not. I am pointing out the absurdity in such an opinion, and furthermore showing that even if you subscribe to the opinion (absurd though it is), it doesn't even hold up in the specific instance that the prescriptivist is arguing.
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mcrose68
January 14, 2010 11:19 AM in reply to Zell
I say, if the $*&#ing word conveys my intent, then it's a real word.
Even if it doesn't use real letters.
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Makaden
January 14, 2010 12:10 PM in reply to Zell
Actually, Zell is right. All language is socially constructed and maintained. Similar to the fact that money has no intrinsic value, language has no ontological status, though the rules of grammar form an internal logic that do limit the semantic range of meanings.
I'm fairly sure it takes a full moon for me to defend someone named "Zell" who is, in turn, defending the Blogger in Chief of Alaska.
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Tom
January 14, 2010 1:13 PM in reply to Makaden
Whether a word is real is in fact a social construct, but as a social construct, the use of these words make a social statement about the user. People who use words like "uncomfortableness" demonstrate that they are not used to reading thoughtful writing and are not used to speaking or writing thoughtfully. It's a signal to thinking people that she isn't one of them.
This is not elitist. You can tell if someone is used to making careful points no matter what the dialect they are using. Her dialect is middle class English, and she clearly is not used to making careful statements in her dialect.
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slb
January 14, 2010 2:08 PM in reply to Tom
Precisely. "Uncomfortableness" is in itself an awkward, uncomfortable word. It even sounds a little childish, one of those words like "maked" or "goed" that children construct before they learn to use irregular verbs.
Public speech, and being a television commentator is a form of public speech, calls for more formal constructions than a private conversation in your den over popcorn. "Uncomfortableness" just doesn't fit in that context.
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Makaden
January 14, 2010 2:26 PM in reply to Tom
You can't say "this isn't elitist" and claim she's using "middle class dialect" in the same paragraph and not get called on it. Whether something is "thoughtful writing" or not is at least a product of class struggle, whatever else it may be.
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jjdjjd
January 14, 2010 3:05 PM in reply to Makaden
my thoughts exactly, you can't say something is not elitist then show that you are an elitist. of course the elitist will never get this point because he doesn't think he's elitist. here is something from 'all classes' who speak english; screw all elitists. god, i hate this site, but i have to look at it, its my penance for voting for obama, who , of course, has turned out to be the ultimate elitist, despite being a 'light skinned negro'.
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JNagarya
January 14, 2010 5:15 PM in reply to Tom
Her "dialect" is white trash, not "middle class".
"Uncomfortableness" is a legitimate word; but its use sounds either funny, or not, depending on context, and emphasis. If one wants to emphasize the issue of "uncomfortableness," then it helps to call attention to it by using such as word as, as example, "uncomfortableness". That it is awkward by comparison with shorter, "smoother," synonymic examples, helps communicate the uncomfortableness.
None of which is an effort to vindicate, or succeeds as vindication of Palin's discomfiting semi-literacy.
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Observerinvancouver
January 14, 2010 11:56 AM in reply to navamske
If it's in the OED it passes all the tests.
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PBen
January 14, 2010 3:35 PM in reply to Observerinvancouver
"Uncomfortableness".... a floccinaucinihilipilific word if I ever heard one!!
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slb
January 14, 2010 1:59 PM in reply to navamske
Or, in the case of the OED, that it was in use at one time, though it may no longer be.
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SirGarthur
January 14, 2010 9:58 AM in reply to Zell
Rogue...what does that word mean? Let's look up several definitions...Webster's 9th New Collegiate Dictionary: 1. vagrant tramp 2. a dishonest or worthless person 3. a mischievous person a scamp 4. a horse inclined to shirk or misbehave 5. an individual exhibiting a chance and usually inferior biological variation.
Palin is so stupid, she branded herself with a word she thought meant "Maverick."
You see, Zell, words and definitions are like the laws of our language. If you want to "make up" new words, and keep reinterpreting what definitions are, then I guess anything goes. Words and their meaning are a foundation of communication and law.
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slb
January 14, 2010 2:15 PM in reply to SirGarthur
I found another one in whatever dictionary Google is using these days that seems to fit perfectly (my bolding): "...someone or something that behaves differently from others of its kind, often causing damage."
