tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post8417768410912108219..comments2024-03-28T16:22:14.888-07:00Comments on Steve Sailer: iSteve: How smart is Sarah Palin?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-65132345564188487832008-11-21T20:56:00.000-08:002008-11-21T20:56:00.000-08:00Is Palin even Scotch-Irish? Her maiden name is Hea...<I>Is Palin even Scotch-Irish? Her maiden name is Heath, which is English.</I><BR/><BR/>In my experience, Heath is invariably a Jewish name, both in the Ivy League and in Texas, but the sample size is very small.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-85007516611848342732008-11-21T20:31:00.000-08:002008-11-21T20:31:00.000-08:00The American right may as well throw in the towel ...The American right may as well throw in the towel right now, bow out with a bit of grace, if they're going to pin their hopes on <I>Sarah Palin</I>. Christ Almighty, Palin! I can't believe she's even under consideration. Words can't describe how insane it is. Just <I>forget it</I>. America is 100% toast.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-92224641659921255522008-11-21T15:54:00.000-08:002008-11-21T15:54:00.000-08:00By the way, what is there that is "conservative" a...By the way, what is there that is "conservative" about Palin? Consider the basic fact that she is female. In a conservative world, women would not even be voting, let alone running for office. The very fact that this woman has a political career is proof of liberalism's total victory. <BR/><BR/>This whole society has absorbed and internalized the liberal worldview, so that we think in liberal terms even as we call ourselves conservatives. <BR/><BR/>The culture war ended long ago. The conservatives lost.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-65559737429472478832008-11-21T12:32:00.000-08:002008-11-21T12:32:00.000-08:00He just can't man up and admit that recent high-pr...<I>He just can't man up and admit that recent high-profile Republicans are just not up to the task. </I><BR/><BR/>I think Sailer has been quite up front about the inadequacies of the recent Republican loser at the top of the ticket, and the one in office.<BR/><BR/>As for Sarah, you guys gotta see the famous Turkey Video (altavista it!). She does a great, if wordy, interview with local Alaska newsmedia , in front of Turkey's being bled out. It's driving the libs apesh*t, I love it. <BR/><BR/>It sums up why I love Palin, she is real. Liberals, and I suspect a lot of establishment conservatives, want the turkey on the table but don't want to think about how it got there. Our Sarah is right out there where they are being killed, and doesn't care who knows it. <BR/><BR/>BTW, she seems to have put policies in place to ensure Alaska against a drop in oil prices. Nothing fancy like hedging, but merely saving some surplus revenue. What a f-in moron, eh?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-9049188828385275572008-11-21T08:37:00.000-08:002008-11-21T08:37:00.000-08:00"Did any candidate this year in either party have ..."Did any candidate this year in either party have more more smarts, success, or demonstrated competence than Mitt Romney?"<BR/><BR/>No.<BR/><BR/>But Romney was cursed by one overwhelming factor that will probably prevent him, or anyone like him, from being president for a long, long time...He's a northeasterner, and the country at large no longer trusts this type of person. It's really the only thing that Romney, Hillary Clinton, Dukaukis, Bill Bradley, Guiliani, Howard Dean, John Kerry and Ted Kennedy (among others) have in common. <BR/><BR/>When Al Gore lost the presidency,the SWPL crowd got out their pitchforks and torches over the supposed unfair result, but 4 years later there was no great pain over John Kerry undergoing the same fate, the chorus from where I sat seemed to be; "well Kerry got hosed, but he's kind of a prick anyway, who cares."<BR/><BR/>At this point in our history, we tend to vote for politicians who come across as warm and folksy rather than necessarily competent. I think this may also be the reason that Obama was anointed rather than Deval Patrick who seems a much more worthy candidate for president.Truthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17286755693955361308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-30921859351135126592008-11-21T06:47:00.000-08:002008-11-21T06:47:00.000-08:00"I was shocked to find out the other day that Roge..."I was shocked to find out the other day that Roger Daltry of The Who has 8 children, five of whom are illegitimate. This fact is completely unremarkable to his fans or those interested in rock music."