Levi Johnston: Liar
“Last year, after Bristol and I broke up, I was unhappy and a little angry. Unfortunately, against my better judgment, I publicly said things about the Palins that were not completely true,” he tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I have already privately apologized to Todd and Sarah. Since my statements were public, I owe it to the Palins to publicly apologize.”
. . . .
“So to the Palin family in general and to Sarah Palin in particular, please accept my regrets and forgive my youthful indiscretion,” Johnston says in the statement. “I hope one day to restore your trust.”
Yeah, good luck with that.
You know what? I bet Palin would be big enough to let him ease back into their lives. He is the father of her grandchild, and Palin seems like the kind of person who thinks that matters more than most things.
Good people try to make it work with family, even if they royally frak up.
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (f97997) — 7/6/2010 @ 7:59 pmAndrew Sullivan’s uterus fixation could not be reached for comment as it is in mourning.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/6/2010 @ 8:01 pmHe is a liar, Patterico, and I still have to give him a lot of credit for coming out and admitting he’s a liar.
I agree that the Palins should never trust him, but these people seem to be willing to tolerate a lot of crazy crap in the name of a happy family. So much that they are kinda hard for me to predict.
This Levi Johnston has really, really ruined his life. Just imagine this sorry SOB sitting around realizing just how much he damaged his own future for some cheap fun. The left doesn’t want anything to do with him.
The Palins would obviously have helped him have a successful career of some kind. Can you imagine those connections? Probably no interviews on CNN, but he could have been a happy man.
He actually killed the goose that laid the pewter egg.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/6/2010 @ 8:04 pmI sorta think of Levi Johnson as the “Harry Reid” of son in laws. You know, a little jerk.
But like it or not the little jerk is the father of her grandchild, and I suspect Ms. Palin will find a way to work with that.
Mike Myers (3c9845) — 7/6/2010 @ 8:05 pmSPQR, great point: this really does put a cramp in Andi’s theories!
That’s worth a great laugh.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/6/2010 @ 8:06 pmPalin 2012!!! Yes!!!!!
Chris Hooten (d63ded) — 7/6/2010 @ 8:10 pmCan’t judge this puke’s motivations but I can make a comment on the character he displayed. He is a coward. He got his jollies, got his girlfriend pregnant, didn’t have the guts to take responsibility for it, and ran away. And now that he has thought about it, and gotten all the air time he could milk out of it, found out there was no big payday coming, he realizes how screwed he is. Todd should go “hunting” with poor, poor, Levi.
PatriotRider (8d9a6f) — 7/6/2010 @ 8:15 pmChris, just curious, who do you think is the candidate the GOP should run if they wish to further conservatism and have the best chance at winning?
Sincere question, no tricks.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/6/2010 @ 8:23 pmHey, he got a nice suit and haircut and got to get his photo taken at the Republican National Convention. Everyone knew his name. Things have gone pretty downhill for him from there. I think he’s just trying to get back on the Palin gravy train. They need to be civil to him, because of the baby, but mark my words Levi will be a problem and thorn for the Palins for the rest of their lives.
elissa (75bb70) — 7/6/2010 @ 8:24 pmFTFY!
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 7/6/2010 @ 8:27 pmThe trailer trash narrative continues with a different twist.
nk (db4a41) — 7/6/2010 @ 8:41 pmPut the c**t back in country! Hooten/Lohan 2012!
GeneralMalaise (9cf017) — 7/6/2010 @ 9:15 pmknickers in a knot
Specialist Haiku (fb8750) — 7/6/2010 @ 9:17 pmnk comes to the new thread
with free drinks for all
Patterico, DRJ, Karl or Stashiu can ban me, but no mouthbreathers who drifted over from Protein Wisdom are going to chase me away.
Ok, ColonelSuckoo?
nk (db4a41) — 7/6/2010 @ 9:27 pmWhy would we want you to leave, nk?
I like discussing provocative political issues. I just wish you would act like an adult when you are frustrated in an argument.
Sometimes I concede an argument. I don’t tell people they are not authorized to comment or pretend my personal details somehow bolster the logic of my views.
Please follow my leadership on this issue, if your ego can take it. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like you’re having much fun commenting and I think you could lighten up and make the same points more effectively. This should be an enjoyable diversion. Hell, I bet a lot of people wish I would leave too, just because of how mad I got at RSM and PW back months ago (I was a dick).
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/6/2010 @ 9:32 pmDustin,
Why don’t we just talk past each other for a while?
nk (db4a41) — 7/6/2010 @ 9:34 pmMy comment was that the MSM was keeping the trailer trash story alive, with Levi Johnson’s help, not an attack against Governor Palin or her family from me.
nk (db4a41) — 7/6/2010 @ 9:37 pm‘Narrative’ not the truth, this is why we’re in this mess, truth be told. We’re under the illusion
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/6/2010 @ 9:40 pmthat ‘he was a good man who just deserved a chance’
whereas the facts have tragically proven the opposite, that he’s a rabble rousing community organizers who bullys his way through a room. She’s supposed to be ‘trailer trash’ even though she claims descent from five different ancestors on the Mayflower, even she comes from humble roots
nk thin-skinned like
TexasAdjutant (5b976b) — 7/6/2010 @ 9:40 pmObama; don’t get in his
face on the street, yo!
kinda hard to tell from the post, and given certain tendencies on your part, a different nuance would be easy to perceive…..
especially if a poster were a self-identified “good ol’boy”.
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 7/6/2010 @ 9:42 pmFair enough. Request granted. I know you’ll think I’m patronizing you or making an insult, but when I’m being a dick on the internet it’s because I’ve got some other problems. I hope you are not in that position, but best wishes if so. If so, I actually think being a dick on the internet is a terrific outlet.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/6/2010 @ 9:46 pmWell, that’s part true. It was not rape, and they let the little creep into their home and paraded him at the GOP convention. So, to some degree, the Palins asked for it.
nk (db4a41) — 7/6/2010 @ 9:47 pmSomebody please set up a clock to time how long it takes Andrew Sullivan to mention this shocking announcement on his blog. What’s the over/under at? Days, years, or decades?
Fritz (9c4a4d) — 7/6/2010 @ 9:53 pmwhat he did to their rep’s and their daughter’s is/was effectively rape, and yet you are willing to say they asked for it….
real nice: such class you have.
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 7/6/2010 @ 9:54 pmRead this: http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/12/the-real-rogue-of-2009-levi-johnston.html
Can Sullivan walk it back?
Try saying that out loud with a straight face now.
Fritz (9c4a4d) — 7/6/2010 @ 9:56 pmActually all indications is they had tried to keep them apart, the campaign in their typical hamhandedness which included the wardrobe mess, which they later tried to blame on her, sought to portray this as a great union, when it was an unfortunate circumstance. One of the many lies this weasel told was the suggestion that she approved of the relationship that wasn’t true at all.
By contrast, one almost feels sorry for the president’s circumstances, he was abandoned by his birth father, raised in large part by his
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/6/2010 @ 10:00 pmgrandparents, who he thought to throw ‘under the bus,’ to prove a political point, which brought
him in contact with the despicable Frank Marshall Davis, who shaped much of his radical political
and personal outlook
what he did to their rep’s and their daughter’s is/was effectively rape, and yet you are willing to say they asked for it….
real nice: such class you have.
Comment by redc1c4 — 7/6/2010 @ 9:54 pm
You wanna get real?
The Palins took him into their home. They took him to the GOP convention. True or false?
Ok, he’s a snake, and the MSM is still making all the use it can of him against Governor Palin. Ok? Can we agree on that?
nk (db4a41) — 7/6/2010 @ 10:02 pmIt’s all there, Fritz. Sully KNEW that Levi was lying; he was just hoping that it wasn’t true.
