The words from below is from the red you sent me.
We are not judging her by "Obama's standards". She is saying to the American people that she is just an ordinary working class person.
By your average US citizen's standards, she is wealthy. Do you disagree with that? How much do you think the average US citizen is worth?
Why do you keep bringing Obama into this when he has nothing to do with this discussion.
"Sorry, her family is not "wealthy" even by Obama's standards" - Jet Gorgon.
Last edited by Sir Burr; 03-10-2008 at 03:59 PM.
Phuket - Veni Vidi Veni
are you new here?Originally Posted by Sir Burr
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin portrayed herself Tuesday as a champion of everyday people while noting her family's stock portfolio took a $20,000 hit last week.
"It's time that normal Joe Six-pack American is finally represented in the position of vice presidency," the Republican vice presidential candidate told radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt.
Palin said if she and John McCain win, they will "put government back on the side of the people of Joe Six-pack like me."
I doubt "Joe Sixpack" had $20,000 to lose in his stock portfolio.
I doubt most Americans would consider Biden wealthy, given his age and the fact that he worked his whole life to get to that point. If it weren't for his still high earning potential and probable pension, he'd be lower middle class.
My neighbor in DC was a postman and he retired with about what Biden's got now, most of it in home equity. He raised a few kids, went to work every day, and spent most of his vacations fly fishing in his backyard or reading travel magazines.
Wealth is relative to where you are in life, what your situation is, and where you live. A 25 year old single guy w/ no kids or obligations in rural America knocking down 70k a year is doing really well. A middle-age guy on the same salary in a major urban area with kids near college age, house and car payments out the ass, is probably stretched thin. Both will seem wealthy to the crackhead on the corner, who dreams of finding a hundred dollar bill in the sewer grate.
Palin's had a lot of success in the past 5-6 years but prior to that she and her husband were pulling down fairly average salaries (for Alaska) while supporting a larger than average family.
Given this, is her claim to have experienced what 'working class' families go through laughably false? No, not really. A tad overplayed, in the grand tradition of American class politics, but certainly not more ridiculous than Al Gore's 'down with the people' rhetoric of a few years back.
There's a definitional problem with the term 'working class', as well. 'Working class' would imply someone from the trades, not a beauty queen with a journalism degree who's worked a string of white collar jobs since graduation. A further complication is the fact that some people who earn a living through skilled manual labor are solidly middle class, financially and perhaps culturally as well.
At the end of the day, being 'working class' in the pejorative sense is at least in part a state of mind, a matter of what you identify with. Palin certainly identifies with the limited perspective / anti-intellectualism that the term 'Joe Sixpack' was coined to describe. A governor who needs a remedial crash course in current affairs? Bush II was supposed to be an aberration, not a trend setter. In this case I do believe she's being totally honest, if unintentionally so.
What a load or crock. You can find homes for 40k and 500k in any state . . .Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon
Would you like some links?
I live in remote Alaska accessible only by air. Diesel (home heating oil) is $6.09 a gallon. Gas is $5.39 a gallon. I bought 4 medium red onions for $9.09 the other day. Everything is expensive in bush Alaska. ("bush" meaning small communities and villages accessible only by plane). Houses, if available, always are in states of disrepair. A new small 3 bedroom home? Start at $250,000. Rents? a studio is 900/mo. Winters? -35 degrees below zero with winds at 35 miles per hour. A bit nippy! The cost of living is high. Fresh produce, dairy and meat are flown in daily. Fuel costs have added to food bills.
I like Palin because she isn't carrying the baggage the old white geezers do and she hasn't been in politics long enough to owe high level favors.
Any person that can manage a pregnancy, 4 kids, a husband, a governor job and shoot and dress a game animal, can certainly run the US if need be. I like her because she isn't from the old school.
Frankly, Obama reminds me too much of Carter who came from no where but had a huge toothy grin. Obama has 170 days experience running nothing. He is a junior senator with even less experience than Hillary and her party didn't want her experience and 18 million voted for her! What was that all about?????
Look at it another way. I hear Obama's parents both died young. He smokes.
That isn't good.
Biden has had two brain aneurysm's. If Obama and Biden die in office, then Nancy Pelosi is President.
I'd like to see a $40K house in Alaska.
Anybody here spent much time in Alaska? I think Earl has.
I've only visited Anchorage/Eilson for a few weeks and it's the most expensive place I've been to in the US. Far more than San Fran, Honolulu or LA.
Nice one . . .Originally Posted by Sue
(I extend my offer to you to supply links for real estate in the big white, Texpat)
I'd like to see a house in Alaska for $40K.Originally Posted by panama hat
Change your mind?Originally Posted by panama Hat
Plenty of them.Originally Posted by Texpat
Dog houses? Out houses? Igloos?
Here you make less sense than usual . . . so, would you like link or not? Ah, what the heck - here you go (The search criteria starts at 50k):Originally Posted by Texpat
www.AlaskaRealEstate.com - Advanced Property Search
(I believe Norton's palatial estate is on the upper end of the market)
She's reasonably well off. But then winners usually are. Losers don't usually get to become state governors. Would anyone prefer a loser?
Let's face it, she's not exactly in the corporate billionaire bracket.
Exactly what I was pointing out in Post #115 here: https://teakdoor.com/us-domestic-issu...terview-6.html
How has this become an exercise in mitigation: 'Well it's not as though Palin's a multi-millionaire!'. Nobody has claimed she is. The point is that she's misrepresenting herself by claiming the be an 'everday, working-class American' when she patently isn't.
Last edited by AntRobertson; 06-10-2008 at 06:27 PM.
Jimmy Carter was a self made man, a wealthy commodities broker with substantial agricultural interests also- which was why he was commonly slandered as a peanut farmer. Obama is an accomplished, cerebral lawyer and politician, but his wealth is as nothing compared to Carters when he ran for Pres.Originally Posted by Sue
I don't see much of a comparison, other than Democrat.
But hey- welcome to TD Sue. We don't get many visitors from Nome- thats like even colder than Fairbanks isn't it?
the average working class family in Alaska earns $57,071
Better put a political expert in the white house this time instead of an average working class person.
What is a cerebral lawyer? One who never earned a partnership? The guy is a blabber. He blabs for a living. The last thing we need is more Democrats wishing to impose social justice as envisioned by academics. Take a look at Fanny Mae and the derivatives designed to insure against the hellacious risk the loaning institutions took on.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)