People on DU talk to people in the real world.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

People in the real world are not interested in John McCain.

They are interested in Sarah Palin.

DU provides a liberal take on, among other things, the hot political topics of the day.

People carry what they read on DU into real life.

Things are said here about Palin that wouldn't be appropriate on the evening news.

Many of those same things are, however, appropriate AND effective in discussion with friends, family, co-workers, gym mates and strangers at a bus stop.

I recognize that some are put off by the jokes, gossip and rants about Sarah Palin because they seem un-serious. But this is what real people are talking about, and we should have our place in that national conversation.

And consider this... if Palin went down in flames, would McCain survive it?

Paul Begala said recently that the Obama campaign should follow Nixon's 1968 advice and "never shoot down," meaning that Obama must ignore Palin. Damn straight!

But to DUers snarking off about Palin is shooting up. She is a Vice Presidential nominee. We are people on the internet.

(None of this should suggest support for the baby-switching thing which is the greatest embarrassment in DU history and is just gross and awful politics since if true it would paint Palin in a better light, not worse.)

[JeffR]

1. Exactly!

Well said.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. In The Real World There Are Republicants And Democrats

Much to my chagrin there seems to be more support for McWalkingCane and Falin out there than we would like to believe...

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

3. True, and they vote on symbol and prejudice

Which is why the "stick to the issues" theme is limited.

You cannot reason a person out of a position he didn't reason himself into in the first place.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

4. Plato Called Them Noble Lies

~

[Karenina]

11. You cannot reason a person out of a position...

You cannot reason a person out of a position he didn't reason himself into in the first place.

Brilliant. Just brilliant.

[dkf]

14. Exactly!

[JVS]

5. K&R

[Barack_America]

6. DU mothers! Ask what your friends think of Palin's flight from TX to AK...

After she was leaking fluid/her water broke with her Down's syndrome child, Trig; her FIFTH child.

Here's some fast facts on that subject:

1. Per her own admission, she started leaking amniotic fluid in TX at 4:00am.
2. She called her family doctor in Wasilla for advice, as at this time her child would be one month premature (she did not use an OB/GYN for her high risk pregnancy).
3. Her family doctor did not give her clearance to fly
4. She did not go to a TX hospital for an examination
5. She did remain at the conference to give a speech
6. She later boarded an Alaska Air flight, with a layover in Seattle
7. She did not inform either the pilots or flight attendants that she was in her third trimester and, in fact, leaking amniotic fluid.
8. After landing in Anchorage after a 10+ hour flight, she bypassed the only hopsital in the state with a NICU to drive 45 min. to Wasilla to have her high risk, premature child delivered by her family doctor in her community hospital
9. Upon arrival she was in fact induced and delivered the child a short time later, approximately 26 hours after her water first broke/she leaked amniotic fluid.
10. She returned to work 3 days after delivering.

I'd love to know what your fellow mothers think about Sarah Palin's judgment in this "crisis".

Source:
http://www.adn.com/626/story/382864.html

[seaglass]

16. Frankly I would be embarrassed to bring up these points with

mothers I know, it sounds gossipy and judgmental - 2 traits I'd rather not be known for.

[FrenchieCat]

7. Yep....cause people in the real world listen to the media

and the media, along with McCain-Bus-Palin-Cheney think that we are stupid.

[NanceGreggs]

8. What you said!

:applause:

[KittyWampus]

13. wow, DU'ers know some stupid people and apparently are unable to change topics of conversation

:puke:

[polmaven]

9. You are absolutely right

when you say that people are not interested in John McCain, they are interested in Sarah Palin.

I got home 20 minutes ago from an afternoon spent with Democrats at a City Committee cookout, and the topic on most people's minds was Sarah Palin.

My Congressman kept trying to discuss McCain, and that was the topic of his speech, but, face to face, the first thing people brought up was Palin.

"I was at a birthday party the other day, and at least 1/2 of the women were infatuated with Palin" one woman said. She asked where she could go to get factual information to use to talk them out of it. The Congressman said she should look at newspapers or Obama website. I told her to come to DU.

"John McCain likes to say he has thirty years experience, and he's right, he does...but his experience is wrong - all thirty years of it". - Congressman John Tierney - 4:45 this afternoon.

[gblady]

10. it's the shiny new toy....

everybody loves new toys.

I believe the glitter will wear off soon...

as her extremist views are made known and
her lack of expertise becomes apparent...

[KittyWampus]

12. What rationalizing BULLSHIT. People say, "so what do you think of" and I say "here's what I know"

and the conversation goes from a to b with MY GUIDANCE>

[TheKentuckian]

15. Keep undermining her PERSON relentlessly

use policy arguments to reinforce the points.

[OneGrassRoot]

17. It's official, Kurt_and_Hunter...

you're my ideological soulmate.

:*

[Straight Shooter]

18. Damn straight, and thanks to DU, I was able to educate a Palin supporter.

You read that right. She supports Palin, but is voting for McCain because she's thereby voting for Palin by proxy. Why? Because she likes Palin. Why does she like Palin? Because she thinks Palin is a Roman Catholic!

I said, "No, Palin is Pentecostal, speaking in tongues," blah-blah-blah.

"No," she said. "She's Catholic."

"No," I said. "Joe Biden is Catholic. Obama's running mate."

Keep in mind this woman is fiercely Catholic. (whereas I'm a lapsed Catholic.)

"No, no," she said. "She's Catholic."

"No, she's Pentecostal," I said.

"Where do you get your information?" she said, "From Democrats?!"

"It's all over the news," I said. "Sarah Palin is not a Catholic. Joe Biden is the Catholic. Moreover," I said, "Obama worked as a community organizer for the Campaign for Human Development, which is a Catholic organization."

At which she harumphed and turned away.

Jesus Christ on a pogo stick. What does it take to educate people?

Anyway, I called her church and spoke with the priest, told him who I was, what I was calling about, and making sure he understood that Palin was baptised Catholic but that she left the Church as a teen, as did her parents.

But you know what? All they care about is she's against abortion, and I sure wasn't going to get into that debate with a priest. :(

edit to clarify