09-11-2008, 01:18 AM
Nürnberger Nachrichten, Germany
<b>Growing Doubts
About âSarah Superstarâ</b>
By Friedemann Diederichs
Translated By Christiane Thieme
09/08/2008
Germany - Nürnberger Nachrichten - Original Article (German)
Palin knows little about the American political system and does not shy away from the untruth every now and then.
The very first âSarah Palinâ Barbie doll design already exists. It shows the 44-year old Governor from Alaska in high heels and a tight black cocktail dress, with shoulder arms and a snowmobile as accessory.
A brand new Google record states that, for the past five years, no other name of a political figure was entered into the search engine as often as that of the vice presidential candidate. And, staying in the Google district, there is another, probably less honorable, record: by now, âSarah Palin nakedâ or âSarah Palin Bikini Photosâ is just as popular with appetent users as the attempt to find pictures of a scarcely dressed Brittney Spears or Lindsay Lohan.
Boundless hysteria
Currently, the âSarah Superstarâ hysteria seems to know no boundaries in the United States â a hysteria that also affects politics. According to a survey published yesterday in âUSA Todayâ, the âHockey Momâ of five stimulates a wave of enthusiasm among voters: An opinion poll puts McCain ahead with 50 percent of support among registered voters, compared with 46 percent for rival Barack Obama. This constitutes the biggest advantage for the Republicans since January of this year.
âThe selection of Sarah Palin has made a big differenceâ, says Larry Sabato, a political scientist of the University of Virginia. âMcCain is in a far better position than his people imagined he would be in at this pointâ. But there is also another darker side about Sarah Palin that might have a negative impact over the next days and weeks. This past weekend, a bunch of new information caused speculations about the honesty, strength of character, and qualification of the aspirant for the second most important job in the nation.
âWhat does a vice president do?â
In an interview on a TV station in Alaska, for example, Palin commented for the first time on the rumors about a potential vice presidential nomination and thereby revealed her ignorance of the American political system: âSomebody would have to answer for me what it is exactly that the vice president does every day. We want to make sure that that vice president slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans."
In her speech in St. Paul, Palin also claimed that she had saved the tax payer a lot of money by selling her predecessorâs company jet on Ebay. By now, this statement has been discovered not to be true. The Ebay auction did not result in a sale, and the airplane was only sold privately to a businessman half a year later. And then there are reports from ear witnesses who supposedly heard Sarah Palin publicly use improper language when talking about political rivals. She is reported to have called Hillary Clinton a âbitchâ at the top of her voice while dining in a restaurant, and to have used the word âsamboâ to describe Barack Obama â a term that, especially among African-Americans, is considered extremely pejorative.
Circumspect Rice
The Democrats will most likely take advantage of these lapses in the near future. Even Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice shows more reluctance than enthusiasm when it comes to praising her fellow party member: Palin has had âdifferent kinds of experiences in lifeâ, Rice circumspectly remarks about the political climber of the year.
<b>Growing Doubts
About âSarah Superstarâ</b>
By Friedemann Diederichs
Translated By Christiane Thieme
09/08/2008
Germany - Nürnberger Nachrichten - Original Article (German)
Palin knows little about the American political system and does not shy away from the untruth every now and then.
The very first âSarah Palinâ Barbie doll design already exists. It shows the 44-year old Governor from Alaska in high heels and a tight black cocktail dress, with shoulder arms and a snowmobile as accessory.
A brand new Google record states that, for the past five years, no other name of a political figure was entered into the search engine as often as that of the vice presidential candidate. And, staying in the Google district, there is another, probably less honorable, record: by now, âSarah Palin nakedâ or âSarah Palin Bikini Photosâ is just as popular with appetent users as the attempt to find pictures of a scarcely dressed Brittney Spears or Lindsay Lohan.
Boundless hysteria
Currently, the âSarah Superstarâ hysteria seems to know no boundaries in the United States â a hysteria that also affects politics. According to a survey published yesterday in âUSA Todayâ, the âHockey Momâ of five stimulates a wave of enthusiasm among voters: An opinion poll puts McCain ahead with 50 percent of support among registered voters, compared with 46 percent for rival Barack Obama. This constitutes the biggest advantage for the Republicans since January of this year.
âThe selection of Sarah Palin has made a big differenceâ, says Larry Sabato, a political scientist of the University of Virginia. âMcCain is in a far better position than his people imagined he would be in at this pointâ. But there is also another darker side about Sarah Palin that might have a negative impact over the next days and weeks. This past weekend, a bunch of new information caused speculations about the honesty, strength of character, and qualification of the aspirant for the second most important job in the nation.
âWhat does a vice president do?â
In an interview on a TV station in Alaska, for example, Palin commented for the first time on the rumors about a potential vice presidential nomination and thereby revealed her ignorance of the American political system: âSomebody would have to answer for me what it is exactly that the vice president does every day. We want to make sure that that vice president slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans."
In her speech in St. Paul, Palin also claimed that she had saved the tax payer a lot of money by selling her predecessorâs company jet on Ebay. By now, this statement has been discovered not to be true. The Ebay auction did not result in a sale, and the airplane was only sold privately to a businessman half a year later. And then there are reports from ear witnesses who supposedly heard Sarah Palin publicly use improper language when talking about political rivals. She is reported to have called Hillary Clinton a âbitchâ at the top of her voice while dining in a restaurant, and to have used the word âsamboâ to describe Barack Obama â a term that, especially among African-Americans, is considered extremely pejorative.
Circumspect Rice
The Democrats will most likely take advantage of these lapses in the near future. Even Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice shows more reluctance than enthusiasm when it comes to praising her fellow party member: Palin has had âdifferent kinds of experiences in lifeâ, Rice circumspectly remarks about the political climber of the year.