Icy Texan (5b976b) — 7/6/2010 @ 10:04 pmFritz, you peaked my curiosity so I went to the Daily Dish.
There was a picture of Sarah Palin, very pregnant, with low class clothes and hair. I thought it was very endearing in the way it clearly was unglamorous and am not surprised Andrew picked this picture of his boogeywoman.
His point is that Palin wasn’t pregnant with Trig because she didn’t look as large. I know the Palin defense, but everyone knows Andrew is crazily wrong, so I won’t bother.
He had nothing about Levi.
And if the tables were turned, if it were Instapundit or this blog ignoring some major argument being conclusively settled, Andrew would be freaking out if they didn’t mention it. He already said Levi was the ‘best we’ve got’ for his account of Palin. Seems pretty important that he note that his best witness is a crook.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/6/2010 @ 10:06 pmI wonder what that felt like for him. Perhaps he doesn’t even consider it, but if he’s sane he realizes he did great harm to the memory of someone who cared for his needs. For political advantage. That’s the kind of thing that would keep me awake at night with watery eyes and an achy gut.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/6/2010 @ 10:09 pmCould not track the sullivan mud in here, I thought
he was good on the Iranian election story, but he had to throw the megalomaniac angle into that as
well, something about a Christianist conspiracy
Meanwhile, while all this chaff is going, leave it to her, to point, another inconvenient truth, once
admitted, but now put on the back burner
Press Corps-pls do your job as Obama sneaks in Berwick appt;pls cover his mission:socialized healthcare&rationing based on”quality of life” about 1 hour ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/6/2010 @ 10:17 pmHey,
Have you guys seen “The Wild Rovers”, with an old William Holden and young Ryan O’Neill, middle-aged Karl Malden, and young Joe Don Baker (played the “Walking Tall” sheriff who did not like whiskey).
nk (db4a41) — 7/6/2010 @ 10:17 pmSure, we can agree on that — if you will agree to stop blaming the victim.
Icy Texan (5b976b) — 7/6/2010 @ 10:24 pmSo Levi ran out of money and is now trying to suck up.
Color me shocked!
daleyrocks (1d0d98) — 7/6/2010 @ 10:34 pmAndy’s going to have to pick a different Playgirl centerfold to inspire his milky loads.
Dave (in MA) (d902aa) — 7/7/2010 @ 12:07 amSure, we can agree on that — if you will agree to stop blaming the victim.
Comment by Icy Texan — 7/6/2010 @ 10:24 pm
Which victim would that be? And victim of what?
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 3:05 am*sigh*
You wrote: “he’s a snake, and the MSM is still making all the use it can of him against Governor Palin. Ok? Can we agree on that?”
I said Yes.
You wrote: “they let the little creep into their home and paraded him at the GOP convention. So, to some degree, the Palins asked for it.”
Icy Texan (5b976b) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:09 amI said to stop blaming the victim(s).
Levi is a poop. I am hoping that he was the one kept awake at night with an ache and his conscience screaming. Who knows if the next time the Palins piss him off if he will recant his recant and snuggle up to Sully again.
Dustin, IANAD but, I honestly think Obama is a sociopath. I don’t think he’s a killer. I just think he doesn’t have that piece of humanity that would keep him up at night for tossing the people who cared for him under the bus, so publicly.
Vivian Louise (643333) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:36 amI get it, IT, but I don’t see Todd and Sarah as victims. They’re pretty tough cookies pretty well in charge of their lives, in my view.
They made a mistake with the little creep but who has never made a mistake?
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:10 amGlad for Levi’s sake he’s trying to straighten things out. My bet is the Palins will give him a chance to regain their trust, but he will need to earn it over time.
OTOH, he and Bristol are like 20, 21 now? She is of the age where she will make her own decisions, good or bad. Hopefully 5 and 10 years from now there will be some happier stories to tell whether or not the younger two reestablish their relationship or not.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:26 amYou people just don’t get it.
The fact that Sarah Palin was able to force Levi Todd to retract his statements shows just how insidius her uterus really is. I’m close to the truth, I just know it.
Andrew Sullivan (6f6c60) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:32 amIt’s a sin to call anybody irredeemable, but Levi is a bad seed. Bristol and the Palins should have nothing more to do with him.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:34 amlol @ “sullivan”
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:52 amNow the fact that he was put up to these allegations by the local equivalent of Sharpton and Maddox, that
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:19 ama powerful leftwing activists, with roots going back to the Pentagon Papers, forget that this was
just an accident, like all of Obama’s rivals being disqualified, the leaking of Ryan and Hull’s divorce
papers, yadda, yadda
The first clue comes at the end of Levi’s opening sentence, he was “a little angry.” The second sentence seals the deal, “Unfortunately, against my better judgment, I publicly said things about the Palins that were not completely true…”
Unhappy and a little angry? so he attacks his pregnant girlfriend’s family on national TV?
Unfortunately? for who, for Levi?
Against his better judgment? really now, that’s rich
He publicly said things…not completely true? in exchange for money against a VP candidate during an election, while Sarah Palin was under attack unprincipled assault from nearly all sides. Wow, how low can Levi go?
This guy is scum, and he’s looking for another payday, and if he can get close enough to Sarah Palin, the Democrats will gladly shower him with silver in exchange for more dirt.
This snake-in-the-grass is out for himself exclusively, he knows were he’ll be welcome, and he knows where he can get rich if he plays his cards right, and he doesn’t care who gets hurt in the process. After all, he was unhappy and a little angry.
ropelight (eaba1d) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:25 amThis is the first part of what I was referring to, note the dates
http://www.conservatives4palin.com/2009/05/money-grubbing-smear-merchants-rex_01.html
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:34 amThis is the second part,
http://www.conservatives4palin.com/2009/05/money-grubbing-smear-merchants-rex_01.html
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:36 amThis is the second exhibit
ttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/kschlichter/2009/10/14/levi-johnston-and-the-middle-american-minstrel-show/
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:38 amnk:
When a family makes the best of a fairly bad (to middle class values that is) situation, they aren’t asking for it, it was strictly and only the bad behavior of the punk.
Do you really think people wake up one day and say to themselves “Hey, I think I’ll ask for some fool to make me suffer today!” Puh-leze. Ascribe the bad behavior to the actor, not the victim.
GM Roper (a0b04a) — 7/7/2010 @ 7:06 amThey should keep that little lying scum douchebag as far away from their family as possible, forever.
Dmac (93e7cb) — 7/7/2010 @ 7:06 amThat kid is every parent of a teenaged girl’s worst nightmare.
Mike K (82f374) — 7/7/2010 @ 7:29 amthey would keep him far
ColonelHaiku (9cf017) — 7/7/2010 @ 7:34 amaway but little nk
is their only son
I dunno. Would you want to go through life with Todd giving you the stink-eye? In a state where lots of folks go missing in the deep, dark forest every year?
Move to Florida, kid.
Frank Drebbin (8096f2) — 7/7/2010 @ 7:35 amJim Treacher’s treatment of this at the Daily Caller is great.
Quote: “Andrew Sullivan is a sucker. (No pun intended!)
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/07/07/levi-johnston-is-a-liar/#ixzz0t0anKjbU
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/7/2010 @ 7:56 am“
Ascribe the bad behavior to the actor, not the victim.
Comment by GM Roper — 7/7/2010 @ 7:06 am
I have, but I also don’t see the Palins as “victims”. Sarah’s (metaphorical) b**** are likely bigger than Todd’s. They made a mistake, who hasn’t? But I don’t think they pity themselves and I don’t think they want anybody else to pity them either.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 8:11 amlittle Greek sound off
ColonelHaiku (9cf017) — 7/7/2010 @ 8:34 amlike he gotta pair o’ stones
but light in loafers
ColonelSuckoo,
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 9:05 amYou are what I hose off my sidewalk.
