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THUD! scooter agreed with Jeannine!

Kumbaya, My Lord, Kumbaya.........

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[> [> [> [> I didn't use the terms folksy or down-home -- Jeannine, 12:44:06 10/03/08 Fri [1]

and I don't know when these terms became negative. I used the term common sense. Additionally, I don't feel any of these people are "better than me". They have different skill sets, but I don't want them to make decisions for me - I always keep in mind that they work for me.

I know many people who are absolutely brilliant. Do I want them for Prez? Not especially. I want a combination of intelligence, common sense, understanding, empathy and authenticy to start.

I also know that her accent alone grates on the nerves of a lot of people, especially people from big cities who feel they are more sophisticated. I love the different accents in this country, it is part of our identity.

One last point: you know who comes to mind when I hear folksy and down-home? Ronald Reagan.

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[> [> [> [> [> No, I don't think we meant you used those terms or did I miss something? And yes, -- LAwoman, 13:28:48 10/03/08 Fri [1]

I do consider elected officials as working for me/us, but I do hold them to a higher intellectual standard than say, my pool boy. And yes, Palin's speaking tone does grate on me pretty severely. And yes, I'm big city. However, I would absolutely get past my dislike of her vocal style if I liked what she said.

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[> [> [> [> [> Ronnie was also *just* a governor -- jayjay, 17:36:21 10/03/08 Fri [1]

no foreign policy experience outside Hollywood.

so was Jimmy Carter and look at what a fiasco that was.

so was Bill Clinton. at least Bill was a Rhodes scholar and a student under Wm. Fulbright and travelled the globe when he was a punk. it kept him from goin to 'nam.

I love her accent; i have an ear for dialects/accents. she sounds like a canoooodian. lurve it.

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[> [> [> [> [> The way she speaks definitely gets on my nerves. -- HF, 19:11:43 10/03/08 Fri [1]

It has nothing to do with her accent -- you don't drop the "g" at the end of every word that ends with "g" because of an accent. You drop it because you're lazy. Or you're trying too hard to sound like the guy down the street. There's no one on my street I want to be President, so this doesn't appeal to me.

I totally understand that different things appeal to different people; I'm just having a really hard time understanding why "common" is appealing. Even with common sense -- I want someone whose thought process transcends common sense. I like to think that most of the time, I have common sense. But I'm nowhere near smart enough to be President.

And re Better with a capital B, yeah, I mean it. I do try to do my best most of the time, but I can admit that I don't *always* try. I do want someone whose heart is in the process, the politics, and the results. I know I don't have that in me, and I do think that those who do are Better than me. As far as being President is concerned, I guess I want better AND smarter -- not just one or the other. Cause like you said, there are plenty of brilliant folks who would not make good political officials.

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[> [> [> [> [> [> Well, HF, darlin', you just called half the country lazy! -- Jeannine, 06:55:13 10/04/08 Sat [1]

Including most of the South and Mid-West. I do get your point - honestly. I think we just plain old disagree.

And, LA - can I borrow your pool boy? LOL.

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[> [> [> [> [> [> [> No, because half of the country doesn't have the opportunity to speak on tv. -- HF, 15:34:16 10/07/08 Tue [1]

I have plenty of relatives in Mississippi who have strong southern accents. Their vernacular drops "g"'s all the time. When they are in a place where they are being evaluated in some manner (e.g., a lawyer presenting an argument in court or a writer introducing his publication), they pronounce words correctly. They know the difference, just as I know the difference between my vernacular and what is correct. I might say "prolly" 75% of the time when I mean "probably," but you are sure as heck not going to hear me say it when I'm at work or presenting my thesis or any number of public speaking opportunities.

Now, Sarah Palin is not a bad person because she chooses to speak the way she does. And her actual accent does not bother me. I would simply prefer not to have a president (or VP) who does not speak well in public; I would prefer to have a president who demonstrates that she knows how to speak correctly. I would also prefer a president who does not "wink" at the camera for the same reason: it demonstrates a familiarity that is (IMO) inappropriate for public presentation. It is not professional.

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[> [> [> [> [> [> I have also heard her say nukular more than once. Now that -- LAwoman, 12:57:18 10/04/08 Sat [1]

isn't lazy, it's ignorant. I would like my country's leaders to be able to pronounce words correctly. Maybe that's asking too much.

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[> [> [> [> [> [> [> We've had 8 years of a guy who can barely speak -- Terry, 05:25:00 10/05/08 Sun [1]

GW is a certified idiot. He's proven it time and time again when he attempts to speak without being prepped.

One thing I have always liked about Obama is his expertise with constitutional law. I really think the president should be well versed in constitutional law so he knows his boundaries. Unlike the current guy who seems to think he was elected King. Dubya once referred to the US Constitution as a "goddamn piece of paper".

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[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> With all due respect, Terry, may I suggest factcheck.org (tip of the hat to DDeb) -- Jeannine, 07:31:46 10/05/08 Sun [1]

http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/did_president_bush_call_the_constitution_a.html

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[> [> [> [> [> personally, i get offended when people criticize her accent. i have the same one. -- ozzie, 09:02:17 10/04/08 Sat [1]

i don't offend easily. i haven't decided how i am going to vote yet but i would never (nor am i implying anyone here would not vote for her based on this) not vote for her based on her accent. that accent, to me, and to where i was brought up, labels my demographic area as down to earth and genuine. midwesterners, accents and all, are NOTORIOUSLY known as hard workers and for their honesty. some may call it folksy or down home. i take that as a compliment. it does NOT however mean that we aren't smart enough to run major businesses or schools or lead the country. i will base my decision on her experience, what isn't much at this point, not on her accent.

interestingly enough, i just read this article this morning about her accent:



Sarah Palin is no Minnesotan. But she can sure sound like one.

Turns out, there's a darn good reason for it, too.

The GOP vice presidential candidate's hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, is in the middle of the valley where more than 200 broke families from the Midwest -- many of them from Minnesota -- relocated during the Great Depression.

Which means Palin grew up listening to the children and grandchildren of those Minnesotans and being fed a steady diet of "yahs" and "ya knows" and even "you betchas."

"When people settle a new area, there's not a set accent,'' said Joe Salmons, director of the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "And it takes several generations for a new accent to form. What that means is, she was raised in an environment where there were a lot of people who were new to Alaska, and those Upper Midwestern influences were going to be very strong."

From the sound of things, Palin listened well.

Like a true Midwesterner, her O's tend to sound "pure," or long, Salmons said. She also tends to turn "you" into "ya."

Palin also emphasizes the S at the end of words that typically sound like they end with a Z. (Think of the Saturday Night Live skit in which the actors played Chicagoans cheering for "Da Bearsss!")

"That's the stereotype of Upper Midwest speech," Salmons said. "People do that, not just in Chicago but in Wisconsin and Minnesota. And she has that."

"She certainly has a distinct accent," said Randi Perlman, assistant director of the Chamber of Commerce in Palmer, Alaska, which became home to most of the 203 Midwestern families when they resettled in 1935. "A lot of people here call it an Alaska accent, but I don't know that there is such a thing."

Salmons agrees. He said that Palin, whose parents are from Idaho, has a mix of Midwest and Northwest dialects.

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