<BR/> <BR/> Rock stars and promiscuous men in general are likely to have illegitimate children all over the place. I'm sure "8" is a low-ball figure. Some of the groupies he was with have probably forgotten enough they couldn't nail him.<BR/><BR/>"Children are more central to a mothers' identity."<BR/> <BR/> In general. However, I've known mothers who claimed they didn't feel "more of woman" because of having kids. I've know even more who think the same even if they don't say it.<BR/> Pregnancy and childbirth are more involved activities than the sex act, but the long-term process of raising children, i.e. "motheringhooding," may or may not be more involved than "fatherhooding." Usually it is, normally it is, but not necessarily. <BR/> Still, it is true that people in general connect a woman's identity with her offspring more than they connect a man's.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-59825764635018455342008-11-20T23:29:00.000-08:002008-11-20T23:29:00.000-08:00Steve Sailer has a fixation on "proving" that dumb...<I>Steve Sailer has a fixation on "proving" that dumb or incurious Republicans are not any dumber than their Democrat competitors. We saw it last election and now this one...He just can't man up and admit that recent high-profile Republicans are just not up to the task.</I><BR/><BR/>Did <I>any</I> candidate this year in either party have more more smarts, success, or demonstrated competence than Mitt Romney?<BR/><BR/>The problem is not the Republicans don't have smart candidates - the problem is that they end up picking someone else.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-31842649692507704602008-11-20T20:36:00.000-08:002008-11-20T20:36:00.000-08:00I wonder how many points gets shaved off of a whit...I wonder how many points gets shaved off of a white politician's verbal IQ because he or she cannot say the correct and obvious answer to a question but has to use goo goo speak instead. It is almost like someone who has to speak two languages.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-70371051441473927472008-11-20T19:48:00.000-08:002008-11-20T19:48:00.000-08:00Steve Sailer has a fixation on "proving" that dumb...Steve Sailer has a fixation on "proving" that dumb or incurious Republicans are not any dumber than their Democrat competitors. We saw it last election and now this one.<BR/><BR/>Like the childhood refrain, "I know you are but what am I!"<BR/><BR/>He just can't man up and admit that recent high-profile Republicans are just not up to the task. Instead he sets out to attack the other side as "not that great, either." <BR/><BR/>The tactic is intellectually passive-aggressive.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-10402279177945393962008-11-20T18:44:00.000-08:002008-11-20T18:44:00.000-08:00As for Michelle Obama, I'd say her IQ is probably ...<I>As for Michelle Obama, I'd say her IQ is probably between 110 and 120, but she expects to be treated like it's 20 points higher.</I><BR/><BR/>I find it hard to believe Michelle is punching in that weight class.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-82197928872220896782008-11-20T17:16:00.000-08:002008-11-20T17:16:00.000-08:00Is Palin even Scotch-Irish? Her maiden name is He...Is Palin even Scotch-Irish? Her maiden name is Heath, which is English. (Possibly some Scots have the surname, which does have a vaguely Scottish sound, but the ones listed on Wikipedia are all English, unless American or Canadian.) <BR/><BR/>Her mother's maiden name was Sheeran, which sounds Celtic, but probably southern Irish (Sarah was baptized Catholic although raised Protestant) rather than Scotch-Irish. Several posts above may be devoted to a red herrring.James Kabalahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02335302113772004687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-34006575184341284922008-11-20T15:14:00.000-08:002008-11-20T15:14:00.000-08:00He probably would've kept more secular conservativ...<I>He probably would've kept more secular conservatives in the party.</I><BR/><BR/>Perhaps. But Romney would have probably lost Georgia and almost certainly Missouri. I guarantee you Romney will never win the Republican nomination. It just ain't going to happen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-19335252274398758592008-11-20T15:01:00.000-08:002008-11-20T15:01:00.000-08:00Why do I get the feeling that if Sarah Palin were ...Why do I get the feeling that if Sarah Palin were a frumpy liberal Democrat, Steve would be going on and on about what a dummy she is?