There was a picture of Sarah Palin, very pregnant, with low class clothes and hair.
Dana (1e5ad4) — 7/7/2010 @ 10:37 am“Low class clothes and hair”? Seriously?
Dana, I had no problem with it. It’s classier than what I’m wearing when I’m home.
But that’s the kind of Palin pic Andrew would post with joy because it’s part of the hillbilly meme. Palin was acting like a normal middle class person, wearing clothes you could find at K-Mart with hair you wouldn’t see on a traditional politician. Maybe a PTA lady.
I find that to be a positive, but I also find the picture’s use to have the dual purpose of a Manhattan nutcases’s target for ‘OMG, just look at what she’s wearing!!!’ and the whole pregnancy conspiracy thing.
I know a lot of the flack Palin got in 2008 was related to the fact she didn’t have some massive wealth of outfits or styling savvy. Kinda annoys me when a completely irrelevant picture of Palin is used instead of an argument about her policy views. Rome’s burning, etc.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/7/2010 @ 10:45 amSo, to some degree, the Palins asked for it
Somehow, I am not surprised that a member of the defense bar would make such a statement.
Defended a few rapists have you, nk?
AD - RtR/OS! (568b48) — 7/7/2010 @ 10:55 amMy very first major felony case, armed robbery and rape. My first death penalty case, armed robbery, rape, deviant sexual assault, kidnapping, and murder of two people.
Why do you think we have police and prisons, AD?
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 11:11 ambtw, the real Andrew Sullivan is doubling down on the crazy.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/07/threatening-mercede.html
Andrew, just admit you want to f— Sarah Palin. we won’t think less of you if you say it.
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/7/2010 @ 11:11 amI think “he” wants Todd to leave her and go with “him”.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 11:13 amWhy do you think we have police and prisons, AD?
I know perfectly well why we, the People, support police and prisons, I just feel that too many people in society encumber their proper use with too much PC.
And, I am offended when any member of the justice system utters the phrase “…asked for it…”!
AD - RtR/OS! (568b48) — 7/7/2010 @ 11:17 amOffended, and disappointed.
From AW’s link.
“A message to all those under Palin’s thumb in Alaska. Don’t be intimidated. The only thing to do with bullies like Todd Palin is to face them down.”
What’s amazing is that Levi has a long record of being a scumbag. Talking about sex with a teenager on Larry King. Being a deadbeat dad. Porno photo shoots. Being really nasty about the Palins by saying things that were obviously untrue.
And now this completely unbelievable character admits he was lying and Andrew’s reaction is that this is proof the Palins are threatening him. What in the hell is it about Sarah Palin that drives these slimeballs to the extreme fringe?
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/7/2010 @ 11:21 amThe Palins are tough cookies, and I believe they knew what they were doing when they gave the Arizona deadwood that 8% boost in the electoral polls.
Now I don’t know what you think I meant by “asked for it”. Because I like you and respect you, I will tell you that I meant that it was the Palins who put the dirty little snake front and center.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 11:24 amDustin,
Why does he hate her?
i told you. Sullivan wants to f— sarah palin. And it is screwing up his entire world view, leading to alot of anger.
at least that is my pet theory. either that or he is sniffing glue.
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/7/2010 @ 11:24 amAW, that’s better than anything I can come up with.
He should come out of the closet and go down to the nearest straight bar and get himself a girlfriend for 3 minutes. It would do him a lot of good.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/7/2010 @ 11:27 amDustin
> that’s better than anything I can come up with.
which part? that he wants Palin, or that he is sniffing glue? (joke)
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/7/2010 @ 11:34 amIf you want to insist on pushing “the victims” issue …
Levi’s mom was cooking meth in her trailer.
And Bristol’s Mom let Levi get her pregnant.
And then Bristol’s Mom brought Levi into her house with her three younger daughters.
And then on the stage in the GOP convention.
Why don’t we just drop it?
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 11:45 amnk
levi is not responsible for his mom being a meth maker (as far as I know).
Sarah Palin is not responsible for her kid being stupid about sex. lots of good parents have kids who screw up. horny kids do stupid things. since when is that news?
Nor is she blameworthy for bringing the father of her grandchild into her house, or to try to include him in the family when it was time to take the stage. Its called trying to get along, and there is nothing at all wrong with it. in fact, in my family we believe you have a positive duty to try to get along. Like when my sister got married, i met the guy for the first time on the morning of the wedding. I told him, “I don’t really know you, but i don’t really have to. I don’t consider it my place to judge her relationships, unless the guy is beating her or something extreme like that. But other than that, all i have to know is my sister loves you and so does my niece.” [The beating line had extra weight, because that is exactly what my sister’s ex (and my niece’s biological father) did.]
you have a very distorted concept for blame, here. Children are not responsible for their parents. And while parents have a great deal of influience over children, we all know that good parents raise chidlren who do stupid things, especially i regards to sex. And welcoming him into her family not only wasn’t wrong, it was the right thing to do. and even now you get the feeling that they will eventually take him back. mind you, i don’t expect them to let him live there anytime soon, if ever. but he probably has a standing invitation to all family events and probably many meals at the Palin house, and hopefully he can be a strong presence in Trig’s life.
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/7/2010 @ 12:01 pmSounds like he’s got a professional confession writer working for him; I suspect the Palins will be more than a little skeptical of it. He hasn’t figured out that he’s left junior high school (not that there are not a lot of people who haven’t!)
htom (412a17) — 7/7/2010 @ 12:09 pmI dunno, I’m just reacting to this “Sarah Palin is a victim” thing. She’s no victim, she’s a (potential) victor. Ok, she did not get the Vice-Presidency but who wins all the time? She has brains, looks, and class, and a long life ahead of her.
Levi will get himself killed in a head-on collission with a semi, I think. Soon.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 12:14 pmWell if you mean she is not a victim in the sense that she isn’t some pathetic sad sack, sure, she isn’t. She’s a survivor is more like it.
But that has nothing to do with blame. And you as a lawyer should know that.
he did, by his own confession, defame her. In that sense she was wrongfully harmed. whether you call her a “victim” or not is beside the point. he wronged her. And it was not her fault, either, that it happened.
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/7/2010 @ 12:31 pmAW, in all seriousness, I was so close to the mark it’s scary. This is Sully’s official response:
“So is the question of how Palin finally put the screws on Levi. In Palinland, no one knows what’s really going on. But I wonder if this is a somewhat panicked response to the recent blip upwards in web interest in the Trig question.”
This was my satirical take on his likely response (comment #42):
“The fact that Sarah Palin was able to force Levi Todd to retract his statements shows just how insidius her uterus really is. I’m close to the truth, I just know it.”
Can I call ’em or what?
Sean P (4fde41) — 7/7/2010 @ 12:34 pmSean P.
I think your joke is better than that. I think if it was possible to get a transcript of Sullivan’s thoughts, it would be word for word what you wrote.
So your psychic powers are verified. Now we just need to figure out how to make money off of them.
Hey seriously, that’s a good idea. How about we create some photoshopped pictures of Palin wearing a fake pregnancy suit while holding a newspaper indicating that she was wearing it when she was pregnant with her last child. And wait, even better, we could claim that there are clues in a series of velvet Elvis paintings showing who is the real mother. And shockingly, its Dick Cheney! That’s right, Cheney is actually a very ugly woman! We’ll call it “The Elvis Code.”
Then we offer to sell the pics of Palin in the pregnant suit to him for $10,000. And for extra dramatic effect, we will make Sullivan think that shadowy agents are killing us to suppress the photos. Like we make it look like I am dead, with markings on me that suggests two runners and paw prints. You would find my fake dead body and say to Sullivan, “Oh my God, he’s dead. Look at these markings. He was run over by A DOGSLED! Todd Palin must have done this!” Sullivan will probably give us at least $20K.
