George Will: 'Two Things Are Infinite - The Universe and Media Attention to Sarah Palin'
With rumors flying around this Memorial Day weekend that former Alaska governor Sarah Palin is about to toss her hat in the ring of Republican presidential candidates, it was not surprising the Roundtable segment of Sunday's "This Week" began with this issue.
Even less surprising was that George Will kicked off the segment with something clever to say about it (video follows with transcript and commentary):
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, HOST: Today, Republican presidential candidates are re-learning a tough lesson: No one steals a show like Sarah Palin. The former vice presidential candidate with a fondness for holiday weekend political theater is launching a new round of speculation with her "One Nation" bus tour. And here to read the tea leaves are ABC's George Will, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, the former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie, and ABC's senior political correspondent Jonathan Karl.
Welcome, everybody.
George, what is up? Is Sarah Palin going to run?
GEORGE WILL: I don't know.
AMANPOUR: What do you think?
WILL: Two things are infinite. One is the expanding universe, and the other is media attention to Sarah Palin, who's a genius at manipulating it.
Indeed she is.
In fact, at this point she probably doesn't care whether she gets good press or bad press.
As long as the media keep talking about her, the more money she makes and the more influence she has.
It's got to be galling them - isn't it grand?
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Comments
~Yes
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Sun, 05/29/2011 - 4:38pm.
Yes, it is. I see lots of popcorn in my future.
Must frost the insiders
Submitted by katiejane on Sun, 05/29/2011 - 4:39pm.
that Palin just won't do what they think she should.
Watched this on TV
Submitted by zenman1661 on Sun, 05/29/2011 - 4:43pm.
Two of my favorite pundits to watch are Will and Krauthammer for their intelligent analysis and wit. And I feel Amanpour deserves some credit this week for having only one clueless liberal out of the four round table panelists. I hope that trend continues.
Neither Is Conservative
Submitted by BW222 on Mon, 05/30/2011 - 12:08pm.
Hopefully you don't confuse either Will or Krathammer with conservatives. Will is an establishment Republican and Krathammer is a neocon. Will supported the Panama Canal deal,upports amnesty and opposes the Second Amendment. If you remember, in 1980 Will supported Howard Baker, then Bush41 and dideverything he could to attempt to deny Reagan the nomination.
You are wrong
Submitted by StanO360 on Mon, 05/30/2011 - 8:20pm.
Will and Krauthammer may not be perfect models of conservatism. But they both are well-spoken apologists of conservative values. Will in particular is a bright light of reason in the editorial section of the paper.
She Also Draws Away Media Fire From The Other Candidates
Submitted by Avitar on Sun, 05/29/2011 - 4:45pm.
They would like to be telling people that Ron Paul is a nut who really does not understand money or that Herman Cain did not create jobs or do a reasonably outstanding job at the Fed. (He was not there that long and I am not sure that it is possible to do a "good" job at the Fed).
She is not going to surprise them with huge new accomplishments. Her accomplishments that they are covering up already like the WMD that Bush took out of Iraq they are confident they can keep hidden.
She might, however; get some outstanding Republicans to run for Congress next year from the Northeast. The Media cannot have her running free in their last redoubt so focus on her to the exclusion of the rest of the country.
In the year 2525, if anyone
Submitted by Jack Bauer on Sun, 05/29/2011 - 4:44pm.
In the year 2525, if anyone is still alive...
Sane people will still be wondering how is it that the losing 2008 VP candidate of a hopeless campaign by a hapless incompetent candidate, determined to shoot himself in the head....
How is it that she STILL manages to provoke more media scrutiny and a deeper anal examination than than the actual President of the United States?
All of the above Mr Obama? --- How about ALL OF THE BELOW, instead.
Love me some Sarah Palin for a few reasons
Submitted by Iowa Boy on Sun, 05/29/2011 - 4:54pm.
I think she'd make a helluva POTUS. She makes allegedly smart media people say and write some really entertainingly stupid stuff. Also, she looks freaking hawt in black leather. Anyone see her on the Rolling Thunder Ride? Just sayin'.