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roxsteady
January 14, 2010 10:22 AM in reply to Zell
Actually, you're wrong. Just go to the top of the page we're on right now and try to type untruthfulness. It doesn't come up. Or you could just check a dictionary.
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bearsense
January 14, 2010 10:42 AM in reply to Zell
Then why has "disrespect" become a verb ??
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Beetagger
January 13, 2010 9:15 PM
Why does she even pretend to know things?
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CityGuy
January 13, 2010 9:40 PM in reply to Beetagger
Because if she doesn't at least pretend to know stuff, her uncomfortableness really shows.
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slb
January 14, 2010 2:11 PM in reply to CityGuy
Badda-boom!
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jeffgee
January 13, 2010 9:21 PM
Makin' stuff up as she goes along. That's analysis for ya.
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midnight rambler
January 13, 2010 10:05 PM in reply to jeffgee
Actually, what's really scary about all this is that it demonstrates she's not even smart enough to make stuff up. Leaving aside someone who has half a brain, any empty suit could pick a historical figure from the late 1700's they heard about in high school at random and spew some generic crap about liberty, and that would be enough of an answer for a ho-hum softball interview like this or Couric.
She can't even do that!
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lousgirl84
January 14, 2010 8:53 AM in reply to midnight rambler
So true!!!!
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TeddyKGB
January 13, 2010 9:22 PM
In what respect, Glenn?
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Elizabeth2
January 13, 2010 9:55 PM in reply to TeddyKGB
Very good ........ of all the uncomfortable moments, that one still stands out.
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grollen
January 13, 2010 9:23 PM
and then he went back to his ranch, perhaps being a leitmotif here?
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TBender
January 13, 2010 9:27 PM
Beck is jealous of the new kid.
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DryEraser
January 13, 2010 9:48 PM in reply to TBender
cute. I see how back could resentful of the upstart Palin--he's been working on his broadcasting career way longer than Palin and possibly has more talent.
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mary from TN
January 14, 2010 11:42 AM in reply to DryEraser
and he said that Palin belongs in the kitchen. So he kinda gave us a hint as to what he thinks about women in general.
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JNagarya
January 14, 2010 5:22 PM in reply to mary from TN
Se certainly doesn't belong in politics. Or, really, in public life. That leaves few alternatives, one of which is clearly "kitchen".
Depending, of course, on whether she can cook; and or feed herself without help.
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Scott in PacNW
January 14, 2010 1:14 AM in reply to TBender
My thought exactly: Catfight!
He's ready to scratch her eyes out.
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hamiltonian
January 13, 2010 9:28 PM
Washington returned to his "farm." Yep, the one with all the slaves. Usually known as a plantation.
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njr
January 14, 2010 9:27 AM in reply to hamiltonian
a plantation with his own distillery
so when he threatened the whiskey rebels he would not deprive himself
how states rights was that army he sent to PA... if Palin reads a bit more, she might change her mind about her favorites...
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slb
January 14, 2010 2:24 PM in reply to njr
Well, yeah, that's what I was thinking: if she wants to be the Queen of the states-rights libertarians, she picked the wrong Founder. Washington was all for a stronger central government--that's why he supported scrapping the Articles of Confederation in the first place. Squatters were sitting on some of his lands in the Ohio territory and the government under the Articles was too weak to throw them off. He wanted a government that was in a better position to enforce property rights.
She should have picked Jefferson. He's the original font of all of that states rights stuff; his writings were even used to support the doctrine of nullification.
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JNagarya
January 14, 2010 5:28 PM in reply to slb
Problem being that Jefferson wasn't a founder in the sense of writing the Constitution and or Bill of Rights.
And I'm certain that, were he alive today, he'd wince at some of the anti-gum'mint views he espoused.
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coyote1117
January 14, 2010 8:17 PM in reply to JNagarya
I don't think this is true. Jefferson was heavily involved. His friend and colleague James Madison wrote the bulk of the Constitution while corresponding with Jefferson, who was our ambassador to France at the time. Madison added the Bill of Rights at Jefferson's insistence. He qualifies as a Founder.