Seriously, we should stop shaking our heads about Sullivan and just point and laugh at him.
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/7/2010 @ 12:48 pmSean, when I saw Andrew’s post, the first thing I thought of was your parody, though I couldn’t place where I had read it.
The Atlantic used to be a pretty respectable publication. Now it’s all about the pagehits.
They should just throw some bikinis up there and call it a day.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/7/2010 @ 12:50 pmActually, we should start an email hoax, pretending to be Levi, telling Andrew the ‘real story’ and asking him to get ‘the story’ out there if anything happens to Levi. A little insurance from the uterus aliens.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/7/2010 @ 12:51 pmDustin
Okay but you have to admit my “Dog Sled murder” idea was pretty funny.
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/7/2010 @ 12:53 pmI didn’t refresh the page, AW. Hilarious.
Andrew Sullivan is probably suffering from some kind of horrible disease, so I don’t waste my time hating him. But his life can still take on meaning if we exploit his paranoia for entertainment, like a circus animal.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/7/2010 @ 12:58 pmDustin
I think we should reveal an even more terrible truth in these emails. I am thinking something like this.
First email.
“Mr. Sullivan,
“I know it would be hard to verify, but I wanted to reach out to you. I am Levi Johnston. I do not wish to reveal this to the world, but in fact I was coerced into my recent apology. You see, if I didn’t do so, Sarah Palin would never let me see my children again.”
Then see if Sullivan picks up on the “children” reference, in plural. Go back and forth for a while, and then finally, reveal the awful truth about Trig: “Mr. Sullivan, you are right to say there is something fishy about the story involving Trig but you are wrong in what you think it might be. Yes, Sarah Palin is the mother, but Todd Palin is the father, and the truth is, well, pretty explosive.” Tease him a little more and then reveal the truth… “You see, Mr. Sullivan, I am the real father of Trig Palin. She even forced me to be with Bristol so that we could continue to be close.”
What do you think?
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/7/2010 @ 1:08 pmWell, since I’m the real mother of Trig, I am deeply offended.
Though Andrew would probably fall for that apart from the likelihood he has personal communications with Levi already.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/7/2010 @ 1:16 pmDustin
maybe he has been in communication with him. then maybe the best approach is to have a person pose as a state trooper. maybe we could even drag troopergate, officially the dumbest “scandal” in all of this.
i mean seriously, Palin says the man threatened to murder her father. And they think she would have been out of line to try to get him fired? Try threatening your boss’s father’s life. see how long you keep your job. and most people’s jobs don’t require them to carry guns.
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/7/2010 @ 1:28 pmDustin
Btw, you are doing an admirable job translating from my typos into english.
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/7/2010 @ 1:30 pmThere are some people who have way too much time on their hands on a Wednesday.
AD - RtR/OS! (568b48) — 7/7/2010 @ 1:39 pmYou absolutely no idea, AD.
This day can’t get to 5:30 fast enough.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/7/2010 @ 1:57 pmBut I wonder if this is a somewhat panicked response to the recent blip upwards in web interest in the Trig question.”
Sadly for Sullivan, the only mind where there even exists a Trig question is in his own twisted little one, and perhaps a few blithering birthers who follow his lead.
Whatever he’s got on someone at The Atlantic must be a real doozy.
Dana (1e5ad4) — 7/7/2010 @ 2:01 pm“And Bristol’s Mom let Levi get her pregnant.”
Shoulda kept her locked up 24/7 like any good parent. You are a moron nk.
daleyrocks (1d0d98) — 7/7/2010 @ 2:09 pm> blip upwards in web interest in the Trig question
why do you get the feeling that people were just doing gun-related google searches after the macdonald ruling and sullivan misinterpreted it?
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/7/2010 @ 2:11 pmSullivan is a classic conspiracy theorist; the evidence that debunks his position is merely another layer of lies that proves, in the end, that he’s on to something nefarious. In essence, there is nothing that Levi or anyone could possibly do or say that would lead Sullivan to change his mind. Sullivan is beyond verification.
Fritz (9c4a4d) — 7/7/2010 @ 2:36 pmYou are a moron nk.
Comment by daleyrocks — 7/7/2010 @ 2:09 pm
Nope. I passed the Chicago Police Academy entrance exam which would make me at minimum dull/slow.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 2:36 pmIf he was a moron, they (CPD) would have recruited him as a Sergeant.
AD - RtR/OS! (568b48) — 7/7/2010 @ 2:49 pmI love you old jerks.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 2:51 pmI will be the only guy at a drinking party with seven women, all at a minimum fifteen years younger than me, tonight. What are you guys doing?
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 3:12 pmHave fun at Chuck E. Cheese, nk. Which is what I suspect you meant: taking your daughter to a children’s party.
Eric Blair (02a138) — 7/7/2010 @ 3:14 pmPTA meeting. We are a 503(c) organization and as Parliamentarian, I have to do the annual audit, but I need a committee along. We’ll see if we can appoint one tonight.
Still … seven beautiful ladies ….
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 3:21 pmMy daughter is in Galicia, Spain with her jet-set mother.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 3:22 pmOh, I know what you mean, nk. My sons are 9 and six, and I so much enjoy watching their interactions with others. I’m glad I don’t have daughters, honestly: I would be that kind of dad, cleaning firearms when their dates came over to pick them up.
I’m an older father, and I would still feel that way. So I am glad that Y-bearing sperm did it’s business, instead of the X-bearers.
My youngest boy is quite the flirt already. He apparently asked the sitter (one of my students) if she would take a bath with him.
Gulp.
And my oldest? He said the following to a different sitter a couple of years ago: “Would you care to lie down and enjoy some music with me?”
Heck, I have friends from college who used that line!
Have a good meeting. I’m so pleased you are involved, since so many parents are not…
Eric Blair (02a138) — 7/7/2010 @ 3:25 pmI am no longer resentful but I am still curious. Have I ever attacked anyone of you personally because you voiced an opinion contrary to mine, if you did not attack me ad hominem first?
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 3:31 pmGirls are special.
I got the news that she was XX on 9/11/2001. (I’m kind of old so we did genetic testing.)
Boy/girl I don’t know that I could love either more, but damn she’s my little dove.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 3:42 pmnk, you spent the last evening screaming that I’m a faggot, a queer, should go to a gay bar, and all that. You don’t even know me. Where did you learn to behave like that?
You also said I was a pig and the women in my family were inferior to your family.
And I believe all I did to provoke that was point out that your view of Riyadh being free was ignorant of the facts that women face in Saudi Arabia. In fact, I gave you the benefit of the doubt, or attempted to, repeatedly.
While going so far out of your way to insult me, you noted you were not bothering to read my comments… just assuming I’m some kind of bigot even though I carefully explained my views in a war that was not prejudicial at all.
You also insulted everyone, including people who weren’t discussing anything with you, if they didn’t have enough education to be worthy of your intellect.
I am not resentful either, but if you really are curious, yes, you’re way out of line against people who try to be patient with you. You did exhaust my patience and I pointed out what you were acting like. You can’t describe that accurately without making an ad hom attack, and I apologized for it (you immediately told me to come out of the closet).
Ordinarily, I am disappointed with 15 year olds who freak out like that. Even if you disagree with me on how free women are in Saudi Arabia, you were out of line.
I wouldn’t bring it up… I happily forget that stuff because this kind of thing is normal on the internet. There’s always one.
But you asked and I think you could use a glance back at that thread to see if you want to adjust a bit. In this thread, you’re showing class, humor, and humanity. No one is taking much personally and a better discussion exists.
I’m curious too: will I get the reaction I expect or the one I want?
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:12 pmI asked. Thank you for your answer.
Can it be over, between you and me at least? If you want a more heartfelt apology, won’t you please consider it said?