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-49828537271376968952008-11-20T15:00:00.000-08:002008-11-20T15:00:00.000-08:00"I think many high-IQ non-Euros in general, and ma..."I think many high-IQ non-Euros in general, and maybe even Eastern Euros are susceptable to the syndrome of "I don't care about any abstract topics unless there's a tangible payoff."<BR/><BR/>Sounds like you've dated a few black chicks! You just described half of Atlanta.Truthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17286755693955361308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-14103974750529435792008-11-20T14:42:00.000-08:002008-11-20T14:42:00.000-08:00Sarah Palin's IQ is probably around 100, though I'...Sarah Palin's IQ is probably around 100, though I'd say 95% confidence interval it's between 95 and 110. Regardless of where it is in this range, I do not think she is fit for higher office. A person with an IQ of 110 is not that smart, though such an individual may *seem* smart if s/he is very studious and/or savvy. Sarah Palin does not seem to be either of the above.<BR/><BR/>As for Michelle Obama, I'd say her IQ is probably between 110 and 120, but she expects to be treated like it's 20 points higher. <BR/><BR/>This may be sour grapes from a politically obsessed male who likes really beautiful females, but there seems to be a lot of very attractive females with 110-130 IQs who are pretty vacuous unless their @$$ is on the line (eg, they need to know something to succeed in school or work, like studying Calculus or OChem to get into medicine). Michelle Obama may suffer from this syndrome as well.<BR/><BR/>I think many high-IQ non-Euros in general, and maybe even Eastern Euros are susceptable to the syndrome of "I don't care about any abstract topics unless there's a tangible payoff." I think this intellectual apathy may be a lot of the reason both Eastern/Southern Europe and East Asia have had a hard time escaping from corruption, oligarchy, and dictatorship. Of course power worship, which I have definitely become more guilty of myself over the last few years*, could play a role here too.<BR/><BR/>*My increasing power worship is why I have adopted the handle "O'Brien" after the villain from <I>1984</I>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-41647239258049542542008-11-20T14:24:00.001-08:002008-11-20T14:24:00.001-08:00Based on my observations of the two I strongly bel...Based on my observations of the two I strongly believe that Sarah Palin had a higher SAT score than Barack Obama.<BR/><BR/>Does anyone agree with me?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-90135393729901014122008-11-20T14:24:00.000-08:002008-11-20T14:24:00.000-08:00"Scotch-Irish have an average IQ of 90. Repeat tha...<I>"Scotch-Irish have an average IQ of 90. Repeat that "five times in the mirror every morning"..."</I><BR/><BR/>I doubt this was meant to be serious. But my guess is that Scots-Irish and people of Celtic ancestry do have slightly lower average IQ than most other European groups. I say this based on the lower educational achievements of those who claim Irish descent vs. those who claim Central or Eastern European ancestry.<BR/><BR/>At the very least Anglo-Celtics have the high rates of alcoholism and addiction and may be more susceptable to psychological problems than other Euros. In fact I'd blame my susceptability to drugs and alcohol on having a substantial percentage of Anglo-Celtic ancestry. I would guess also that social liberalism (sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll) has been worse for Anglo-Celtics than other Europeans; in contrast, Ashkenazi Jews and East Asians seem almost immune to social liberalism/libertine-ism. This would certainly help to explain why heavily Anglo-Celtic middle Americans are so socially right-wing, while Jews and East Asians are so leftist. The lingering old-world values of Asian immigrants, as opposed to the more SWPL-type values of American-born Asians, may also explain why Asians are moving leftward.