Harry's Place

Political considerations aside, I certainly didn’t feel this way on seeing a full-legth picture of Reagan.

Sarah is a genuinely exciting and interesting person.

There’s no denying it. She does have nice stems.

Palin on Nidal Hassan: “More profiling, please.”

That’s why we love her.

She is utterly and completely unfit for any public office.
Quite literally a .22 calibre mind in an M1A2 Abrams world.

A woman on in a Runner’s World photograph? Never!

Wow – whoever gave her that top is a genius. From a distance, the visible red “field” in that pose presents the shape of a woman with the waist of a cheerleader.

Damned clever. Gok Kwan eat your heart out.

So any ladies (sorry, to avoid sexism, blokes with clitorises) who want to look cool, get yourself a top with light diagonal panels and stand in front of a light background to get yourself photographed.

If that light-coloured diagonal section wasn’t there, she would just look like any Hockey Mom who didn’t eat too much.

The problem with the photo, I was told by an earnest Obamaite, is that she is clearly disrespecting Old Glory. Really.

“There is the question why she was doing revealing shots like this in the first place”

It’s hard to run in a burkha, Gordon.

She is utterly and completely unfit for any public office.

Well, back in October 2007, Newsweek did not seem to think so.

Of course, that was before the Hysteria.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/42534

She is utterly and completely unfit for any public office.

Have you ever held any office, darling, public or otherwise? Perhaps as the delphic oracle or other such position with omniscience and infallibility?

Quite the opposite. The Palin cover shoot is another matter entirely and is part of a long tradition of demeaning women by using revealing shots to undermine them.

Really? I just thought ‘good picture’. What exactly is demeaning about wearing sportswear? I mean, she shows a bit of leg but this isn’t Victorian England or modern day Saudi Arabia we’re talking about.

It doesn’t alter my opinion of her one way or another.

If you want a really unappetising image, try Hillary Clinton gushing over David ‘Bananaman’ Miliband.

Clinton tells the interviewer: “Well, if you saw him it would be a big crush. I mean, he is so vibrant, vital, attractive, smart. He’s really a good guy. And he’s so young!”

http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/fourth-estate/2009/11/vibrant-vital-clinton-miliband

yuk.

Plus, she cuts a pretty good figure for a mother of five (or maybe four, depending on your assessment of the sanity of Andrew Sullivan.)

I see no problem with being bodyist about politics. Especially in Britain with this patronising bloody government telling us we should all be healthy. It could be good for some politicians too. And nothing “sexist” about it.

After all, when crypto-Stalinist Vlad Putin took his top off and posed in the wilds of Siberia, he reinvigorated his popularity. He even shot a tiger (with a tranquilizer gun) in the Ussuri Reserve. Short of wrestling bears, it gave him a real boost as a macho man. Putin’s pectorals caused him to be seen as young and vigorous.

In 2007 (when Putin was voted the World’s Number 5 and Blair was Number 3) Gordon Brown was voted 19th sexiest politician in Japan.
http://whatjapanthinks.com/2007/11/04/the-worlds-30-best-looking-politicians-in-japanese-eyes/

Maybe if Gordon took his top off and showed to the world a svelte torso with a six pack, he might suddenly become electable.

If he can’t do that, maybe his damned government should stop patronising us with exhortations to keep fit and lose weight. It is always one law for them, and another for us plebs.

Methinks Gordon needs to have an energy-saving light-bulb rammed firmly up his….

“She is utterly and completely unfit for any public office.” – Those who elected her Governor of Alaska,City Councillor,and City Mayor,and the 60 million who voted for her in the Presidential elections,(45% of the vote),would disagree.

On the “imidz-making” front, it must be said that there is one politician who takes things to an entirely different level from any other politically active at the present time

Pretty much all the images here warrant some sort of comment – although (not least as she is the one person to have her way with Putin, as regards gas prices, at least temporarily) the one with “Tiger Yuliya” (and accompanying text – which is somewhat sick-making. I suppose Google translate can handle Ukrainian?) is of particular note.

Well, that and the one where she is implictly compared to Christ; and the one where she is presented as “helping all the children of Ukraine”.

Fact – her pre-election slogan posters (containing no other text, and no pictures) read “THEY are talking…SHE is working”.