As for those other guys, it’s up to them.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:17 pmNK: I wouldn’t have noticed it had Dustin not pointed it out (as I wasn’t following that thread after a certain point), but I’d certainly like an apology for using ‘queer’ and ‘go to a gay bar’ as an insult.
I’m not seriously offended, because this is the internet and because I’ve heard worse and because our interactions in the past have been positive … but it does seem to me that you can’t use those as insults without implicitly insulting all gay men.
aphrael (e0cdc9) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:19 pmI am no longer resentful but I am still curious. Have I ever attacked anyone of you personally because you voiced an opinion contrary to mine, if you did not attack me ad hominem first?
float like butterfly
ColonelHaiku (9cf017) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:20 pmnot sting like bee seem to be
order of the day
But Xrlq and DRJ are off limits. You disagree with them, fine, email them.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:22 pmI think nk’s a brilliant guy and I always read what he writes because when he’s not low on blood sugar or whatever this is, he’s insightful.
I honestly have no real quarrel with him and wouldn’t have brought it up. He asked and I always try to help when I can.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:25 pmNK: I wouldn’t have noticed it had Dustin not pointed it out (as I wasn’t following that thread after a certain point), but I’d certainly like an apology for using ‘queer’ and ‘go to a gay bar’ as an insult.
I’m not seriously offended, because this is the internet and because I’ve heard worse and because our interactions in the past have been positive … but it does seem to me that you can’t use those as insults without implicitly insulting all gay men.
Comment by aphrael — 7/7/2010 @ 4:19 pm
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:27 pmI’m sorry, aphrael.
“Can it be over, between you and me at least?”
No sweat, man!
None whatsoever. This isn’t important at all to me. You mentioned feeling like people wanted you gone and this blog would be worse if you stopped commenting.
I think I also noted, I’m a less than my best too sometimes.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:27 pmnk: thank you. 🙂
I would second Dustin’s comment: I generally have found our interactions to be good and many of your comments to be insightful.
aphrael (e0cdc9) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:29 pmBTW, aphrael,
I have said “I’m totally queer” for edged weapons on this site.
But I’m not going to weasel that way.
I like you and respect you. Please accept my apology for my thoughtless words.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:32 pmMy opinion, based on the premise that if he was lying then, then he’s equally capable of lying now–
kishnevi (8349ff) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:34 pmhaving found out that he’s not going to get a whole bunch of money from the anti-Palinites (not all of whom are necessarily from the Left) and isn’t going to get anywhere on the VHI has-been celebrity circuit, Levi has decided to see how much money he can leach off the only other source of publicity and money available to him, meaning the Palins. Hopefully, she’ll be able to keep him out of sight long enough for him to get whatever brains he had back into his head, and get a real job. Or else follow in his mother’s footsteps and become a meth dealer.
bar now set too low
ColonelHaiku (9cf017) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:34 pmbrian wilson genius
nk socratic
Seems you already did. Is there an extra charge for that, Patterico?
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:35 pmnk: happily accepted.
not all uses of ‘queer’ are offensive or insulting, though: “i’m totally queer” in the context you just described isn’t. 🙂
aphrael (e0cdc9) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:37 pmplenty more money
ColonelHaiku (9cf017) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:38 pmfor levi as top huffpo
boytoy and pundit
Colonel,
You meet me tonight. The drinks are on me. Err … that means I will pay the waitress — you will drink them from a glass.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:39 pm“Have I ever attacked anyone of you personally because you voiced an opinion contrary to mine, if you did not attack me ad hominem first?”
nk – Yes, but these are the intartubes and it ain’t beanbag, it’s the THUNDERDOME! I didn’t take anything seriously, as I hope you did not take any of my comments. Each day is a new day.
daleyrocks (1d0d98) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:40 pmKishnevi,
Levi is a young kid.
It’s easy to write off kids who act like that, but perhaps he really has hit rock bottom and realized just how precious his child is, if he’ll just have his son.
I don’t really believe he is truly and completely evil so much as extremely stupid and immature. People who screw up like this sometimes become very good adults eventually.
I would keep my guard up around him, but he’s family. I’ve forgiven worse in my family. I hope you’re wrong. My brain says you’re right, but I hope you’re wrong and Levi can really make something of himself.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:41 pmComment by daleyrocks — 7/7/2010 @ 4:40 pm
daleyrocks,
You? If so, I will cut my hand off.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:43 pm95.Have fun at Chuck E. Cheese, nk. Which is what I suspect you meant: taking your daughter to a children’s party.
Comment by Eric Blair
That was a brilliant thought, even if wrong.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:43 pmCon su permiso. http://www.thechewchew.com/
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:46 pmHaiku not cross to
ColonelHaiku (9cf017) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:51 pmthat side of street but thanks for
generous offer
nk,
Everyone is redeemable, some roads are longer than others
We have an amazing cacophony of experts here – many who have made those important steps leaving the nest by the basement doors some even did it in their fourth decade 🙂
EricPWJohnson (7ff4d9) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:56 pmAnd EricPWJohnson takes inspiration from those who have left the basement, and will endeavor to emulate them just as soon as mom finishes his laundry …
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:58 pmIt’s a cheapskate town. It would have been thirty dollars or so.
Can you and I also make peace?
BTW, 5-7-5 is not Haiku unless it involves nature.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 4:59 pmIf it does not involve nature, it’s still legitimate poetry but it is called something else — can’t remember what, some Japanese word.
That’s what I’ve been telling him, nk, that he is omitting the traditional seasonal reference.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:00 pmlong hot days and nights
ColonelHaiku (9cf017) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:05 pmspent bringing product online
corns ache in summer
nk – All together, big group Man Hug unless there are some ladies on the thread.
daleyrocks (1d0d98) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:08 pmYou got an hour to drive down. It will be and you some really great-looking PTA moms.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:11 pmSPQR – my favorite basement dweller… 🙂
had to fire mom she wasnt ironing pleats anymore claimed arthy something and cut off the nintendo 64
EricPWJohnson (7ff4d9) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:12 pmIf you gotta a special lady, like me, I got some toys I can show you. Two that my wife brought for me — one from Indonesia one fron Argentina.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:13 pmhaiku think maybe
ColonelHaiku (9cf017) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:13 pmwith seasonal reference
too spicy to taste?
125
i think its called f**k y** poetry
I think
or its just more bad kabuki karma
EricPWJohnson (7ff4d9) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:14 pmnk – I took the day off and got my MILF quotient at noon. More adult day care shortly.
daleyrocks (1d0d98) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:14 pmA.A.: I LOVE it.
Then, if Sully falls for it. Suddenly stop responding to his emails, then deny you ever sent him an email in the first place. I think that would make Sully spontaneously combust.
Sean P (4fde41) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:16 pmyou can call him ray
ColonelHaiku (9cf017) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:17 pmyou doesn’t hasta call him
pw johnson
All together, big group Man Hug unless there are some ladies on the thread.
I was reading through this thread trying to remember if there has ever been a fracas with the female commenters and the only thing I can remember is some little Bridget attempting to be brainy and ballsy but ending up bitchy… it sure ain’t the chicks here taking the mean girls in spades. 🙂
Dana (1e5ad4) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:44 pmit would be very Christian to forgive Levi and help him become a man his son can be proud of I think
happyfeet (19c1da) — 7/7/2010 @ 5:49 pmAt least its my basement, not my mom’s. Paid off mortgage and everything.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:00 pm— it sure ain’t the chicks here–
LOL. Dana speaks the truth. Even behind the anonymity of the internets teh testosterone and competition comes shining through! You’ve had your man hug. Now go rev an engine and all will be well. 🙂
elissa (75bb70) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:08 pm129.You got an hour to drive down. .
