Who knew that your donations to a campaign might be put toward outfitting the candidate in designer duds?!? The headline today read: "RNC Spends Thousands on Palin Clothes" and the article began by revealing that they (the Republican National Committee) have spent over $150,000 in under two months to dress Gov. Palin up for the campaign trail.
To put it in a perspective I can relate to personally, that's more than most teachers earn in a year...maybe two or three times as much.
The campaign issued a statement saying they can't believe that with the serious economic issues facing the country right now people are fussing over pantsuits and blouses, and tried to justify the excessive spending by saying it was always their intention that the clothing "go to a charitable purpose" after the campaign.
So I should feel better that she'll only be wearing the outfits once or twice before passing them on to some other less fortunate soul? What's she going to wear if (or, God help us, when) she becomes Vice President? Her old Alaskan Governor clothes? Or will she borrow something from the infamous emperor of fairy tales when she holds a press conference?
Oh, that's right. She doesn't hold press conferences.
22 October 2008
03 October 2008
If You Do One Thing Today...
With thanks to Leta Joy's blog, which I connect to through Bab's blog...see? That exponential thing is happening already (think Prell commercial). If you care about the election, go to this link and watch THIS!
(I tried to embed the video, but apparently I have not yet attained that level of blogger sophistication...)
I think I have five friends...
(I tried to embed the video, but apparently I have not yet attained that level of blogger sophistication...)
I think I have five friends...
Did Palin's Performance Pass the Test?
That depends on which test you mean...
After last night's vice presidential debate, the buzz among those interviewed as part of post-debate coverage was that Palin had exceeded expectations. Not a hard thing to do when those expectations are set barely an inch above an absolute disaster. What happened to the high standards constantly called for by educators, politicians, and the general public, the high standards espoused by supporters of No Child Left Behind?
Political leanings aside, if we grade Governor Palin's debate performance on the standards used to grade the average essay test or English paper, she hardly earns a passing mark.
Here's how I would score Palin's performance using the criteria by which I evaluate my students' writing:
Voice: she might earn the high marks in this category if I were looking solely to hear her authentic voice. Clearly, in her responses peppered with gems like "heckuva," "doggone," and "you betcha," she was speaking with the voice that we believe to be authentically hers from the few brief unscripted appearances she's made in the past few weeks. I would have to question, however, whether such down home, folksy, and informal remarks -- beginning with her pre-debate question to Biden, "Can I call you Joe?" -- are appropriate fare for a national debate. I mean, come on. If Biden had called her Sarah, who wouldn't have taken him to task for being utterly condescending?
Word Choice: Palin's trademark words --the same ones mentioned above -- earn her a low mark on Diction. I almost felt like I was sitting around Mayberry or eavesdropping on a conversation from one of those good, clean, family-oriented TV shows that were so popular in the 1950's. "You betcha, darlin', now why dontcha just quit frettin' and go on out and have yourself a good ol' time like we do in Alaska?" Is that how she would sit down and give her buddy Vlad in Russia a talking to?
Tone: for snide, sneering attacks on Obama's and Biden's records punctuated with a wrinkle of her nose or a syrupy sweet smile, I give her high marks. On the other hand, at times I wasn't sure if I was listening to a vice presidential candidate or my mother scolding me for coming home after curfew.
Answering the Question: there's no question she'd fail an essay test based on her inability -- or unwillingness -- to respond to the questions asked. Allow me to provide some supporting evidence for this claim:
1) Halfway through Palin's response to the question about her "Achilles heel," I forgot what the original question was and had to ask my husband, who had also forgotten.
2) When asked whether she believes the Vice President is part of the Executive Branch or if she subscribes to Dick Cheney's broader definition of the VP's powers, she gave her opinion (the latter), and then proceeded to discuss her qualifications for VP based on her executive experience as governor of Alaska. A valid segue in a contest of word association, but hardly relevant to the meaning of "Executive" in the context of Gwen Ifill's question.
3) Her response to the question about Iran or Pakistan being the greatest threat to our national security turned into a pandering plea for the pro-Israel vote. Florida, anyone?
4) The time she basically told Gwen and the American people that she didn't want to address whatever subject had been posed by the question; she wanted to (and did) talk about energy (translation: oil).
Overall in this category, an A for redirecting the questions to fit her prepared remarks; an F for staying on topic.
Ideas and Development: for the sake of clarity, I've divided this area into three subtopics.
1) Specifics: the words I (and other English teachers) write most often in the margins of their students' papers are "Be more specific" or the self-referential "Vague." The only time Palin got close to offering any specifics was when she talked about drilling for oil.
2) Repetition: Palin began to recycle her main points not more than 20 minutes into the debate; most noticeable was the repetition of age old catchwords like "raise taxes" and "reform," not to mention her favorite word to describe herself and her running mate: "mav-rick." As I tell my students, asserting the same point repeatedly, even in different words, does not necessarily make it so.
3) Regurgitation: An A+ to Palin's coaches, who spent the past five weeks preparing her in virtual isolation. But if my students spat back textbook answers in the manner that Palin recited her scripted answers, their grades would surely suffer. Is critical thinking not still held to be one of the cornerstones of an American education?