When Palin manages to stake a claim for the use of any female pronoun as evidently referring solely to her, well, she’ll be in Yuliya’s league.

(Frankly Palin is immeasurably less scary than Tymoshenko, in all sorts of ways)

http://blog.tymoshenko.ua/

Quite literally a .22 calibre mind in an M1A2 Abrams world

Folks said similar about GWB and he got elected president…twice.

By the way, she hasn’t got ‘quite literally’ a .22 calibre mind. I think you mean ‘metaphorically’. There, fixed.

Is Tyhryulyu her pet tiger? Or is it a zoo animal that she has “adopted”.

I am wary of anyone who has a wild animal as a pet. Ramzan Kadyrov of Chechnya for example, who is also very scary, having not been averse to a spot of torture in the past, and with recent critics being made to disappear.

Siegfried and Roy are also very scary, but fortunately they don’t have political ambitions.

Clinton tells the interviewer: “Well, if you saw him it would be a big crush. I mean, he is so vibrant, vital, attractive, smart. He’s really a good guy. And he’s so young!”

Please, was that really necessary? Completely turned me off my elevenses.

Adrian Morgan – I THINK it was just borrowed for the photo-shoot. She hasn’t quite reached Ramzan Kadyrov levels of viciousness yet.

Shallow piece from MacMillan, the corporate Twitter addict. But suitable for HP, which doesn’t do deep. Fair enough, who has the time for such crap anyway?

Don’t confuse Palin’s ‘popularity’ for exciting the base, and being a convenient cipher. Anyway, if she does get elected, what the hell, satirists will have as much fun as the Bush years.

But its not going to happen. Politics is show business for ugly people. Pretty airheads should try, well, show business.

Thanks Venichka.

And it did make for some wonderful pictures. I assumed (note to self – never assume anything) that with it being a white tiger cub that it was a style accessory. I doubt she could ever match the hypocrisy of Kadyrov. At one hand he has the depravity of torture to his name, and at the other presenting himself as a virtuous Muslim. And somewhere in the middle, the notorious movie of him being pleasured in a sauna.

She’s certainly fit, in all senses of the word (except, ‘fit for office’, although after Obama, who can say?).

Is it ok to say that I think Sarah Palin is very attractive? Or does this amount to a VIOLENTLY MISOGYNIST, DEHUMANISING INSULT?

“…but it looks to have had the reverse affect…”

I bet Palin knows the difference between ‘affect’ and ‘effect’ though…

Pretty airheads should try, well, show business.

I am sure Amused could run Alaska single-handed, literally with one hand tied behind his back, standing on his head and with a sack over his head, reciting the Bible out of one hole and special relativity out of the other. In fact, at least in some respects not entirely unlike what he is doing now.

@Eddie – well, if it answers your question, I also think Sarah Palin is very attractive. As is Obama. I started wondering whether I’d think it sexist if a magazine used a picture of a topless Obama posing in a sexy way (the hands on hips thing she does is a characteristic of sexy pictures I think?) for a sportswear feature. But then I thought – but he wouldn’t ever pose in that way (I don’t think!). The photo (linked to in the article) of a topless Obama is unposed, or at least less obviously posed. So – maybe it was an unwise shoot to take part in (and who goes running wearing tights?) – though at the same time she has a point about Newsweek’s selectivity. But I think she’s being disingenuous when she says the original feature/photo was ‘all about health and fitness’.

Sarah – She may need to wear tights in Alaska, not that I know much about their thermal efficiency. I think disingenuous is exactly the right word – that photo is very cunningly taken. By the way, I checked your link and I am an hon Fellow at the same establishment. What a co-incidence.!

Palin articles definitely serve to weed out the right wingers on HP, and for that, along with her help towards a two-term Obama adminstration, we should be grateful.

This looks like a Friday caption competition. Supply the words in the balloon?

Palin articles definitely serve to weed out the right wingers on HP

A bit like Nazi eugenics, you mean?

I see that you are one of those completely taken in by Obama’s PR machine, the only thing he has going for him.

As to his picture being “unposed” – LOL.