Comment by nk
Not for me. But I am glad peace has broken out.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:25 pmSPQR
I’m sooo lazy my momma dug my basement
congrats on your basement – I guess that parking an 1974 Winnebego over a old latrine can be considered “charming real estate” 🙂
your turn
EricPWJohnson (ddc754) — 7/7/2010 @ 6:51 pmThey made a mistake with the little creep but who has never made a mistake?
Comment by nk — 7/7/2010 @ 5:10 am
— Answer: MOST victims made “mistakes” before being victimized. Taking advantage of their victims’s mistakes is what victimizers do!!!
Icy Texan (e3fa84) — 7/7/2010 @ 7:10 pm112.bar now set too low
brian wilson genius
nk socratic
Comment by ColonelHaiku — 7/7/2010 @ 4:34 pm
— More like, Bar open too early.
Icy Texan (e3fa84) — 7/7/2010 @ 7:19 pmevery thing in
ColonelHaiku (9cf017) — 7/7/2010 @ 8:14 pmtexas bite you scratch you or
kick your ass… how come?
To keep the East Coast Yankee wussies out.
Attitude
Machinist (497786) — 7/7/2010 @ 8:17 pmJust walked back from the bar. Took me an hour to transverse a mile as the crow flies. Damn old Olmsted.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 8:38 pmIs that a beer or spirits?
Machinist (497786) — 7/7/2010 @ 8:40 pmhaiku with you on
ColonelHaiku (9cf017) — 7/7/2010 @ 8:41 pmthat until he remember
damn Paul Begala
Bloody Mary and Jack Daniels on the rocks. Didn’t finish either. I don’t really like to drink in public.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 8:44 pmOh! Olmsted is the designer of my village. He also designed Central Park. He made twisty streets so that a town that’s only one-and-one-half square miles total size takes two hours to walk through.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 8:48 pmThank you. I understand now. It sounds charming if a bit eccentric.
I am boring in what I drink. Scotch, neat.
Machinist (497786) — 7/7/2010 @ 8:57 pm#149,
Machinist (497786) — 7/7/2010 @ 9:02 pmHe was born in New Jersey and raised near Houston.
Scotch rye is good but nothing beats a good Tennessee sourmash.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 9:06 pmI’ve got to go sleep now.
Good night, I love you all.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 9:10 pmSomeone once gave me a bottle of Jack Daniels Green Label but I couldn’t develop a taste for it. I don’t even care for Single Malt Scotch. I like 12 year old blended. Usually Chivas.
Machinist (497786) — 7/7/2010 @ 9:10 pmGood night, Sir.
Machinist (497786) — 7/7/2010 @ 9:11 pmMe love you long time.
Icy Texan (e3fa84) — 7/7/2010 @ 9:43 pmokay, who hijacked nk’s nick?
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 7/7/2010 @ 10:49 pmI spent an evening with six beautiful, intelligent, good women and mothers, redc14. Even if I were the meanest person in the world (I hope I’m not), it would still mellow me out.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 11:01 pmThis is hilarious! Levi obviously was telling the truth before, but now he has figured out that it is in his interest to suck up to Sarah. He’s almost as much as an idiot as she is — he and the Palin family deserve each other.
Aerin (ccf32a) — 7/7/2010 @ 11:03 pmJust exactly what makes you think the little piece of meth-lab trailer trash was telling the truth before?
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 11:07 pmBut that’s how the story is going to be spun. Judgment. The Palins cannot win on this.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 11:09 pmnk, for a worthless hack, you’re not half bad (when you’ve been calmed down by an estrogen lake). Aerin, on the other foot, seems to be missing a garment, if you know what I mean.
John Hitchcock (9e8ad9) — 7/7/2010 @ 11:16 pmJohn,
I have never been rude to you. You owe me an apology. Or just talk to yourself, not to me.
nk (db4a41) — 7/7/2010 @ 11:22 pmI forgot to close my snark tag in my 11:16.
John Hitchcock (9e8ad9) — 7/7/2010 @ 11:58 pmFine.
I won’t insist. It’s not important to me. Let’s just talk past each other.
nk (db4a41) — 7/8/2010 @ 12:09 amGoddamn, I think I have lost my sense of humor (and benefit of the doubt). I’m sorry, John.
And please feel sorry for my dental technician who will have to deal with me in about six hours.
nk (db4a41) — 7/8/2010 @ 1:54 amlevi not too bright
Chris Hooten (48d460) — 7/8/2010 @ 5:37 amfits in real well with Palins
who is more liar
Dustin –
Chris Hooten (48d460) — 7/8/2010 @ 5:38 amI don’t think the Republicans have anyone decent they can run.
So they took him in, when his mother was in some legal trouble, and at first opportunity, he chose
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/8/2010 @ 5:39 amto stab them in the back, whose judgement is at question
You voted for a rabblerousing anti American ignoramus, who seems to find allies among America’s enemies whether at home (Van Jones, Will Ayers) or
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/8/2010 @ 5:48 amabroad (chavez, Ahmadinejad)
Chris Hooten calling someone else a liar is rich in irony. Go back to mediamatterz or bradblog or whatever cesspool it was that you slithered out of.
JD (d9926c) — 7/8/2010 @ 5:55 amOn the other hand, friends, Mr. Hooten lives to stir the pot.
Eric Blair (02a138) — 7/8/2010 @ 6:15 amHooten
Okay, I will bite. What did Palin lie about? And can you prove it.
To review, a lie is a falsehood uttered with knowledge it is false.
> I don’t think the Republicans have anyone decent they can run.
Decent isn’t even the standard. I think the standard is “won’t get the country covered in oil.”
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/8/2010 @ 6:16 amIt is ironic, ‘the great environmentalist,’ well no not really, just like the collapse of one his leading contributors, Lehman Bros, enabled his rise
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/8/2010 @ 6:20 amto power
Well, to be sure, we’re going to pick one and we’re (or at least I) intend to work hard to get that person to replace Obama, who is a disaster.
I think Palin would be drastically superior, but I don’t think she’s the ideal. Since I had a real problem with those who worshiped Obama without really thinking about how terrible a president he was obviously going to be, with the lazy thinking that would put him in Rev Wright’s church and the pathetic experience of ‘present’. I tried to explain to Democrats who I thought would be a better choice to further liberalism but also be a strong leader. Your party had a few better choices.
I was simply hoping to have that favor returned. I know democrats really, really have a problem with Palin, and I wonder what you think a strong leader and strong conservative might look like. As a Democrat, who do you think would be a great Republican president?
I mean, let’s get real, you know we’re not a pack of subhuman morons. We do have some potentials.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/8/2010 @ 9:56 amDustin
If you put a number of democrat governors on a dartboard and threw darts while blind folded, you would pick a better president than obambi.
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/8/2010 @ 10:03 amComment by Dustin — 7/8/2010 @ 9:56 am
With the possible exceptions of Washington and Lincoln, I don’t think the American electorate has ever been presented with a choice that included the “ideal”.
AD - RtR/OS! (63c5ca) — 7/8/2010 @ 10:11 amWe select – hopefully – the best of the available choices.
In this case – 2008 – our judgement failed us.
Comment by Aaron Worthing (A.W.) — 7/8/2010 @ 10:03 am
Does that dartboard include Granholm and Blago?
AD - RtR/OS! (63c5ca) — 7/8/2010 @ 10:13 amThe thing is that Washington (won’t say about Lincoln, I don’t know) did not consider himself ideal. And that’s what makes him great.
We need more politicians like that, unfortunately we do nothing to make them want to bother with us.
nk (db4a41) — 7/8/2010 @ 10:16 amAW, there’s no way to justify Obama being the nominee. He ‘wrote’ two books. Once of which is drivel and the other is actually fairly disturbing.