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-5706502814567714412008-11-20T14:12:00.000-08:002008-11-20T14:12:00.000-08:00OK. The animosity towards Palin is obviously way ...OK. The animosity towards Palin is obviously way out of proportion to any potential harm she can cause. I'd like to take this opportunity to delve into the causes of the hostility that has been focused on a woman whose grasp may have overreached her reach or reach, grasp - whatever. <BR/><BR/>The truth is only a minority of our politicians from congress to executive, elected to appointed are smarter than average. I think most here would agree that the truly gifted (with the exception of those altruistic Pisces types) are too rational to endure the loss of privacy and possibly lower salary required to hold public office. That leaves us with people too dumb to weigh the consequences and sociopaths who've been training for a life of crime since infancy, i.e. they know how to lie effectively and cover their tracks.<BR/><BR/>I think Palin would've shown better judgment by waiting another 4 years before entering national politics. Blinded by ambition, she hitched her wagon to McCain's falling star and paid dearly for it. That being said, I really don't care for higher IQ politicians who do nothing but seek their own selfish interests while in office. And those who would choose a candidate based on IQ alone without taking into account integrity or underlying belief system are naive if not dumber than they think they are.<BR/><BR/>Also, what's the churlishness about Romney. There won't be another election for 4 years so I suggest you stop nurturing hostility towards those you blame for McCain's nomination. If you seep your organs in anger, you will end up with stress related illnesses that bring on early death. You can also stop blaming me synechdochically as a member of the supposed subculture that cost Romey the nomination as I was as upset as a Mormon when Romney's campaign ended. Maybe I'm the exception that proves the rule here. Nevertheless, it ain't me so aim elsewhere.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-45129618800860666442008-11-20T13:57:00.000-08:002008-11-20T13:57:00.000-08:00"why did hillary end up doing law in gawdawful ark..."why did hillary end up doing law in gawdawful arkansas? well, one reason MIGHT be that....she flunked the DC (i believe it was DC) the DC bar exam. what a stupid woman! right?"<BR/><BR/>I don't care much for Bill's worse half, but you have to give the Devil her due. She was a merit scholar, which means she performed in the top 1% of PSAT (which is basically an IQ test) takers, which is a much more select group than the general American population.<BR/><BR/>Having taken (and passed) two States' bar exams, my observation on the bar exam is that stupid people cannot pass the bar (because they lack analytic ability and generally also lack good memories), but smart people can fail it if they're not focused. (BTW, according to Prof. Sander's study, only 45% of blacks who enter law school pass the bar on their first attempt as opposed to over 78% of whites. Even after multiple tries, only 57% of blacks succeed.) A friend of mine from the same law school (a top tier law school with a median LSAT in the high 160s) sat for the same two bar exams that I did. She is not stupid by any stretch of the imagination, but she was unfocused and failed one of them. (She did, however, pass it on the second try.) An even more noteworthy example of this is Stanford dean, Kathleen Sullivan, who failed the CA bar because she assumed that as a law prof. she didn't have to cram for it. In truth, no matter how smart you are, bar exams demand that you memorize a large amount of info about a whole lot of areas of law (usually state specific). Then you have to be able to issue spot and apply what you've memorized to your analysis of the given facts. If you don't put in a whole grunt work memorizing the rules, it doesn't really matter how good your analytical ability is.<BR/><BR/>"She even manages to makes Michelle Obama look like an intellectual."<BR/><BR/>Let's not get carried away here people. I doubt Michelle LaVaughn "I have a little problem with [highly g-loaded] tests but I still deserve to be here you gotta problem with that honkey? and I'd like to rip out Bill Clinton's eyes because he said my husband, Stinky's, plan to pull out of Iraq was a fairy tale" Robinson Obama" is any smarter than Sarah Palin.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-63202205258367588162008-11-20T13:25:00.000-08:002008-11-20T13:25:00.000-08:00"Scotch-Irish have an average IQ of 90. Repeat tha...<B>"Scotch-Irish have an average IQ of 90. Repeat that "five times in the mirror every morning"..."