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JNagarya
January 18, 2010 8:20 PM in reply to coyote1117
Jefferson qualifies as a founder -- but NOT as a Framer.
1. John Adams wrote the Massachusetts-Bay constitution -- which was the model for the US Constitution -- except for the section establishing state religion, which was written by John's cousin Sam Admas.
2. Jefferson was not a member of the Constitutional Conventipn.
3. As concerns the Bill of Rights, Jefferson was in France. The states -- beginning with Massachusetts-Bay, by deal between Sam Adams and John Hancock -- submitted PROPOSED amendments WITH their notices of ratification.
The proposed amendments submitted by MA-Bay were written by Theophilus Parsons, a Federalist.
4. Madison -- Jefferson was in France -- a Federalist, as a congressman, codified the submitted amendments into a resolution for a "Bill of Rights," thereby co-opting the allegedly anti-Federalist project. He then submitted the resolution to Congress, which was in no hurry to deal with it.
5. Jefferson was in France throughout the process, and still in France when ratification of the "Bill of Rights" was completed on December 15, 1791.
6. Jefferson was in France when, as significant example, Congress enacted, on May 8, 1792, the "Militia Act" of 1792.
Mason had more to do with the "Bill of Rights" than Jefferson -- and Mason had little more to do with it than inspiring and persuading Madison that it was "necessary".
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JNagarya
January 14, 2010 5:25 PM in reply to njr
But that action was in keeping with US Con. Art. I., s. 8., c. 15 and 16.
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randomname
January 14, 2010 4:19 PM in reply to hamiltonian
I was slightly impressed she knew the name Mount Vernon.
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JNagarya
January 18, 2010 8:47 PM in reply to hamiltonian
How ya gonna keep 'em down on the plantation/
After they've seen Pa-linnnnnn?
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wellstoner
January 13, 2010 9:38 PM
She'll quit halfway through her fox contract. And they'll be happy to let her go. At least Beck isn't a complete idiot. Kooky and wrong, but not dumb.
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hamiltonian
January 13, 2010 9:41 PM
Washington returned to his "farm." Yep, the one with all the slaves. Usually known as a plantation.
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Fremon
January 13, 2010 9:51 PM
I guess one has to be very trite with someone like Palin, because we have to understand she is not very well educated or really intellectually curious. Why she has a hold on the right wing imagination is hard to understand. Even a populist for the right wing side should have some sliver of knowledge about what she professes to be politically for. She is a political opportunist saying mundane right wing talking points but cannot back them up with core beliefs. She is popular because she reflects the intellectual profile of her "party" because, she is exactly like them but with a following. She is following the parade not knowing what it is about or where it is going.
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TeddyKGB
January 13, 2010 10:10 PM in reply to Fremon
It's simple: in the bass-ackwards world of modern day conservatism, education and experience and competence are liabilities. Anyone with any of these qualities are looked at with suspicion.
It doesn't occur to these people that the Founding Fathers were the "elites" of their time; the phrase is only meant as a touchstone to mean "real Americans". It's been reduced to a buzzword.
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L0ngT0m
January 14, 2010 10:55 AM in reply to Fremon
She's popular because she's got some T & A. Period.
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snabby
January 13, 2010 9:51 PM
Will Glenn have to kiss Rush's knob tomorrow for saying "bullcrap" to Bible Spice?
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3star2nr
January 13, 2010 9:59 PM in reply to snabby
you could see the heartbreak in Glenn Beck's eyes.
It was like watching a child learn that a fat old guy breaking into its house is a pedophile and not santa claus
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icedfire
January 13, 2010 10:04 PM in reply to 3star2nr
So Santa isn't a pedophile?
I don't know about you, but I have some uncomfortable memories of sitting in his lap at the mall as a kid...
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dem4life
January 14, 2010 9:15 AM in reply to icedfire
No Father come get me is
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Reefdancer
January 13, 2010 11:03 PM in reply to snabby
bible spice. too funny. she tries to sound like she knows what she's talking about but beck is right. It's all bull crap
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donquijoterocket
January 15, 2010 4:07 PM in reply to Reefdancer
I thought the term described her answer, Glennda the beckerhead's show, and fux noise in general equally.