He’s like a cartoon politician. And some people are actually surprised he can’t handle things like the oil spill. If Bush were still president, millions of gulf residents lives would be better. Period. And without stimulus, instead another Bushian reaction to a recession like in 2001 (tax cut), we could have had many millions of people working.
Of course, Bush didn’t cut spending or veto spending. I suppose it was a bribe to keep up the war effort. He had a job of tremendous pressure and we got through some our nation’s toughest times.
Because people were told Bush was stupid, they mistook the turbulence for Bush screwing everything up rather than navigating one disaster after another with pretty good success.
And that’s why we have Obama. People think Bush was an idiot, so why not put some completely inexperienced person up there who would be a historic and cool president?
But no, Bush was nearly genius, a voracious reader, an amazing governor whose policies are still leading Texas for the most part (and better than any other state in the union), and most of all, Bush had a spine.
Except on domestic spending cuts. He was wrong and weak there. But if he were president today, I would bet we’d have millions more working.
Anyone who challenges the American Idol will be labeled as a moron. When they lead our country much better than its led now, people will wonder ‘We was this genius Obama so much worse at things this moron Chris Christie / Jan Brewer / Sarah Palin is good at?’
OK, perhaps they won’t ask.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/8/2010 @ 10:19 amNo, sas we’ve seen, you tear them down, you call them greedy, a quitter, ‘a diva’, and some of the other choice words that feets, uses, ah yes, hoochie
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/8/2010 @ 10:20 amwhich would put him under a snowmobile, with the requisite tracks
Well said, nk.
That’s part of what makes Obama such a crap president. He endlessly worships himself. He wrote two memoirs before he had anything to remember. These are people who aren’t proud of their country if they don’t win the popularity contest.
I think this is part of why I liked Bush. He also didn’t seem to think he was God’s greatest gift. It gave him the ability to pick good solutions instead of attempt for ‘perfect’ ones that are merely illusions.
And perhaps this is the problem with Palin. I like her, but she’s the leader of the mama grizzly movement. That’s not really the self deprecating path. I guess she’s just pushing back against the haters more than showing conceit.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/8/2010 @ 10:23 amDustin
My blunt take on palin is that she has not been governor long enough to be president. And now she has quit, I guess she never will be.
Circa 2008, I thought she would be a better president than obama, and that was based on an optimistic assessment of obama. Not that I thought Obama would be good, but I never imagined he could be this awful.
Of course if Palin is the nominee in 2012, I will vote for her in spite of my misgivings. Because right now, almost nothing could possibly be worse.
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/8/2010 @ 10:32 amWell that’s a bit of a copout, isn’t it, Yes I’ll vote for her, but only after she’s been mauled in
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/8/2010 @ 10:36 amthe primaries, with ridiculous memes that have nothing to do with her fitness for office. The same
noble service the partisans of Rockefeller and Scranton gave Goldwater in ’64
AW, I agree.
Palin simply hasn’t been Governor for very long. I grant it’s not her fault she’s not. And I will consider her against the competition. The candidates I like more than her, Brewer, Christie, Ryan… well first, they aren’t even candidates, and they also lack lengthy executive experience.
This is a problem.
Palin is ahead, to me, against someone with more experience but a lack of principles. That’s not a glowing endorsement.
I was just curious who a Democrat thinks could lead the country well and promote conservative views they don’t necessarily agree with. It’s not surprising that someone who really can’t stand Palin actually doesn’t have a better option in mind. She’s not really that bad.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/8/2010 @ 10:38 amian, Palin is going to be trashed without mercy in the primaries, and if she can’t beat it then she shouldn’t be the nominee. Because Levi or someone like him will obviously be used to make her look like a hillbilly with some vague trashiness about her. The ethics ‘scandal’ will be thrown at her again. The ‘quitter’ meme will be at the tail of half the commercials should Palin be the nominee.
It’s possible she can overcome that. I know it isn’t fair, but she has to be able to.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/8/2010 @ 10:43 am#178 A.W.:
#185:
The only thing that could be worse right now, is another Marxist revolutionary like O!zombie who is an effective leader. Fortunately, O!bambi is not.
#184 Dustin:
Anybody speaking out about the O!nes failures isn’t exactly on the self-deprecating path: and that includes you, me, A.W., A.D. and just about everyone else here…mostly because most of us here have more executive/managerial experience even at this point in his Presidency.
That doesn’t mean that potential candidates are unaware that they aren’t an ideal candidate, as nk describes Washington (and in fact as Lincoln was also aware, as were many other great Presidents and other leaders), but in comparison to O!bumbly they might as well be the right hand of G-d!
And anybody who would make a self-deprecating remark in comparing themselves to O!batshit-crazy is automatically disqualified from candidacy because their have just revealed themselves to stupid to be on the stage.
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 7/8/2010 @ 10:58 amto, two, two … kind of like choosing between 13 mm and ½” wrenches … one of them is correct and one isn’t. PIMF my aunt Charley.
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 7/8/2010 @ 11:00 amtoo
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 7/8/2010 @ 11:00 amDustin:
I liked Huckabee, because he struck me as being an honest guy of deep principle whom I would disagree with but whom I could trust to make reasoned judgments.
I’m not paying all that much attention to Republicans at the moment, but I get the sense that Christie would be a good choice for economic/fiscal conservatives.
I would also disagree that it’s not Palin’s fault that she doesn’t have more experience: she chose to resign her job as Governor, after all.
aphrael (e0cdc9) — 7/8/2010 @ 11:03 amI’m just saying don’t repeat the same arguments, we’re going to get from Romney, who chose not to run a second term, and abandoned his project to Patrick, and ‘quit’ the presidential campaign some years back, and apparently his state, as he’s moved
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/8/2010 @ 11:03 amto California
Forget it, all right, they will come for your favorite candidate, with all the force of a hurricane, with Christie, they tried to claim
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/8/2010 @ 11:15 amthat he somehow was breaking the law, with Brown,
that stupid allegation about a law preventing rape victims from abortion, Memes and narratives, like
Biden the untold genius in the administration’ are not true. Take any five issues, would she have decided wrongly or rightly, that’s your answer
btw, i think its hilarious that this is like the most popular thread in years, in terms of the number of comments.
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/8/2010 @ 11:16 amAphrael.
Huckabee, eh? I think he’s not a very principled conservative, but that’s just my take.
“I would also disagree that it’s not Palin’s fault that she doesn’t have more experience: she chose to resign her job as Governor, after all.
Comment by aphrael — 7/8/2010 @ 11:03 am ”
This is irrational.
She chose because not doing so would have harmed her constituents because of all those Obama staffers who were filing lawsuit after lawsuit.
It’s like if Obama resigned because master ninja birthers promised to burn down hospitals if he didn’t. Anyone who abides what the democrats did to Alaska’s governorship by forcing that decision on Palin is the enemy of Democracy.
I suppose some people still don’t know. consider giving Going Rogue a read. It’s a quick read, and while it’s not that powerful, it accurately explains the resignation and what some of the most awful lawyers of the democrat party were willing to do.
I think the only claim of consequence the shut down of the government (thousands of legal actions including FOIAs) found was that Palin brought family on a trip.
Obama takes family on trips. That’s OK if you’re a democrat. His family usually flies in a different aircraft. I know municipal employees who take their families to conventions. The idea that Palin, who sold the state jet that was used to whisk the Governor’s family and friends around all the time, netting huge savings, was then some kind of crook for bringing her kids along on a commercial flight, is a lie. There there would now be an individual charge per commercial passenger was a result of Palin saving the state millions of dollars by losing her private governor’s jet. Just amazing that this is all they found, and yet were willing to keep this going endlessly. The democrats willing to do this truly hate Alaska.
I think Palin lacks executive experience, fair or not. I do not think she quit for reasons beyond the fact her state needed a governor and the democrats had tactically denied her the ability to be one. She could have kept the title, but that’s all she quit. The democrats had already taken the ability to govern the state away.