“Is it ok to say that I think Sarah Palin is very attractive? Or does this amount to a VIOLENTLY MISOGYNIST, DEHUMANISING INSULT?”

of course it does
it also implies pretty women should be seen and not heard

A bit like Nazi eugenics, you mean?

The Godwin award for Overstatement of the Century goes to… Gordon Bennet.

@Eddie – I don’t think tights keep out the cold very well – but they are flattering!

@ Gordon Bennet – I then added that it was ‘less obviously posed’. I think it would have been completely different if Sarah Palin had got herself in a situation where she just ‘happened’ to be wearing a rather fetching and skimpy outfit (say on the beach) and took no special precautions against being snapped. But a different effect is created when you get a sense of her having been specially made up and having agreed or decided to adopt a peppy pose.

Amused, do you actually know what the phrase ‘weed out’ means?
No, I didn’t think so.

Sarah,
Whenever Obama is visible to photographers, his PR people always make sure that he looks photogenic. You must be very naive if you don’t realise that everything is carefully stage-managed.

A bit like Nazi eugenics, you mean?

Yes, exactly like Nazi eugenics. I’m coming for you next. Would you prefer the castration to be physical or chemical?

I see that you are one of those completely taken in by Obama’s PR machine, the only thing he has going for him.

The only thing apart from being President. I’m still trying to work out what you have going for you.

@GB – well of course, that’s true of most politicians even though they sometimes don’t get it right. And I think I had already made it clear that I get that. Obama is a handsome man who strips to advantage – but although he or his advisors may be exploiting that fact in the photo of him in the link he is frowning and looking away from the camera and he at least manages to give the *impression* he doesn’t know what’s going on – whereas SP is looking straight at us in a very posed shot wearing a cheesy grin.

he at least manages to give the *impression* he doesn’t know what’s going on

Only to those who choose to swallow the PR.

The only thing apart from being President.

No, babe – that’s the result of having a PR machine. Do try to concentrate.

I’m still trying to work out what you have going for you.

As opposed to you? An IQ in 3 figures, obviously.

I think you need to look up the word “obviously”, darling.

I may do so once you have demonstrated some reading comprehension. I don’t think I have much to worry about in that regard.

Amused, do you actually know what the phrase ‘weed out’ means?

Tell us Anaximanders Other Sandal. I thought you were an expert.

“Those who elected her Governor of Alaska,City Councillor,and City Mayor,and the 60 million who voted for her in the Presidential elections,(45% of the vote),would disagree.”

Those who elected her governor of Alaska might very well disagree, after her torubled half-governorship. They might not think much of someone who leaves the job they elected her to halfway through the term.

““Is it ok to say that I think Sarah Palin is very attractive? Or does this amount to a VIOLENTLY MISOGYNIST, DEHUMANISING INSULT?”
of course it does
it also implies pretty women should be seen and not heard”

In what way, boreham? It seems to me that Sarah Palin gets heard quite a bit. And called on it, too – there are websites devoted to cataloguing her lies. So what she says gets lots of attention.

Or maybe you are just projecting your own expectations.

Tell us Anaximanders Other Sandal.

Gordon Bennet is almost certainly Nearly Oxfordian. Anaximander’s Other Sandal I think is unique, but I’m not entirely sure as I tend not to read his ramblings.

Gordon Bennet is clearly Nearly Oxfordian; just as “Amused” is clearly Benji

Clearly, Venichka?
As in, your febrile imaginings are “clearly” the truth as revealed to you by shape-shifting lizards?
Oh, dear.
The obsessive-compulsives are out of the woodwork yet again.
I expect no better from SoC, who is 100 or so IQ points short of understanding Anaximander

Clearly, Venichka?
As in, your febrile imaginings are “clearly” the truth as revealed to you by shape-shifting lizards?
Oh, dear.
The obsessive-compulsives are out of the woodwork yet again.
I expect no better from SoC, who is 100 or so IQ points short of understanding Anaximander’s points (they stretch me too, but I make the effort because it’s very worthwhile).
But you? I expected more from you.

Clearly, Venichka?
As in, your febrile imaginings are “clearly” the truth as revealed to you by shape-shifting lizards?
Oh, dear.
The obsessive-compulsives are out of the woodwork yet again.
I expect no better from SoC, who is 100 or so IQ points short of understanding Anaximander’s points (they stretch me too, but I make the effort because it’s very worthwhile).
But you? I expected more from you.