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MichaelG1986
January 13, 2010 9:52 PM
Literally, the average third grader would have provided a better answer.
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TrivTriv
January 13, 2010 9:53 PM
Palin clearly doesn't know the first thing about the founding fathers. Her favorite was "all of 'em"? Men of widely varying political philosophies (who "collectively came together")—there wasn't one or another with whom this supposed political thinker more closely agrees or draws inspiration from? And no, George Washington did not "lead" them—he lead the army, and had virtually no role in drawing up the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution.
When I was in school, an answer like this would earn an D-. This woman is a fool who sets an absolutely horrible example for millions of Americans.
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Cal Gal
January 13, 2010 10:21 PM in reply to TrivTriv
My point an hour later, without reading through the comments first.
What, she doesn't like Jefferson because he had mixed-race children?
And Benjamin Franklin was "loose."
And I bet she cannot name another single "Founding Father" IF she could peel off Jefferson and Franklin.
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yellowdogD
January 13, 2010 10:53 PM in reply to Cal Gal
I would wager large that if pressed to name six of the founding fathers, she would include Lincoln.
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Early Out
January 13, 2010 11:44 PM in reply to yellowdogD
... and perhaps Gordie Howe.
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Turnaround
January 13, 2010 11:44 PM in reply to yellowdogD
And Bush the Elder, most likely...
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33lp
January 14, 2010 3:28 AM in reply to yellowdogD
Dammit, you beat me to the Lincoln joke.
Too obvious, I guess.
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JNagarya
January 14, 2010 5:33 PM in reply to 33lp
You all left out Reagan.
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sawgrass
January 13, 2010 10:45 PM in reply to TrivTriv
When talking about the founders collectively coming together, I suppose Palin deliberately chose to exclude the difficulties of the Congress of the Confederation to even form a quorum, much less form a Union.
And perhaps she had a reason to not mention that most famous collectively coming together meeting between Hamilton and Burr.
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jenesq
January 14, 2010 11:52 AM in reply to sawgrass
"Your sister, sir!" Yes, those were good times with a more elevated political discourse!
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Schmed
January 14, 2010 12:40 PM in reply to jenesq
"Your sister, sir!"
Is that the 18th century analog to "yo' mama!"?
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slb
January 14, 2010 2:33 PM in reply to TrivTriv
You trivialize Washington when you relegate him only to the role of a military leader. It's true that he tended to speak little in public and wrote little for public consumption, but he was an important political leader in addition to being a military commander, and he did a lot of behind-the-scenes lobbying on behalf of independence before he was made commander-in-chief of the military.
Also, he was the president of the Constitutional Convention in 1789. That's hardly having "no role" in the drawing-up of the Constitution.
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BrianSkuse
January 14, 2010 7:37 PM in reply to TrivTriv
Palin gave the EXACT same answer that Homer Simpson gave when he was caught dumbfounded ...
German Manager : You have been safety inspector for two years. What initiatives have you spearheaded in that time ?
Homer : Uhh ... All of them ?
The mind reels.
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Ann Arbor
January 13, 2010 10:04 PM
Next questions: So if you admire the founders and their collective wisdom, then do you also admire the Enlightenment and rational empiricism? How do you feel about deism?
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RocketEngineer
January 14, 2010 10:12 PM in reply to Ann Arbor
Ahhh, I see you believe in torture of those who cannot feel it!
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barnacle
January 13, 2010 10:06 PM
Q: What's your favorite color?
A: All of them ...
Q: (crosstalk) Oh c'mon. Can't you name a particular one?
A. (crosstalk) ... cuz when you put them all together they make a rainbow, and that's God's promise to Noah after the Flood.
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Cal Gal
January 13, 2010 10:22 PM in reply to barnacle
also.
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mary from TN
January 14, 2010 11:46 AM in reply to barnacle
LOL!
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Lestatdelc
January 13, 2010 10:09 PM
Sarah who?
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Cal Gal
January 13, 2010 10:17 PM
You know, it may just be me, but I thought the term "Founding Fathers" usually applied to those who drafted either the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution or was a leading writer about departing from Great Britian.