As Someone
Submitted by Bob K on Mon, 05/30/2011 - 8:43am.
who, until fairly recently, spent their entire adult life in Alaska (32 years), I like her a lot. But to be honest, I really do not believe she could win a Presidential election. There are way too many reasons why. The whole "quit her job" b.s. would be a big campaign millstone. In Alaska, the reasons for her doing so and the fact that with Parnell to take over and carry on it was not like she left the citizens in the lurch are understood. Outside of Alaska, not so much. She is a liberal target as much for her ability to raise money and move issues into the limelight as much, or more than her possibility of winning the White House. And I do not make much of politicians like McCain saying she could win. I am not taking sage wisdom from the clown who lost the last time. He is now my Senator y the way. BUT.....my opinion can change. Especially if certain things occur to worsen the current economic situation, and if the GOP starts pushing some party hack like Romney in a attempt to shove another "they'll vote for who we tell 'em to" candidate down our throats. They do not seem to have learned that those days are over for most of us.
You are right, she looks good in leathers, though I thought the helmet looked like it was perched on her head. That was only due to the choice of helmet style.
I love it!
Submitted by Order270 on Sun, 05/29/2011 - 6:04pm.
The MSM hates it when she talks. They hate it when she doesn't. She isn't going to run. She's too smart for that. She knows how effective she is just being a cheerleader on the sidelines as the parade goes by. She's still a babe, but as she begins to hit the wall, I guarantee more and more people will rip her apart for that alone.
Attention = attack
Submitted by MaximusBraveheart on Tue, 05/31/2011 - 1:47pm.
The kind of attention they give her is not exactly the normal good attention that one would expect from the word. She is unfairly attacked from all sides like hungry piranha.
Yes she is a genius in how she can turn such bad attention & intentions, into something good for her. And no, the RINOS don't like her interfering with their plans.
-- Maximusbraveheart -- Is TRUTH knowable? Moral Relativism is the abandonment of Truth. Truth is knowable. Truth conforms to Reality. Reality is observable by evidence & witness in this day & from history. Relativism is Sesame Street play land.
too smart by half
Submitted by Rackie on Sun, 05/29/2011 - 6:19pm.
tail wags dog...you'd think the nuts at the nets would have figured that out by now. she must get the giggles every time... and of course....ca ching!
And, oddly enough, this is
Submitted by Free Stinker on Sun, 05/29/2011 - 6:55pm.
And, oddly enough, this is probably the nicest thing George WIll has said about Sarah Palin
/// Sarah Palin Fan since July 11, 2007 /// خال
A third thing is infinite:
Submitted by lsudolemite on Sun, 05/29/2011 - 8:12pm.
the complete intellectual vacuity of liberals.
Rush and Sarah
Submitted by MidAmerica on Sun, 05/29/2011 - 8:32pm.
Rush and Sarah are the two people who saved the Conservative perspective within the Republican Party after a 'disastrous' defeat by a few percentage points by an amateur candidate supported by the media. Instead of doubling down and reloading many 'smart' Republicans thought that obama was the wave of the future and the Republicans had better go along or be swept aside by history.
How did these people earn the title of 'smart'?
But just like Rush, Sarah never flinched, she reloaded. And still the 'smart' Republicans don't want her. They still want a candidate who 'understands' how things get done.
Madam President
Submitted by MidAmerica on Sun, 05/29/2011 - 9:51pm.
oh to dream!
Commander-in-Chief Sarah Palin
Submitted by Free Stinker on Sun, 05/29/2011 - 10:55pm.
Indeed.
Madam President, Commander-in-Chief
/// Sarah Palin Fan since July 11, 2007 /// خال
When you roll without thunder
Submitted by MidAmerica on Sun, 05/29/2011 - 10:03pm.
dring dring!!.....dring dring!!
No scandals?
Submitted by gwalt on Mon, 05/30/2011 - 9:06am.
My sister recently commented on Larry Sabatos analysis on why Obama is still high in ratings: No scandals. I said really? How about Tony Rezko, Rev Wright, Petrobras, Vera Baker, Andy Stern, Trumka, Soros, thousands of Ocare waivers to politically conncted, Israel speech, drilling money for Mexico in the Gulf, snubbed by Lech Walesa, the Queens toast, no invite to Royal wedding and on and on. The REAL reason there is no " scandal" is the media ignore it. She works for the liberal media and I explained to her that I watched -1-1/2 hours of LSM at a car dealership waiting for service and felt like I had not learned or was informed of ANYTHING. I read WSJ every day and knew there we're some major bad news out there but you would not find it in LSM.
