Palin once more shows why she's an idiot.

[Crossroads Inc.]

From the Washington Post

B Jena McGregor, Tuesday, March 15, 5:49 PM

Sarah Palin spoke Thursday at the Long Island Association, a business group in New York. The event was notable for the fact that Palin invited the press--something she does rarely. And it was newsworthy in that she gave another sign she might actually run for president: News reports say she hinted with a smile that someone who is good at multitasking ("a woman, a mom"), as well as someone who's already run for something ("a vice-presidential candidate?") would be most qualified for the job.

During the event, in which Palin was interviewed by the Long Island Association's president, she sounded off about presidential things--the deficit, whether or not to raise the nation's debt ceiling and President Obama's health-care reform law. And she weighed in on the debate over Obama's citizenship, reportedly saying it is "distracting. It gets annoying. Let's stick to what really matters."

But if that's what she really wants people to do, why did she crack a joke about Michelle Obama's campaign to make it easier for women to breastfeed? When the conversation turned to the escalating price of gas and groceries, Palin reportedly said, "It's no wonder Michelle Obama is telling everybody you better breastfeed your baby--yeah, you better--because the price of milk is so high right now!"

It may have just been an attempt to draw a laugh from the crowd over issues--childhood obesity and the medically proven benefits of breastfeeding--that are no laughing matter. But even though she followed up by saying "and may that not be the takeaway, please, of this speech," it has become one of them. Headlines saying that Palin was mocking Michelle Obama's attempt to make it easier for women to breastfeed have lead stories following the speech.

Who knows whether or not Palin will run for the nation's highest office. But if she does, comments like this one do little to make her sound presidential. For one, even if it was a joke, Palin was making light of something that has to do with the future of this country--the health and well-being of its children. And even if Palin spent most of the talk discussing deficits, health-care reform and foreign affairs, it's unnecessary side comments like these that will--whether she likes it or not--lead the news.

Just consider the contrast in the coverage following Palin's talk with the coverage following New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's speech at the American Enterprise Institute Wednesday. While political experts lauded Christie--who has repeatedly said he won't run for president--with praise for his straight talk and focus on the meaning of leadership during the speech, Palin's unusually open event found her the subject of much less flattering headlines.

Leaders are judged as much on what they do take the time to weigh in on as on what they don't say at all. Jumping into the debate about Michelle Obama's campaign to fight childhood obesity, and make breastfeeding easier for those women who choose to do it, may have been like throwing candy to certain elements of her base. But if she wants to sound presidential, then sticking to what really matters (as Palin puts it) without throwing in little cracks about a universally agreed-upon problem would be a lot less, in a word, distracting.

Keith Olbermann was fond of saying of Palin "That women, is an Idiot" and things like this show us why. I have no doubt, that Palin WAS joking, and there in lies the problem. Most politicians with two brain cells know there are certain things you don't joke about. Especially if you are doing a speech being attended by news reporters outside of Fox. Palin honestly can't realize how saying off the cuff comments like this make her look bad. The women really is an idiot.

[Hillary]

I'm not entirely sure what exactly Palin has done wrong here. In the scheme of politician jokes, it was actually quite a good one.

Here's a classic example to show if anyone claims that only the republicans are capable of pulling a quote out of context and turning it into a fabricated attack on a sacred cow.

I mean, there are a zillion reasons why Palin would be disastrous as a US president - there's no need to invent them.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Yeah, I'm not seeing it either. 'Breastfeeding is necessary because our economy sucks' isn't a bad sound-bite. Its not like women don't already have a lot of breastfeeding options available, at least in my state its illegal to ever try and stop a woman from doing so.

This seems to me very much like the manufactured outrage over Obama trying to get dijon mustard and people complaining he was an elitist who enjoyed 'fancy condiments'.

[General Zod]

You know, as much as I think Palin is an idiot even I'm having trouble seeing a serious issue with this one. It's arguably one of the least offensive things she's ever said.

[Todeswind]

Bill Maher made a Joke about this a while back. It was funny but honestly really only funny out of context. Considering the mind numbing fuck-hattery of Palin on other stuff this seems... inconsequential.

[Akhlut]

While I personally think the joke is pretty retarded but otherwise inoffensive, I think the article makes a good point:"...if she wants to sound presidential, then sticking to what really matters (as Palin puts it) without throwing in little cracks about a universally agreed-upon problem would be a lot less, in a word, distracting."