“Gordon Bennet is almost certainly Nearly Oxfordian. Anaximander’s Other Sandal I think is unique.”

They are all the same person.

They are all the same person.

That is definitely not the cowboy way.

What mesquito said.

It most certainly is this cowboy’s way.

Wasn’t it Newsweek who’s chief editor called Obama a God?

Obama s chest picture was in the Washingtonian, hardly a magazine comparable to Newsweek. Though Newsweek is no longer a serious publication. They spread those silly Koran rumors ending up with the deaths of hundreds.

Never actually asking the question how does one flush a 1000 page book down the bowl? Perhaps they expected those savage mobs to ask that important question themselves.

How insightful…

Or actually “inciteful” …

“There is the question why she was doing revealing shots like this in the first place (even for Runners World)”

Its Runners world and she had runner shorts on. Kinda like tennis skirts.
She even has a jacket on. How revealing is that?

Sarah P scares the S**t out of the Democrats and Liberals in general.
And many women hate her guts because she looks hot at 45 and after 5 kids (Though Sullivan and Huffpost still believe she has only 4 and pretended the last one).

The only way is up for Sarah now as they bashed her down so far leaving her no other direction to move.

Gotta love the irony in that.

Well she’s an attractive woman no doubt of that. But then I said that more than a year ago.

Why am I attracted only to right wing women?

Two things:
1) you get the html messed up and the picture is squished in a very ugly way… It probably only looks reasonable in Opera and other (?) browsers that size pictures with interpolation. You have to make the display size of the picture match the picture itself, or not specify a size at all.

2)So the fuck what, she’s showing some leg. I think I have to accept that you Brits are always unbelievably uptight where anything remotely related to sex(ism) is concerned. I don’t understand how you think about this, and by God I don’t want to. Brits seem to think that sexuality inherently exploits women and girls.. I wish you could just transform yourselves into the robots you want to be, with the proviso that you shut up about the sexuality of the rest of us.

Well she’s an attractive woman no doubt of that. But then I said that more than a year ago.

Now you see it isn’t possible to disagree with this statement without being “sexist”.

“2)So the fuck what, she’s showing some leg. I think I have to accept that you Brits are always unbelievably uptight where anything remotely related to sex(ism) is concerned. I don’t understand how you think about this, and by God I don’t want to. Brits seem to think that sexuality inherently exploits women and girls.. I wish you could just transform yourselves into the robots you want to be, with the proviso that you shut up about the sexuality of the rest of us.
” – Josh Scholar 9.49 p.m..

Got something off your chest? You might like to talk to someone about this.

Actually, I think of my fellow countrymen as being somewhat over sexed but not in a bad way.

“… showing some leg.” Harder to find a more quintessentially British expression, old bean. “Show a leg!” was an order issued to ratings on Royal Navy ships when they slept in hammocks and were in the habit, apparently, of smuggling women on board. A female leg … I’ll let you fill in the details.

“Brits.” The ‘Brits’ are the only people about whom it is still possible to write ” you Brits” and get away with it. ‘Brits’ was term coined by I.R.A. Sinn Fein, the U.S. backed terrorist and murder squads, as an insulting epithet. Like many of the I.R.A. –S.F. bombs this one went off in their face. The British, always eager to employ abbreviations of identity or supply them in case of need, embraced ‘Brits’ with enthusiasm. Everyone who can so do, uses it in preference to any other nowadays.

“Brits seem to think that sexuality inherently exploits women and girls..” The French believe quite seriously that we Brits (males anyway) are all homosexual. I do hope you spread the word over there. Perhaps not. We must have some fun left. After all, some Americans have probably tumbled to the truth about the Brits and their humour when it comes to sex …

Ok on rereading I guess there was no point to this article other than to say that good pictures of Sara only help her.

But be fair, Newsweek doesnt’ care who gets elected, they care about selling magazines. The article may have been against the woman the the purpose of the cover is to sell the magazine.

It succeeded and no one is crying. They made their sale, end of story.

” .. end of story.” Josh Scholar 10.36 p.m.