Pitiful. Sad. Yet expected.
"A lot of briefing for a 2 hr. special with Dan Rather. Saw the show & wonder why we bothered". Ronald Reagan
There are many, many more.
Submitted by Benjamin on Mon, 05/30/2011 - 6:03pm.
Except of course the media won't cover them. How about:
- The firing of Inspector General Gerald Walprin, when he was about to uncover corruption;
- Violating bankruptcy laws, to reward the UAW, when GM and Chrysler collapsed;
- When GM had to close dealerships, an IG report stated that the Obama administration "imposed" its own list of closings on top of theirs. The Obama list was distinctly political in nature.
- Refusing to prosecute the New Black Panthers case, where testimony revealed the Justice Department refuses to look at cases when a white person is the victim;
- The whole "gunrunners to Mexico" scandal that Darrel Issa is currently investigating;
- The EPA seeking to circumvent Congress and the courts by attempting to impose carbon taxes and other climate change regulations;
- Violating a Federal court order by imposing the moratorium on drilling in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico;
- In order to reward its union friends, using the NLRB to prevent a private company, Boeing, from expanding to South Carolina.
I could go on. Hearings have been held in many instances, but the media refuse to cover. I wonder why? That's a rhetorical question, as I think I know the answer.
Picking a finite nit
Submitted by freecitizen on Mon, 05/30/2011 - 9:42am.
An expanding universe is by definition finite not infinite. When someone starts a thought with such bad logic, you can probably discount the entirety of what they are going to say.
It sounds smart when you first hear it until you actually think about what he said. And since the conversation is not about astrophysics that part of his statement gets no scrutiny.
In this FINITE universe where both time and space is said to have a beginning and end, you will find precious few examples of true infinity.
Besides if Sarah Palin had infinite press attention, some of it would have to be positive, since in infinity all things can and do exist, and we're just not seeing that.
The answer is 42.
Submitted by Jack Bauer on Mon, 05/30/2011 - 3:51pm.
An expanding universe is by definition finite not infinite.
Depends what it's expanding in to, surely?
The balloon analogy is used most often. If the entire matter of the universe is expanding away, then surely it is, in effect, infinite?
All of the above Mr Obama? --- How about ALL OF THE BELOW, instead.
42
Submitted by Agnostic on Mon, 05/30/2011 - 4:03pm.
How many roads must a man walk down?
Even the mice and dolphins know this.
Careful, or I'll have to
Submitted by Jack Bauer on Mon, 05/30/2011 - 4:07pm.
Careful, or I'll have to quote the Vogon Dylan
All of the above Mr Obama? --- How about ALL OF THE BELOW, instead.
Vogons
Submitted by Agnostic on Tue, 05/31/2011 - 8:23am.
I'll stick the final thoughts of the flower pot!
"Curiously enough, the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias as it fell was Oh no, not again."
It is how I feel whenever a new political story breaks and it is either buried to protect the DNC or blasted to attack anyone else.
Day by Day captured my thoughts on the voting strategy by the media and DNC
Will Makes a Ton from His Liberal Masters
Submitted by BW222 on Mon, 05/30/2011 - 12:02pm.
Like all other "House Conservatives," George Will has become very wealthy serving ABC News, the Washington Post and other liberal organizations. He knows exactly how long his leash is and doesn't like to have it yanked. Like a good lapdog, he prefers being rewarded by his liberal masters.
George Will
Submitted by Benjamin on Mon, 05/30/2011 - 5:14pm.
has been sitting on his butt inside the beltway for way too long. He is a perfect example of the snobbish GOP establishment elites - who have disdain for Sarah Palin.
Remember - back in 1979, George Will was the sage who predicted that Ronald Reagan's campaign would never catch on with the American people.
Sarah right now is driving the media crazy. She won't release the itinerary for her bus tour, so they're relegated to tagging along behind her. I love it! :)
Ahoy Noel!
Submitted by Radical Reductionist on Tue, 05/31/2011 - 1:51am.
Noel, you are having way too much fun with this!