Even if one disagrees with manufactured outrage about petty bullshit, one also has to recognize that if you're running for president of the United States, you're going to have to deal with manufactured outrage about petty bullshit. If she wants to run and not be considered the fringe lunatic candidate who is only two steps to the left of the American Falangist Party, then she needs to start watching what she says and not making stupid jokes. She also needs to improve her political stances and not be a complete waste of carbon, but one step at a time, I suppose.

[eion]

Yeah, I'm not seeing it either. 'Breastfeeding is necessary because our economy sucks' isn't a bad sound-bite.

Read it again, "It's no wonder Michelle Obama is telling everybody you better breastfeed your baby--yeah, you better--because the price of milk is so high right now!"

Babies do not drink cow's milk. If she had said formula it might work, but she didn't. Given the opportunity to crack a joke about her non-opponent (nobody wins attacking a first lady, you just end up looking petty) she couldn't even craft one that is factually accurate.

It's lazy and demonstrates that she has little interest in being taken seriously as a presidential candidate. The only reason she continues to hint at running is so she can get gigs and make more money. She is a performer and her shtick is pretending to run for President. Sarah Palin is New Gingrich in drag.

[Serafina]

This:

Read it again, "It's no wonder Michelle Obama is telling everybody you better breastfeed your baby--yeah, you better--because the price of milk is so high right now!"
Babies do not drink cow's milk.

You know, the really, REALLY stupid part here is that she should KNOW this, given that she raised several children. Cow milk is not directly harmful to a baby, but it can cause anemia if instead of breastmilk. There is a good reason why there is specific formula milk if you do not want to/can not breastfeed.
She also ignores that, while formula milk provides adequate nutrition when compared to breast milk, it does not grant it's immunization benefits - which is why the WHO and other organisations recommend breastfeeding for at least 6 months.

So yes, why this is not offensive, it definetly qualifies as idiotic, especially from a woman who waves around her motherhood like that.

[salm]

How is factual correctness relevant when this is a joke? Jokes don´t need to be factually correct. They need to be funny, or do you think that barmen really talk to horses?

[General Zod]

How is factual correctness relevant when this is a joke? Jokes don´t need to be factually correct. They need to be funny, or do you think that barmen really talk to horses?

I'd say it's relevant to whether or not it's offensive. Being offensive is a separate issue from whether or not it's funny, since the most offensive jokes tend to be caricatures of what they're lampooning and riddled with misinformation or outright lies. But even then this particular joke barely makes the radar considering the sheer amount of other shit that's come out of her mouth.

[Serafina]

How is factual correctness relevant when this is a joke? Jokes don´t need to be factually correct. They need to be funny, or do you think that barmen really talk to horses?

That's one thing - it's obvious that the barman/horse-joke is not real, it relies mostly on visual puns and such.
This however, implies that you normally feed babies with cow milk. Which is just utterly stupid.

It's still a-okay-ish as a joke you could tell to your friend, like that bar-joke. As a political joke, it aims at an actual issue without being too rude. But that doesn't change that it's just plain stupid - at the least it makes her seem dumb for not knowing that you don't feed babies with cow milk. If she'd said "baby food" or somesuch, it would seem much less stupid.
It would be like saying "thank god for cheaper bikes (or whatever), if you look at the price of kerosene lately cars are just too expensive". Anyone who knows anything about cars knows that you don't give them kerosene. Anyone who knows anything about babies knows that you don't give them cow milk.

Well, you could give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that she is talking about formula milk, i am too uncertain whether "milk" in that context could refer to that or not.


So:
-not offensive
-actually has some good content
-potentially idiotic, depending on whether "milk" can be interpretated as "formula milk" or not.
An actual improvement for Palin - she now has the political talent of my little sister.

[salm]

It´s not relevant if cow milk is fed to children or not. She establishes an (obvious) fake connection between a social problem and an opposing political figure.

Your kerosene example doesn´t work. Cow milk can be associated with baby milk because it´s a similar substance and uses the same word. That´s all it takes to make a joke. If anything, the fact that babies are not fed with cow milk makes the joke better.

[General Zod]

It´s not relevant if cow milk is fed to children or not. She establishes an (obvious) fake connection between a social problem and an opposing political figure.

Your kerosene example doesn´t work. Cow milk can be associated with baby milk because it´s a similar substance and uses the same word. That´s all it takes to make a joke. If anything, the fact that babies are not fed with cow milk makes the joke better.

Since when is "just a joke" a defense for being stupid or offensive?

[fgalkin]

This:

Read it again, "It's no wonder Michelle Obama is telling everybody you better breastfeed your baby--yeah, you better--because the price of milk is so high right now!"
Babies do not drink cow's milk.