If you think that’s Palin’s fault, you’ve got either a crisis of knowledge or of morality.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/8/2010 @ 11:26 amian, you have a strong point that perhaps I shouldn’t do the Romney campaigns work for it.
It may actually be difficult for Palin’s competitors to come out with these attacks. I would expect perhaps Romney to not say anything about it, but someone who isn’t likely to win, and would prefer Romney win, to make such attacks.
It may be that Palin sails strangely smoothly through the primary (but for the MSM attempting relevance). But she hasn’t seen even close to the worst, if she successfully runs.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/8/2010 @ 11:30 amOne could argue, about how effective various policies like the ACES tax or even the TC-Exxon pipeline might be. But it does seem a little odd, the blog that asserted, that a certain candidate
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/8/2010 @ 11:36 amwas a ‘good man’ despite ample evidence shouldn’t replay the same memes, in the opposite direction
Since Democrats nominated Obama, they simply no longer can make any criticism of any presidential nominee based on the amount of executive experience. None. Nada.
This exclusive should exist for at least three presidential terms, or 12 years.
SPQR (b8ef0f) — 7/8/2010 @ 11:38 amOh, SPQR, just like they shouldn’t be able to complain about politician infidelity or deficit spending or wars?
If only they weren’t sleazy, I guess.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/8/2010 @ 11:41 amaphrael…Even with her resignation, come 2012 she’ll still have more executive experience over a one-term President Obama…I would venture to say she made more significant (and positive) executive decisions in her short tenure in Juneau than The Lightworker will in four-years at the WH.
AD - RtR/OS! (63c5ca) — 7/8/2010 @ 12:06 pmCan you say, “It’s always fair weather when trailer trash get together? http://www.usmagazine.com/healthylifestyle/news/exclusive-bristol-palin-levi-johnston-are-engaged-2010147
nk (db4a41) — 7/14/2010 @ 9:14 amWHA WHA WHATTT????????
I couldn’t believe nk’s story and …
yet it’s true.
I can’t blame Sarah Palin… I’m her fanboy at any rate. But her daughter didn’t even tell her about this until it’s at the supermarket checkout rack? Sounds like one of those family rifts. I hope it works out for Bristol, but Levi is, as nk says, a trashy person and I would be heartbroken to see my daughter with someone like that.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/14/2010 @ 9:20 amAgreed Dustin, I can’t see this ending well, colloidal slime is more trustworthy then Levi, but it is her life after all
ian cormac (93d17d) — 7/14/2010 @ 9:28 amIt is her life, and they do have a child, so I hope they are extremely happy and a successful marriage. It’s not they don’t want us to speculate and judge, since they are reveling in tabloid cover stories before telling Sarah and Todd.
I have no inside info, of course, but it comes across as some kind of rivalry between parents and Bristol. Teenage girls can be that way, but I’m still surprised.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/14/2010 @ 9:31 amOh, and there are people in my family, and likely most everyone’s family, who do far worse than have a child and later marry the father who says some nasty things about his in-laws.
Yet we’re going to be expected to say that the Palins are the trashiest of the trashiest. It’s a lot about the young mother from a pro-life family vs. the concept of not punishing yourself with a child you made. Had Bristol just gone into drug rehab or gotten a DUI conviction this would somehow be less of a scandal.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/14/2010 @ 9:34 amDustin
Exactly. I am hoping for the best, but fearing the worst and if I was Sarah Palin, I would be preparing for the worst as well. I said that in some other thread as well.
And you are right, it is tacky if this is the first mom is hearing about it. But kids are stupid and sometimes cowardly. I mean you have to assume Bristol was a little scared to tell mom.
I mean with me the test was real simple. Like take my brother in law. He was going to be my sister’s husband, and my niece’s father, taking the place of the abusive lout that was my sister’s ex (yes, my family is like a soap opera sometimes). So what is my test. Its three parts: 1) does my sister love him? 2) does my niece love him as a potential father? 3) is he abusing them or anything extreme like that? Two yeses and a no, and he passes. I don’t even have to like him on any personal level.
And that even gives you sort of a duty to try to make things work so the in laws at least feel welcome if not loved. Which can be touchy if you actually don’t like them. Like my grandmother married a guy in old age who was unbelievably racist. As in, loved to make slavery jokes. And if he was blood, I wouldn’t have held my tongue, but he was new to the family, so you were stuck trying to kind of get along with this knuckle dragger. Its hard to know if Palin feels the same way.
Of course what is more complicated with Palin’s situation is that Levi has personally wronged Sarah and several others in the family. Its sort of like how my sister-in-law stole from me and gave the property to her boyfriend. Even then you still want to try to make things work, but its kind of hard when someone has harmed you. Now Levi has officially apologized and all that so maybe they can start to mend fences. My guess is 1) no matter what he will at best be on probation with her for a long, long time, and 2) she isn’t going to let him have that much access to her again, period. No living at home, none of it.
Oh, and my other prediction. Andrew Sullivan will go further into his insanity. I know, its sort of like predicting snow in a Canadian winter, but fwiw.
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/14/2010 @ 9:50 amAW, I’m afraid you won’t be getting too much credit for that Andrew Sullivan prediction, lol.
“And that even gives you sort of a duty to try to make things work so the in laws at least feel welcome if not loved”
I agree with this. I’m fortunate that it’s not a challenge in my family. It’s a hell of a challenge for Sarah and Todd, though. Levi tried to destroy a career that was very tough for Sarah to build. He lied and was extremely nasty about it. It’s not possible to want your daughter committing her entire life to someone who wanted to destroy your family. And on the other side, Levi’s family hates the Palins too.
It’s one thing to marry the bad boy, or marry a jerk. It’s another to marry someone who attacked your mother repeatedly and publicly. I hope things work out for Bristol and Tripp.
Plenty of fodder for Andrew Sullivan to continue his very important work, lol.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/14/2010 @ 9:58 amThanksgiving just became even more uncomfortable than the tryptophan OD.
Poor Sarah, ug.
HeavenSent (a9126d) — 7/14/2010 @ 10:08 amDustin
> I’m afraid you won’t be getting too much credit for that Andrew Sullivan prediction, lol.
Okay, let me try some more predictions.
Instapundit will say either “heh” or “indeed” within the next 48 hours.
Ah, crap, let me try again.
Bill Clinton will be unfaithful to his wife.
No, that won’t work.
When republicans take over the house and make big gains in the senate, the media will depict the average voter as racist.
Ah, no, that’s no good either.
Soccer will continue to be a boring and unpopular sport in America.
Dang. Okay one more time and I am giving up. Thinking… thinking…
Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews will continue to denounce everyone who opposes Obama as racist while revealing that they themselves are racist.
Dang, it, my psychic powers are just not being very helpful right now.
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/14/2010 @ 10:11 ambtw, Bristol has lived in her own home for a while now. This thankfully has no chance of becoming a bizarre sitcom experience of Levi living in Sarah’s basement where Andrew is probably hiding as we speak.
Al Gore’s kid had a DUI. Obama’s wife isn’t proud of America except for elevating Obama. And perhaps there’s a little truth to the idea that you can’t have it all… if you’re a successful reformer of a large government, your family is not going to receive your undivided attention.
Reagan and Giuliani were nearly saviors as leaders, but they have kid problems. Sarah seems to have the love of her family, but it’s going to be lame to see how many people leap to the idea that she’s an awful parent and an immoral trashy person.
She didn’t take her kids to Rev Wright.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 7/14/2010 @ 10:12 amHere’s another safe prediction: Iowahawk will have a funny take on gore and edwards’ marital issues.
http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2010/07/the-two-randy-vicars.html
Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e) — 7/14/2010 @ 10:22 am