A Friend Stopped By | 09/20/2008 8:03 pm

Margo Howard: Thanks, Sandra Bernhard, for the Palin Jokes. Like We Needed This

Editor’s Note: A longtime journalist, Margo Howard went into the family business (her mother was the fabled Ann Landers) in the 1990s as Dear Prudence. Her broad experience and understanding of human nature provide answers for the troubled — and entertainment for everyone else. Click here to read her column on Yahoo!

The never demure and always foul-mouthed Sandra Bernhard is back with her desperate-to-shock apercus. This go-round was aimed at Sarah Palin – and wound up on You Tube, no less. One of her shout-outs to Ms. Palin (that I am willing to commit to print) was: "You whore in cheap glasses." Nice, huh? She could not have given a better gift to Republicans and Palin supporters than this vulgar, ridiculous, attention-grabbing pronouncement. (And I don’t know if Bernhard has her own oil well, but those glasses cost $400.)

I believe the lady with the literally and figuratively big mouth to be for Obama, so how, I am wondering, does she think a rant like hers helps him? The other side is properly outraged; just look at the comment boards. (And if one were to seriously follow the whore metaphor in this political circumstance, it would be McCain, not Palin, who is the whore.) Meant to shock, crude insults about almost anything or anyone may be fine for nightclubs, but they are landmines in campaigns. Mort Sahl she isn’t.

I do not think Sarah Palin can be faulted for accepting what was offered. The real problem is what she offers, which ain’t much. Perhaps more disturbing than her near-amateur status is the excitement with which the Republican faithful, not to mention the whack-job churchies, greeted her. When and how did Know-Nothingism make such a comeback? It is unsettling that great numbers of people have become used to so little, and hard to believe that what was a great line on Saturday Night Live (“I can see Russia from my house!”) was Sarah Palin’s actual response when the subject of Russia came up.

McCain’s No. 2 (even though she’s been slipping and calling the ticket "Palin-McCain") strongly suggests that quite a chunk of the country has undergone an intellectual cleansing. That is a bigger problem than Ms. Palin … that and the fact that the lady should have blinked.

Read more about: Barack Obama, Election, Politics, Sandra Bernhard, Sarah Palin

276 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Frannie, I think we already have a divided nation. Look at all the anti-war protests, and now the economy. I am not telling Obama to use hatred. The Conservatives are playing that card. But he had a way of showing calmness even in a storm, and I think people misinterpret that.

By Brooklyn Gal on 09/22/2008 12:10 am

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Carol Firstly, I don’t think anyone is telling Sen Obama to use hatred. I didn’t say that, nor have I ever even thought it. That isn’t what I meant. I kind of shorthanded that sentence. I meant members of either of the parties just doing saying anything out of anger and frustration to win. Not necessarily talking about campaign people, just we the people. At what cost to the American people? I think we have already been through too much: 9/11, wars and trouble on Wall Street. This is a big country that has absorbed immigrants from every corner of the world, and we accept them and they join the culture, yet we can’t get along. We see Muslims fighting Muslims in the Mid East and we wonder at, and question reasons so small to divide them that they are killing each other. Have politics become a religion to some? When I was a kid growing up our religion defined us, now it is if you are a republican or democrat. It is such an odd way of viewing life to me. It is so small and limited. Silly me, I just think that as a people, we are better than this. Am I crazy?

By Frannie Em on 09/22/2008 1:23 pm

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“…you can put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig.”

By Bonnie D-Z on 09/21/2008 1:05 pm

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I think Sandra Bernhard, like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh, is known for being obnoxious. And I agree her comments add nothing constructive to the debate and witless, adolescent and obnoxious. However… just tune in to Rush for 5 minutes and you will find the same garbage directed at Liberals in general and whatever Democratic candidate poses the most threat at the moment… and you don’t even have to read a book by Coulter to get equally as disgusting imput, just read her titles. The right puts far more of this stuff out than the left, but since the left doesn’t do it much, suddenly it’s news. Like man bites dog is news.

By DeBúrca obj on 09/21/2008 1:22 pm

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DeBurca Don’t tune into Rush.

By Frannie Em on 09/21/2008 11:20 pm

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I don’t, but I’ve heard him. The scary thing is that the people who are least likely to go looking for real information listen to him religiously.