You know, the really, REALLY stupid part here is that she should KNOW this, given that she raised several children. Cow milk is not directly harmful to a baby, but it can cause anemia if instead of breastmilk. There is a good reason why there is specific formula milk if you do not want to/can not breastfeed.
She also ignores that, while formula milk provides adequate nutrition when compared to breast milk, it does not grant it's immunization benefits - which is why the WHO and other organisations recommend breastfeeding for at least 6 months.

So yes, why this is not offensive, it definetly qualifies as idiotic, especially from a woman who waves around her motherhood like that.

Isn't cow milk a component of baby formula? Wouldn't the increase of cow milk prices also lead to the increase in the cost of baby formula?

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[salm]

It´s not relevant if cow milk is fed to children or not. She establishes an (obvious) fake connection between a social problem and an opposing political figure.

Your kerosene example doesn´t work. Cow milk can be associated with baby milk because it´s a similar substance and uses the same word. That´s all it takes to make a joke. If anything, the fact that babies are not fed with cow milk makes the joke better.

Since when is "just a joke" a defense for being stupid or offensive?

No idea.

[Serafina]

Isn't cow milk a component of baby formula? Wouldn't the increase of cow milk prices also lead to the increase in the cost of baby formula?

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

Yes it is. I have no idea how much it would impact cost however - cow milk provides the "milk plasma" and the casein, two major components. But there are other ingredients (vitamins, various fats, artificial mil) sugar) which have nothing to do with cow milk, and i've no idea how much the production costs. However, formula milk is, IIRC, about easily more than five times as expensive as cow milk however, so the price of milk can't have that much of an impact.

[gizmojumpjet]

Isn't cow milk a component of baby formula? Wouldn't the increase of cow milk prices also lead to the increase in the cost of baby formula?

According to wikipedia, baby formula

is roughly based on a mother's milk at approximately one to three months postpartum.[2] The most commonly used infant formulas contain purified cow's milk whey and casein as a protein source, a blend of vegetable oils as a fat

So, yeah, the price of milk will effect the price of baby formula, and yeah, Palinphobes will still trip over themselves for an opportunity to go "Durr, Palin, durrrr."

[salm]

Oh, please, even if it impacted on the price of milk it would be irrelevant because people don´t decide whether to breastfeed their children because of a slight price increase or not. That´s what makes this a joke. The play on words (baby milk / cow milk) adds to it.

[Covenant]

That and the real reason to breastfeed your kid is because it'll give them a lot of the things they need for a healthy body and strong immune system. No matter how cheap milk is, you should be breastfeeding anyway, so this was a tone-deaf joke that didn't get at what the point of the issue was.

Even I know this stuff, so shouldn't she? It's not like "hurr durr palin evil" or anything, but it was kinda dumb. It's not like she joked about their green energy policies by pointing out issues in Libya for a cheap political point. This was just... a dumb joke? The parts in baby formula that come from milk are waste parts that are skimmed off during cheesemaking. The increase from milk prices would be minuscule.

[General Zod]

Oh, please, even if it impacted on the price of milk it would be irrelevant because people don´t decide whether to breastfeed their children because of a slight price increase or not. That´s what makes this a joke. The play on words (baby milk / cow milk) adds to it.

Nobody's denying that it's a joke so I'm not sure what you're arguing against here. As far as I can tell people are going "Man what a shitty/stupid joke." while you're going "But guys it's a joke!"

[salm]

Not at all.

People are saying that a factual error makes the joke itself bad while i´m saying that this factual error is intentional and actually one of the jokes mechanisms.

I haven´t judged the "moral" of this joke in this thread at all.

[General Zod]

Not at all.

People are saying that a factual error makes the joke itself bad while i´m saying that this factual error is intentional and actually one of the jokes mechanisms.

I'm failing to see why these are somehow mutually exclusive. Just because it's the joke's mechanism doesn't mean it's not bad.

[salm]

Define "bad". Do you mean morally wrong, unfunny joke or something different.

[General Zod]

Define "bad". Do you mean morally wrong, unfunny joke or something different.

Take your pick.

[salm]

Define "bad". Do you mean morally wrong, unfunny joke or something different.

Take your pick.

Look, Eion claimed the joke was unfunny because the mechanism didn´t work, or at least that´s what i get from:

"... she couldn't even craft one that is factually accurate."

I´m saying that the thing that makes this a joke is precisely this inaccuracy.