Conventions: Let's start with punctuation. Yes, it still counts in speeches, and it was notably lacking in some of Palin's 90-second responses. There is a difference between a long sentence that employs multiple clauses or parallel structure and a run-on. Also, too, where redundancy is concerned, Palin tended to repeat herself and say the same thing more than once throughout the night during the whole debate.
Presentation: The one place I'd say Governor Palin earned an A+. She looked sharp and played to the camera like a pro, which I would expect of anyone with telejournalism experience on their resume. But could she do as well speaking extemporaneously, without a script or five weeks of coaching, which her duties as Vice President would likely require?
Her final grade? A "C" by the most generous of standards; a borderline pass based on NCLB standards. But then we've been here before.
After last night's vice presidential debate, the buzz among those interviewed as part of post-debate coverage was that Palin had exceeded expectations. Not a hard thing to do when those expectations are set barely an inch above an absolute disaster. What happened to the high standards constantly called for by educators, politicians, and the general public, the high standards espoused by supporters of No Child Left Behind?
Political leanings aside, if we grade Governor Palin's debate performance on the standards used to grade the average essay test or English paper, she hardly earns a passing mark.
Here's how I would score Palin's performance using the criteria by which I evaluate my students' writing:
Voice: she might earn the high marks in this category if I were looking solely to hear her authentic voice. Clearly, in her responses peppered with gems like "heckuva," "doggone," and "you betcha," she was speaking with the voice that we believe to be authentically hers from the few brief unscripted appearances she's made in the past few weeks. I would have to question, however, whether such down home, folksy, and informal remarks -- beginning with her pre-debate question to Biden, "Can I call you Joe?" -- are appropriate fare for a national debate. I mean, come on. If Biden had called her Sarah, who wouldn't have taken him to task for being utterly condescending?
Word Choice: Palin's trademark words --the same ones mentioned above -- earn her a low mark on Diction. I almost felt like I was sitting around Mayberry or eavesdropping on a conversation from one of those good, clean, family-oriented TV shows that were so popular in the 1950's. "You betcha, darlin', now why dontcha just quit frettin' and go on out and have yourself a good ol' time like we do in Alaska?" Is that how she would sit down and give her buddy Vlad in Russia a talking to?
Tone: for snide, sneering attacks on Obama's and Biden's records punctuated with a wrinkle of her nose or a syrupy sweet smile, I give her high marks. On the other hand, at times I wasn't sure if I was listening to a vice presidential candidate or my mother scolding me for coming home after curfew.
Answering the Question: there's no question she'd fail an essay test based on her inability -- or unwillingness -- to respond to the questions asked. Allow me to provide some supporting evidence for this claim:
1) Halfway through Palin's response to the question about her "Achilles heel," I forgot what the original question was and had to ask my husband, who had also forgotten.
2) When asked whether she believes the Vice President is part of the Executive Branch or if she subscribes to Dick Cheney's broader definition of the VP's powers, she gave her opinion (the latter), and then proceeded to discuss her qualifications for VP based on her executive experience as governor of Alaska. A valid segue in a contest of word association, but hardly relevant to the meaning of "Executive" in the context of Gwen Ifill's question.
3) Her response to the question about Iran or Pakistan being the greatest threat to our national security turned into a pandering plea for the pro-Israel vote. Florida, anyone?
4) The time she basically told Gwen and the American people that she didn't want to address whatever subject had been posed by the question; she wanted to (and did) talk about energy (translation: oil).
Overall in this category, an A for redirecting the questions to fit her prepared remarks; an F for staying on topic.
Ideas and Development: for the sake of clarity, I've divided this area into three subtopics.
1) Specifics: the words I (and other English teachers) write most often in the margins of their students' papers are "Be more specific" or the self-referential "Vague." The only time Palin got close to offering any specifics was when she talked about drilling for oil.
2) Repetition: Palin began to recycle her main points not more than 20 minutes into the debate; most noticeable was the repetition of age old catchwords like "raise taxes" and "reform," not to mention her favorite word to describe herself and her running mate: "mav-rick." As I tell my students, asserting the same point repeatedly, even in different words, does not necessarily make it so.
3) Regurgitation: An A+ to Palin's coaches, who spent the past five weeks preparing her in virtual isolation. But if my students spat back textbook answers in the manner that Palin recited her scripted answers, their grades would surely suffer. Is critical thinking not still held to be one of the cornerstones of an American education?
Conventions: Let's start with punctuation. Yes, it still counts in speeches, and it was notably lacking in some of Palin's 90-second responses. There is a difference between a long sentence that employs multiple clauses or parallel structure and a run-on. Also, too, where redundancy is concerned, Palin tended to repeat herself and say the same thing more than once throughout the night during the whole debate.
Presentation: The one place I'd say Governor Palin earned an A+. She looked sharp and played to the camera like a pro, which I would expect of anyone with telejournalism experience on their resume. But could she do as well speaking extemporaneously, without a script or five weeks of coaching, which her duties as Vice President would likely require?
Her final grade? A "C" by the most generous of standards; a borderline pass based on NCLB standards. But then we've been here before.
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