Try this example of “out of context overkill in a sidebar attack of Palin is no excess”:

http://althouse.blogspot.com/

“See, for example, the words of former Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska: ‘If [the Pledge] was good enough for the founding fathers, its [sic] good enough for me….’”

Those words appear in Palin’s Gubernatorial Candidate Questionnaire, Eagle Forum Alaska, July 31, 2006. In his dissenting opinion in the new 9th Circuit case upholding the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance, Judge Reinhardt cited Palin’s words in a footnote in support of the proposition that “some individuals” don’t know their history:

A …commenters defends Palin…

Reinhardt’s citation is misleading. The question to which Sarah Palin responded read:

11. Are you offended by the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?
The answer was

Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance

It could be that she gave a stupid answer in which the “it” referred to the Pledge itself. That would be historically inaccurate. But the “it” could have just as easily referred to the phrase “under G-d.” If so, the answer would be completely plausible as founding fathers used such phrases all the time.

Posted by Ann Althouse on 3/12 at 11:44 AM 63 comments
Tags: 9th Circuit, Establishment Clause, history, intelligence, Judge Reinhardt, law, Orin Kerr, Pledge of Allegiance, Sarah Palin

My response:

“If these Palin, er, faux pas, here, no less something taken out of context from a speech, are so important, how come every faux pas of Obama, Biden, Pelosi, Reid, or for that matter assorted Kennedys are unimportant? Could it be that those guys have a (D) after their names?

“[T]hose on the left are moralists, smarter people who pass up their own personal agendas to help the community. They think of society, not self, and so when they err, they do it under stress, in accidental fashion, and with no lasting significance — not like their selfish Neanderthal cousin conservatives, for whom transgression is a valuable window into their flawed souls. Bushisms became a media pastime, but no one suggests that a president who says Cinco de Quatro, or 57 states, or references the ‘Austrian’ language is a Dan Quayle wrestling with potato.” VDH 1/12/10

Or a Pres who confuses King Henry VIII with King Arthur.

And a judge who confuses “its” & “it’s”.

If one is an otherwise healthy resident five year old with “red throat”, a common occurrence to be sure in Canada or the U.K., or, for that matter, if an otherwise healthy 25 year old or even 75 year old has the same minor problem, he/she can get in to see a doctor quite quickly, which doc, if he sees no other problems, will be able to give the reassurances that it’s nothing & here’s a prescription for an antibiotic.

These are the cases presented to the gullible by the “you need government help” crowd & the faker politicians who want Big Government solutions. They, disingenuously or ingenuously (doesn’t matter; same result) ignore the fact that the same result is true in the US, even for the poor who use the Emergency Room of the local hospital & who can ignore the bill when presented.

But, if some 75 year old has Big Time problems requiring quick time treatment, he/she will wait 9 mos for an MRI in Socialized Medicine (OOPS, Single Payer) countries, whereas he/she will not wait in the Big Bad USA.

And if a 75 year old UK/Canadian resident obviously needs a pacemaker, 9 mos will be 3 mos longer than he/she will live. Not to worry, none dare call the decision makers “Death Panels”, because that would be so Palin-déclassé, my dears.