Agreed. One shold never judge a book by it’s cover (but I do). I think she is jolly attractive, but then I am old and even my postman seems handsome to me.

But what about the 1000 dorks waiting for three hours in the cold for her to sign her book? This is worrying.

“It’s dangerous,” Organizing for America Director Mitch Stewart said of Palin’s book tour.

Har.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/68837-obama-group-attacks-palin-to-fundraise

Oops. Forgot to change my name back.

Brits seem to think that sexuality inherently exploits women and girls.

Just a bit racis… sorry, the correct word to use here is “essentialising”, I think …, eh, Josh?
Some do. Many don’t. This Brit doesn’t.
Or perhaps I should characterise all Americans as obese trailer-park dwellers?

If I were a photo editor, looking for a photo that made Palin look bad, or unelectable, because my magazine was interested in harming her political career, I’d choose “the wink pic”, or just one of her looking tired and old, better yet sullen or angry, towards the end of a long day. But if I were just looking for a cover to sell a magazine, I’d choose what they chose.
There’s an alternative view of how unintended consequences play out. The idea that the elitist liberal media are against Palin plays well with her core support, and maybe extends it.
That may win her enough funding to have a serious try for the Republican nomination, which is the worst possible outcome for Republicans. True, her enemies do tend to underestimate Palin’s political nous, but other people badly overestimate her electability in any campaign that needs more than the passionate support of one faction of the Republican base.
Even if she has a dream run, aided by Huffpo, Andrew Sullivan and other thickies, it’s still unlikely she’d get the nomination. But she does have scores to settle. Within the Republican Party. The better she does, the more there’ll be infighting, angry crowds, and the kind of unpredictable stuff that happens when someone who may be a little bit shallow leads a crowd who may be a little bit crazy into the front rows of a serious political party.
If she doesn’t get the nomination, her supporters will be angry with the Republicans. If she does, then the angry crowd will be jubilant but still angry with most of America, which always goes down well.
The better Palin looks, and the more likely she is to get anywhere near the Republican nomination, the better for the Democrats. Like McGovern was for Nixon.
So maybe that was the cunning Newsweek plan all along. Damn liberal media.

Wonder when and where the first Republican candidate Sarah Palin campaigns for actually gets elected. Palin is going to self-destructive through far too much publicity far too early for the 2012 Presidential Campaign. Also her leaving the post she was elected to, Governor of Alaska, halfway through her first term is not going to sit well with most voters.

Dearest Gordon Bennet

“weeding out”:

1. Identifying, exposing, removing (various contexts).

2. The Nazi policies of genocide, eugenics etc.

Take your pick… But may I gently suggest that when someone says “weeding out” they are not actually Nazis, or supporting Nazi policies.

Just a suggestion, like.

Yeah, I think that the retired Alaskan Governor really sees her short to medium term future principally as a rightwing pundit and general media figure. Rightwing power broker is a possible longer-term dream. If she does stand, it’ll be more in furtherance of the media career than a serious political campaign.

Democrats will just have to hope she’s still the teabaggers’ Joan of Arc by 2012. The longer she lasts, the better. If she really was the Republican candidate they wouldn’t even need to campaign against her. (They could ignore her, go positive, and leave her to it.) But I don’t think Democrat strategists even dare to fantasise about that.

So you’d have to hope that the “liberal media” keeps annoying her supporters and increasing their commitment. Sadly, I think David’s right, and Palin most likely won’t be a serious presence by 2012. I’m starting to pin hopes on Michelle “I’m a fool for Jesus” Bachman, for next Republican spoiler.

Well you cannot have Sarah Palin without Tina Fey’s impersonation of her at http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/11/20/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5727004.shtml

Mine’s a Newt: That’s scary, Michelle Bachman makes Sarah Palin look rational.

Gordon MacMillan: Thanks for linking to Christopher Hitchens essay on Palin. It was a good one and a useful reminder that us liberals badly underestimated Reagan.

Well I have to admit that my first girlfriend was seriously right-wing. A supporter of Joh Bjelke-Peterson no less!!!! Lovely girl.

Attractive left wing ladies? Natasha Stott-Despoja would be one… Caroline Flint..maybe…

Caroline Flint: Nice figure… Pity about the gap teeth and rather disconcerting eyes (at times).