Sunday, February 14, 2010
In defense of Sarah Palin . . .
. . . for a change. Sort of.
Sure, it was hypocritical of her to criticize President Obama for employing a teleprompter while herself using a trot: writing talking points on the palm of her hand. Sure, using a teleprompter helps Obama make a lot more sense in his speeches than she does in the off-the-top-of-her-head remarks.
But I don't see anything wrong with anybody using palm post-its to remember important items, except maybe for students taking tests. Whatever helps one recall salient points is a good thing.
When I was on the old Chicago Daily News copy desk, I picked up the handy trick from Dan Sullivan, our ace copy desk chief. Often he'd write an important headline or story length order on the palm of his hand, and when he ran out of room he'd start on the low inside of his forearm and work his way upward.
Why? Because notes got lost too easily in the forest of paper on the copy desk. Palm notes never did, unless you forgot and washed your hands when you took a bathroom break.
Later, as a pilot I'd write traffic pattern altitude, runway and radio frequency numbers of unfamiliar airports on my palm rather than trusting to a note that might fall on the floor under the yoke where I couldn't get at it.
I'd never criticize Ms. Palin for keeping her facts close to hand. That is, if they are facts. Too often they're not, but that's another subject.
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But she is a truely American hero. She will bring real change to Washington in 2012, doncha know.
ReplyDeleteAh the late, great Sully. Even as a tech guru with the Atex system, he would write things on his hand if he was away from his desk.....
ReplyDeleteBut, as a pilot, would you write "Pull = up, push = down"? Why would that -- long pause here -- person need to write key words on her palm to remind her of her basic -- longer pause here -- principles? Or, perhaps, was it her crafty way of trying to convince us she can deliver a 40-minute speech with only those few words as prompts? Of course, I did note that she kept referring to papers on top of the lecturn.
ReplyDeletegood points, Henry. Good post. She does suffer from a speech disorder called "dysfluency" though, but the MSM does not report this. Google the term and see my blog on this. It is a real medical condition, sort of like dyslexia of speech patterns. When she is not reading from a prepared speech, this happens to her. Nothing to be ashamed of, just part of life. I had speech therapy lessons as a kid, so i know about this. and this: JUST IN about the future of newspapers a sad humor video from SLATE video
ReplyDeletehttp://zippy1300.blogspot.com/2010/02/slate-v-newspaper-video-titled-buy-one.html
You seem to be the only one in the world who is linking Palin with dysfluency.
ReplyDeleteWrite On, Henry! --Carl
ReplyDeleteHenry, you are right. I am the only one so far linking Gov Palin with dysfluency, but that's because nobody in the MSM wants to touch this with a ten foot pole. It's not a big deal. It explains why she speaks the way she does when she does not have a script. By the way, despite the fact that I don't cotton to her rightwing political or religious myth views, I still feel she has charisma, a real stage presence, a way with words, great comic timing and a lot of pizzaz. I feel this will catapult her to the presidency in 2012. But I will not vote for her, of course. She's the real McCoy. Having a speech disorder is no big deal, it's just interesting to use this dysfluency medical definition to explain her strange ramblings sometimes.
ReplyDeletenews tip....fast fwd to 2011
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thewrap.com/media/blog-post/sarah-palin-plain-and-simple-dysfluency-28484