Comments on: Democracy Demands Wisdom

Andrew Cohen Finds Sarah Palin's Lack Of Constitutional Understanding Is Defining Down Standards Of American Democracy

[flreason]

bunwiper:

Fruit fly science may seem unnecessary to Sarah Palin, but it refers to the use of fruit flies to identify genetic traits. If Gov. Palin had actually researched the subject, instead of just memorizing ideological talking points without any understanding of the topic, she would have appreciated the benefit to agriculture and genetic disease understanding that they represent. A simple Internet search would have led her to a NASA web site about fruit fly studies that would have explained in easy-to-understand language why they are used in research. http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/03feb_fruitfly.htm

BTW, if you''re suffering from a fruit fly infestation, it may be because you''re buying organic fruit that hasn''t been sprayed with insecticides, or because some species, through the process of natural selection that Palin and the evolutionary nay-sayers contest, have become resistant to the pesticides used to control them.

[waynester9]

Mr. Cohen obviously wasn''t paying very close attention to the VP responses given concerning the responsibilities of the Veep position. Palin''s responses were generally considered far more accurate than those of Biden -- who made several embarrassing gaffes. Biden has been in office far longer than Palin. Shouldn''t he be be more familiar with the duties of the Veep? Why is he getting a free pass? Mr. Cohen states that her answers "... would likely get Gov. Palin run out of any self-respecting law school ..." If that is so, then it seems rather certain that Mr. Cohen''s inability to get the story right would get him kicked out of any self-respecting journalism school.

[flreason]

I agree that Palin''s lack of understanding of the U.S. Constitution is appalling, and should disqualify her as a candidate for the second-highest elected office in the country.

However, I wonder if attorney Andrew Cohen understands the difference between wisdom and knowledge. One would hope that a Vice Presidential candidate would have both a working KNOWLEDGE of the Constitution, and sufficient WISDOM to understand the threats to freedom that the Constitution was meant to address.

I''m also appalled that Cohen would identify the late Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas as William O''Douglas. Or is it that CBS''s journalistic standard has dropped so low that they don''t proofread the articles they publish, allowing that clerical error in content, along with a misspelling of penumbra attributed to Douglas, to be published on-line. If the Vice-Presidential candidate is to be held to a legal standard of "wisdom," the fourth estate should be held equally accountable for both content accuracy and an English language standard.

[flavia1965]

Now you will see all the rivals and enemies of the USA openly favoring Barack Obama, counting on our blindness and stupidity so we elect the other team -their team- and thus completing the economic and political ruin of this power in the coming four years. People, we are facing world class political chess players, appearances are deceiving. As in judo, you take advantage of the massive body of your opponent, his excess of confidence and ...his lack of brains. We need a political Kasparov on this one.

[samthetvcat]

This analyst is constantly crusading for one cause or another - CBS must share his ideology to put up with such aggressive interpretations of the law.

Here''s the real skinny - there are two types of philosophies of the role of the law. The first accepts it as it IS, a social contract used to promote social welfare that only needs interpretation where it''s ambiguous or silent. That''s utilitarianism.

Then second rejects law as it is and seeks to shape it into what it WISHES it to be. That''s advocacy.

Barack Obama has show evidence of his belief that the law is a tool to be used to turn the world into what he wishes it to be. He used the law to disqualify the incumbent who was favored to win re-election and all the other challengers so he could get his foot into the State Senate in the only way he could win. He has used the law as a weapon to attack commercials on technicalities of the groups who made them rather than address the claims on the lack of merits. He''s been caught most recently in a radio address talking about his frustration over the Constitution being unwielding in it''s designation of Congress as sole holders of the power of the purse, thereby allowing the Courts no wiggle room to provide economic redress.

I think too much is made of his Barack''s Constitutional scholarship given that he''s not on record having produced any. And the snippets we''ve seen of his philosophy aren''t ideas to which I think most people subscribe . . .

[markangeloo]

No the flaw in democracy is that it cannot help but dumb down to the masses;
there is no nobility therefore no chance for noble thinking.
Trotsky dealt with this problem in communism :
was it worth it to save some noble ideas or art from the oppressive
slave owning classic age where entitlement was god given.
Things not possible with equality.

[jn122736]

Maybe, just maybe, the 40 percent would rather take a on an idiot backup to a 72 year old than throw away all chance on someone who has lied from the beginning. I have voted Democrat for 40 years but don''''t trust Obama. Before you scream race, I have been raising 4 mixed race children for the past 4 years. I just can''''t abide a liar.
Posted by charlieisdad at 07:20 PM : Nov 01, 2008
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then you must have a real problem looking at yourself in the mirror!!!

[messiahx4eve]

and when wisdom, real courage, sense of fairness & fair play, compassion, and heart aren''t available, just steal an election and do things the "texass good ole'' boy" method, works best on the lower educated sector sickie rich populations such as King chimp, darth cheney, karevil rove. "Money buys neither a way into heaven nor a way out of hell." Enjoy it while you can chumps, hope it was worth it.

[ddaymichael]

After suffering through eight years of imbecilic, partisan looting under Bush & Co, I would hope that the American people would recoil from the spectre of a Palin Presidency (a fairly likely scenario if McCain were to be elected)

She''s not only woefully ignorant, she''s arrogant about it, as only fascist rednecks can be arrogant, disparaging anyone with an education and a brain as being %u201Clibs%u201D and %u201Celitist.%u201D These creatures revel in their ignorance, proudly proclaiming it to the world on their bumper stickers, mud flaps and coffee mugs and shrieking about it in their right-wing, fundamentalist churches (where God is not a friend, He%u2019s an employee)

It%u2019s rather easy to feel smugly superior when you%u2019re too *** dumb to comprehend how second rate you really are.

[charlieisdad]

Maybe, just maybe, the 40 percent would rather take a on an idiot backup to a 72 year old than throw away all chance on someone who has lied from the beginning. I have voted Democrat for 40 years but don''t trust Obama. Before you scream race, I have been raising 4 mixed race children for the past 4 years. I just can''t abide a liar.