By DeBúrca obj on 09/22/2008 6:54 am

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Well, AN let’s see….would you rather have someone like McCain come screaming out of the gate, calling for people to be fired, making all kinds of errors in speeches, acting like a fool in public…is that what you call taking a stand? Or would you rather have a President who analyzes the situation, comes to a careful conclusion with bi-partisan expert advisers, and then speaks to the public? My choice will always be for coherent thinking over knee-jerk reactions by Know-Nothings, and in this case, McCain himself has described his knowledge of the economy as practically non-existent. Palin’s 80% approval rating? Hmmmm….you mean in Wasilla, the meth capital of Alaska? Because her approval rating here in the lower 48 is slipping daily….40% disapproval last I read and only 32% approval. McCain is about as bi-partisan as my cat. He was the big proponent of deregulation that helped get us in this egregious mess. The man has no idea what he’s talking about, and that is unconscionable in a Presidential candidate. BTW, where did you get the information that Dodd and Obama were the top two recipients of Fanny Mae and what exactly does that mean? Could you kindly cite your sources, because I’ve never seen that information. As for Congress’ rating (which is irrelevant to this particular discussion), which party has filibustered most frequently, which party tries to create the most discord in Congress by stalling every bill it doesn’t like and refusing to work with members across the aisle? The Republican Party. OBAMA/BIDEN -08!

By Maurine H on 09/21/2008 1:34 pm

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McCain is more to the Bipolar then to the Bi_partisain you Go maurine

By Obama Biden on 09/21/2008 2:39 pm

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Yo, Mo! Go!

By HoBo Economy Thanks Bush-McSame on 09/21/2008 4:01 pm

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Hi Mo, Since you asked, here is some of the info from Opensecrets.org. Had to do a lot of searching, through industry totals etc, but if you click on my icon and go to my posts, the info on who got what as campaign contributions from Fannie and Freddie is posted there on about page 6 or 7. But here are a few: 1. Christopher Dodd $133,900 2. John Kerry $111,000 3. Barack Obama $105,849 4. Hillary Clinton $ 75,550 5. Barney Frank $40,100 I have heard some claims in the news that Dodd is #1 and Obama is #2, that may be because they are looking at more of the bundling that goes on and found out that he has moved to #2. I don’t know if that is true or not. Senator McCain did come out for transparency and regulation of Fannie and Freddie, but Dodd and Frank fought against it. The largest amount of donations to Frank come from the Financial/Real Estate/Insurance Industries. I am not sure about Dodd. They kept supporting the funding of Fannie and Freddie so that lower income applicants could get mortgages without down payments or having to meet certain credit criteria. The money was borrowed from we the people taxpayers, with no guarantee for payback. The hypocricy is what bothers me, they kept saying it happened because of deregulation, but bot of them fought regulations on Fannie and Freddie. Had to keep that money flowing in. Know this, I know people got bored of me talking about corruption and all the campaign contributions. To me, it is one of the root of the tree sicknesses in our government practices today. All the money flowing in PACs and campaigns leaves we citizens with representatives that only represent themselves. It is a systemic sickness in our government. I like Obama, but my question is, with all of the money he has received, how can he be his own man? He has raised more than anyone, and if you check opensecrets or factcheck you will find that they are not mostly $200 or less. Many are bundled from industries. What the industry does is have their employees donate a couple hundred, it gets bundled, but the corporations many times pay those employees back. I want to know the truth. I want transparency.

By Frannie Em on 09/21/2008 11:46 pm

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Mo, Correction, Barney Frank was number 16, not number 5.

By Frannie Em on 09/21/2008 11:47 pm

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Frannie, Thanks for the list. Not surprising to find four Dem Senators, all from the northeast, heading up the list. Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank as Chairman of the Commission on Financial Services makes me squirm a little bit. Good report.

By Marjorie C. on 09/22/2008 7:32 am

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LOL marjorie, Something about him period, makes me squirm.

By HA BIBI on 09/24/2008 11:04 am

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Transparency is key…President Bush has been nagging Congress incensantly to do something about Freddie and Fannie. 17 times this year alone he has begged them to take action. Citizens for government waste gives McCain a very high score on fighting waste and fraud - Obama is at the bottom and Biden is absolutely bottom with a ZERO rating.

By Bella Mia on 09/22/2008 8:37 am

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Bella I know that back in 2003 Bush tried to get congress to regulate Freddie and Fannie, Dodd and Frank fought against it and blocked it. Having said that, I don’t remember Bush doing anything else or coming out and saying anything about corporate greed and the impending doom coming to Wall Street. Bush just kept saying the economy was doing great. The President and our representatives have not protected the citizens of the US. Both are to blame, big time. Congress even more so because they control the purse strings. McCain came out in 2005 and warned against it and wanted Fannie and Freddie regulated, and once again, Dodd and Frank fought it, and even expanded the money flow to it.

By Frannie Em on 09/22/2008 1:04 pm