Wednesday, October 22, 2008

I want someone who is smarter than a 3rd grader

So Mrs. Sarah "never a dull moment" Palin actually did an interview. I'm starting to see why she was better off not talking.


Q: Brandon Garcia wants to know, “What does the Vice President do?”

PALIN: That’s something that Piper would ask me! … [T]hey’re in charge of the U.S. Senate so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom.

Really?! Are you telling me that I got it wrong for the last 25 years I have been learning about government? My senior year of American Government in high school was wrong? My poly sci classes I took in college (including one on the Presidency) was wrong? Damn!

Article One, section three: "The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided."

Once again, I bow to the greatness of Keith Olbermann:



And Rachel Maddow:



I'm sorry to burst your bubble Governor, but I would like someone running for vice president that has an idea, based in reality and fact, of what their job might just be. Not to mention some depth and a real relationship with their running mate. Normally I would just post a passing hyperlink to this story, but I think it is TOO good not to really point out.

Go and read Jonathan Alter's piece where he talked to Biden. Biden’s Unified Theory of Biden. And not only does it touch on how Obama and Biden talked through what their professional relationship would be like, it was this that really caught my eye:

Biden says Obama reminds him of Bill Clinton in his "confidence, cognitive ability, judgment" and intellectual security—that he can listen and absorb advice without having to prove he's the smartest person in the room, a critical leadership skill. He says he experienced an "epiphany" during a recent conference call on the bailout bill with Bob Rubin, Paul Volcker, Warren Buffett, Paul O'Neill, Joseph Stiglitz, Larry Summers and Laura Tyson. "He [Obama] comes on the call and says, 'Well, folks, sorry I'm late. I've got four questions.' He was in total frigging command! Here's a 47-year-old guy in one of the most complicated economic dilemmas anyone has had to face since 1929 to '33. And it was like, 'Bang! Bang! Bang!' I called him afterward and said, 'You sold me, sucker!' "
I long for smart people to lead, but for those people also not to need to show off just how smart they are. I'm looking at you Al Gore.

So, Biden or Palin. Barack Obama or John McCain.

Lord, it's like asking a kid if he wants ice cream or liver and onions. You tell me what he's going to pick.

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