Washington was our first President, but I never really thought of him as a "founding father." As in, what our Founding Fathers thought when they were writing the Constitution.
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SS247
January 13, 2010 10:33 PM in reply to Cal Gal
Washington is definitely considered a "Founding Father." Besides leading the Continental Army, he served as President of the Constitutional Convention before being selected as the country's first President.
It's still a ridiculous question. Anyone with an elementary school education could come up with a generic answer about which founder is their favorite.
I think the funniest thing about her answer is that as the first President, Washington set the precedent of a strong Federal government and strong executive. I thought conservative were more States' rights oriented - Jeffersonian if you will. But she's an idiot, so what do you expect.
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Johnny2Bad
January 13, 2010 10:19 PM
I don't know how much longer I can work with these...People.
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Cal Gal
January 13, 2010 10:24 PM
Of course Sarah didn't go back to her fishing boat after she left HER elected position, did she?
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JadeZ
January 13, 2010 10:24 PM
Hard to imagine everything palin is saying hasn't been rehearsed.
You think they would allow her to make a total fool of herself?
Isn't that the reason she can't go on any show that would ask her a question she didn't know was coming?
Look..She can't believe herself how she got this far.
Remember this is a woman who is incapable of giving an interview where she would have to answer real questions without appearing totally bizarre.
remember how she had foreign policy experiance because putin flew over alaska "i mean where does he go?", she believed that!
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geofu54
January 13, 2010 11:22 PM in reply to JadeZ
I bet rehearsed, but her brain couldn't retain.
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Scooterlib
January 13, 2010 10:24 PM
My favorite Founding Father has to be Pat Robertson. Although, this is a true story, he did make a pact with the devil to rid the Republican Party of intelligent people. And, praise be, his prayers were answered.
My favorite Founding Mother is that cute, mavericky Sarah O'Palin.
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mary from TN
January 14, 2010 11:49 AM in reply to Scooterlib
Love it! Keep them coming!
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NegSpin
January 13, 2010 10:35 PM
George Washington, the founder of the one dollar bill.
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Munguza
January 13, 2010 10:39 PM
Oh, c'mon now. She's just used to being asked which shoes she'd like to charge to the RNC credit card.
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Bass Ace
January 13, 2010 10:39 PM
My favorite has to be Ben Franklin, for living it up as a celebrety in Paris while the Continental Congress engaged in boring BS and squabled over parochial nonsense.
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Jim3K
January 13, 2010 10:46 PM
I think she's referring to Jeff Frankadamington. Cat caught her tongue.
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fastpathguru
January 13, 2010 10:52 PM
Deep thought of the day: Sarah Palin is a stimulus program for the entertainment industry.
Imagine this shit, day after day. It's going to be GREAT.
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dem4life
January 14, 2010 9:08 AM in reply to fastpathguru
Tax dollars at work
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sawgrass
January 13, 2010 11:02 PM
The most interesting moment occurred in that that split-second after "bullcrap" was said. They both were acutely embarrassed. Beck forgot that Palin only has a thin veneer and he had just pierced it. And she hadn't been so challenged since she was asked what newspapers she read.
I think we saw a microcosm of the VP debate meltdown that Schmidt had feared would occur.
She's too fragile, and requires too much kid glove treatment. I predict she's not going to make it through 12 interviews on Fox before she leaves to help save the country in some other way.
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CCinNC
January 14, 2010 6:57 AM in reply to sawgrass
I think the question was intended to trip her up, because he rolled into it so quickly after he finished his previous thought. And now we know what one of her "tells" is ... clearing her throat. It really got to her.
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Gooner
January 14, 2010 9:25 AM in reply to sawgrass
EXACTLY. She was PISSED and you could see it.
O'Reilly treats Beck with disdain because Beack was the new star, and Beck is now doing the same to Palin.
You can be assured she gave him an earful after the interview was over for this transgression.
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AnswerFrog
January 14, 2010 9:41 AM in reply to sawgrass
Beck wasn't uncomfortable. He was laughing. I think he liked poking her a bit and putting her on the spot. After all, as a professional blowhard, he's never at a loss for words. With her, it's clearly amateur hour.