</B><BR/><BR/><I>So we get to pick and choose which parts of "The Bell Curve" are relevant?</I><BR/><BR/>Leave it to Troof to completely miss the joke.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-60547300245291806032008-11-20T13:23:00.000-08:002008-11-20T13:23:00.000-08:00Romney would have done no better than McCain, perh...<I>Romney would have done no better than McCain, perhaps worse.</I><BR/><BR/>Maybe, maybe not. But he would've had a lot more cred on the fiscal crisis. He probably would've kept more secular conservatives in the party. He would've been at least a little bit more enticing to the folks who think the GOP is "anti-intellectual." He might've even won Michigan.<BR/><BR/>And at the end of the day, even if he lost, we could've pointed to him as proof that we ran a smart, competent candidate, not the 894th out of 899, 4 plane crash Grandpa Simpson.<BR/><BR/>As I've said earlier though, McCain may have done him a favor by keeping him away from the nomination in a bad year for the GOP.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-31136995345666424222008-11-20T12:36:00.000-08:002008-11-20T12:36:00.000-08:00The trouble is when a general or governor runs for...<I>The trouble is when a general or governor runs for VP or President, they don't have talking points for everything ready to go. [...] The same thing happened in 2004, General Wes Clark ran an underwhelming presidential campaign because of the same issue.</I><BR/><BR/>Another case that comes to mind is Vice Admiral James Stockdale, Ross Perot's running mate in 1992. Read the sorry tale <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stockdale#Vice-Presidential_candidacy" REL="nofollow">here</A>. It's not that career politicians are particularly smart or admirable, but they have a set of skills which shouldn't be underestimated.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-30940561707622554942008-11-20T11:03:00.000-08:002008-11-20T11:03:00.000-08:00My mom raised me, my sister, managed a job, took c...<I>My mom raised me, my sister, managed a job, took care of my father and her father, but was still quite savvy when it came to politics, economy, worldwiseness, et al. Palin is not like that at all. Hell, Palin can't hold a candle to her. Now, I think my mother had more in her than being a nurse, but president? </I><BR/><BR/>Filial piety is to be respected, but sorry, did your mother ever sit on an major oil and gas board. Did she pull off one of the greatest coupes in history ... okay, that's hyperbolic ... but did she strike at the right time, and with force, taking advantage of a party machine's weakness to propel herself to governor of our largest (geographically) state. <BR/><BR/>I think not!<BR/><BR/>Palin kicks ass.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-6694743414575693592008-11-20T10:38:00.000-08:002008-11-20T10:38:00.000-08:00A correction to my earlier post. There is a small...A correction to my earlier post. There is a small amongst men on how comment worthy his children are. Men of many children with one wife do get more attention for that fact than the man with children everywhere. <BR/>Everyone who is familiar with Mia Farrow or Marie Osmond knows they have large families. Some people know Mel Gibson has a large family. By contrast, Wikipedia doesn't even mention all of Daltrey's kids or allude to the ones who showed up in recent years in any way whatsoever. Jagger has seven, and again, completely unremarkable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-89736627148061615232008-11-20T10:29:00.000-08:002008-11-20T10:29:00.000-08:00"Unless you mean that they object to a fertile wom..."Unless you mean that they object to a fertile woman but not to a fertile man."<BR/><BR/>Exactly. I don't quite understand the thinking behind this, but as a woman of five myself, I have noticed and been mystified by this. My husband doesn't provoke the same reaction I do. Male celebrities, whether their children are all with one woman (Mel Gibson) or all over the place (rock stars) do not raise anyone's ire or respect. For example, I was shocked to find out the other day that Roger Daltry of The Who has 8 children, five of whom are illegitimate. This fact is completely unremarkable to his fans or those interested in rock music. This absolutely would not be the case if it were a woman. I'm not complaining at all about this, mind you. <BR/><BR/>A woman's children are central to her identity in a way that they aren't with men.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com