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grtpyrmd
January 13, 2010 11:21 PM
With such diversity they came together,
washington, of course, rises to the top,
he returned power to the people-
he didn't want to be a king
he went back to his farm
and tended his slaves.
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ronik
January 13, 2010 11:30 PM
Washington returned power to the people? Which people, Sarah??
Oh, that's right, the rich white educated male elites. You wouldn't even have been allowed to vote, Sarah my dear.
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Sagae
January 14, 2010 12:02 AM
Actually, it looks like this was a prepared question and she was supposed to answer "George Washington because . . . " and she momentarily forgot.
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midnight rambler
January 14, 2010 1:47 AM in reply to Sagae
Actually, it looks to me like Washington was the only one she could think of. She says "all of them" like she's stalling for time, then pulls out Washington and talks about him "leading" the rest. Of course, he didn't have much to do with the Constitution or Declaration of Independence, so in spite of his importance in the winning the Revolution and as President, I would bet almost no one serious would pick him.
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waterhead
January 14, 2010 12:52 AM
Since these two are leaders of the Balls on Chin movement, could it be possible that they will turn on each other once the money drys up?
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montcalm
January 14, 2010 1:15 AM
no one else has pointed out that the one thing anyone on fox news is willing to call "bullcrap" on sarah about is which founding father she loves more? like "what size lapel pin do you love best?" and calling bullcrap on an answer of "all of them"...(because the answer should have been "the biggest possible.")
i mean, i guess it's news because it was unexpected that someone on fox news would call her out on her lies and 8th grade level history education, but still..this is a pretty sad thing to call her bluff on...
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alexoc949
January 14, 2010 1:48 AM
by asking such tough questions i think beck is just trying to demonstrate that palin is not yet ready for a prime time slot
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mchuge
January 14, 2010 5:39 AM
Montcalm beat me to it. Wake me up when someone at Fox says bullcrap at death panels and shutting down the bridge to nowhere etc.
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Tim Fuller
January 14, 2010 6:46 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww
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bluesplashy
January 14, 2010 7:33 AM
When will she pack up her marble and go home?
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jchaus
January 14, 2010 8:04 AM
Actually, Palin selected a crucial fact, however poorly she expressed it. It was crucial for our nation that Washington limited himself to two terms, rather than perpetual leadership. It established a tradition of a peaceful transfer of power to other individuals, and until FDR no president served more than two terms. It was one of Washington's greatest gifts.
That said, her reasons to favor Washington over Hamilton or even Madison or Jefferson are at best shallow: he was the number one leader so I like him the most? That's a stupid reason.
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OhioMan
January 14, 2010 8:26 AM in reply to jchaus
I seriously doubt whether Palin knows anything about Hamilton or Madison. I think that, when pressed, she mantioned the only name she could think of. Just like any other fifth-grader would do.
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slb
January 14, 2010 3:57 PM in reply to jchaus
One thing he did that was probably even greater: resign his military commission at the end of the Revolutionary War and leave the civilian authorities in charge. The expected pattern at that point would have been for the conquering general, backed by his assembled army, to take control of the country. Washington didn't do that, reinforcing the principle to which he adhered throughout the war of subordination of the military to civilian authority.
Certainly the Europeans fully expected Washington to use his position as general in chief to take political control of the country. George III scoffed at the notion that he would turn power over to a fairly weak and ineffectual Congress. "If he does that," he said, "he will be the greatest man in the world." And he did it.
Frankly, I think Washington was more than ready to hand over the government to someone else at the end of his second term--he had grown sick to death of the infighting and backbiting. I'm not sure he was even keen on a second term; he would gladly have left at the end of the first, but was prevailed upon to remain.
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HillbillySkeleton
January 14, 2010 8:35 AM
I think, in that nanosecond after The Conservative Party spokesmodel and new Fox chum, Sarah Palin, gave her answer, Beck realised that he would have to be 2nd Banana to this woman if she has an implanted Thought Bubble, courtesy of Sarah's Brain, otherwise known as Bill Kristol, and 'decides' to run for POTUS in 2012.
Of course we already know that Beck has bemoaned the fact.
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