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Katha Pollit has some questions for Sarah Palin
I know this is serious stuff and it shouldn't cause me to snort. But it does. I loved this dual question:
What is the European Union, and how does it function?
Not quite as good is:
What is the function of the Federal Reserve?
The link is from Ezra Klein. Bear Stearns, Ireland, Georgia, and Denmark are invited to submit their answers as well. How about Lehman Brothers and Turkey?
Addendum: On this list, questions #2, 4, 6 and 17 bear some pondering too. Nor is #3 as simple as many people think.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on September 11, 2008 at 02:20 PM in Political Science | Permalink
Comments
The European Union functions?
Posted by: dWj at Sep 11, 2008 2:34:58 PM
I'd hazard not only Palin would fail on these questions...indeed, how the EU functions normally or the Fed funcations in a crisis situation is a bit of an open question.
Posted by: stefan at Sep 11, 2008 2:35:33 PM
Legend has it that every year, one Cabinet member is selected randomly to stay home and watch the State of the Union on TV. The reason: In case of a catastrophe, it ensures the existence of a clear successor to the Presidency.
I wonder if they should give all the Cabinet members the Pollit Exam beforehand. You know, to ensure competency.
Posted by: Dan at Sep 11, 2008 2:35:35 PM
The correct answers:
"The solution to Britain's plumbing problems"
"Who knows?"
Posted by: Fundman at Sep 11, 2008 2:36:15 PM
Seriously, this reminds me of the scene in "Back to School" with Rodney Dangerfield where he has the oral exam with the mean business professor.........very rich.
Posted by: Fundman at Sep 11, 2008 2:37:49 PM
Who is the president of Canada?
(hint: google Obama August 13 2007)
Posted by: at Sep 11, 2008 2:45:39 PM
How's this for economics: liberals get to make each other snort and feel oh-so-good about themselves, and McCain gets to take the White House.
Many folks seem willing to make that trade ...
Posted by: holmegm at Sep 11, 2008 2:48:43 PM
I consider myself pretty worldly, but what exactly DOES the European Union do? As far as I can tell, it's main effect on Europeans day-to-day life is free trade and free movement between countries. Past that I draw a blank.
Posted by: at Sep 11, 2008 2:52:43 PM
Man, do I love how much Democrats despise Sara Palin. I don't even really care what she stands for, she has the power to reduce any liberal pundit to an adolescent level of inarticulate nastiness.
The issues (such as they are) were eked out long before the election cycle started, and the presidential parties and platforms have been established for months now. With the final addition of VP nominations, there's nothing left to do until November but degrade into ugly, emotional politics based entirely on personality. Will it be John McCain: American Hero, or Barack Ghandi of Nazareth?
This was probably destined to happen from the start, but with the nomination of Sara Palin, a young, well-spoken newcomer with little substance that differs from the party's core, we get the added treat of having the entire left moan like a child who's just lost their favorite seat it's not fair, they had Barack Obama first.
Posted by: d.cous. at Sep 11, 2008 2:54:46 PM
So when is the media revolution? I mean, the unbiased American media is responsible for this, aren't they? The stupider the media gets, the more sales they get. They hold constitutional protection to report on whatever they want; I think it may have to be truthful. I'm thinking the P word here! Frankly, I'm surprised 9/11 didn't prompt a Homeland Security TV channel. They have a website with a cool color coded chart of terrorism, but I'd like to see that franchise take off into television. There could be government reporters who investigate government affairs, and then report the news. I would hate to see the government impose restrictions on the news media, but a government sanctioned news station to report on whatever they see fit sounds like it could be a good idea. And maybe, because its the government, these reporters could ask real questions without having to compete with the other hundred reporters to get a word in.
Posted by: brainwarped at Sep 11, 2008 2:56:52 PM
"what is the function of the federal reserve" isn't such a ridiculous question. we all saw how she confused Fannie and Freddie for government entities, right?
Someone should ask her: "how do you feel that the US has entered Pakistan or were you (like the rest of the country) too distracted by the media coverage about you at the time to notice?"
Posted by: pants at Sep 11, 2008 2:57:28 PM
Academic policy wonks believe, surprisingly, that the major qualification for president is knowing what
academic policy wonks know. I beg to differ.
No president knows all that needs to be known, or even 1% of it. It is important to know how to pick
the right people to screen information and present you what you need to know and layout options.
I can't help but feel that Palin is being singled out because she is a woman. I mean, really, Obama
referred to the 57 states in the US. Should we ask him to name the capital of each state? Do you
want to ask Obama to summarize economic research on the minimum wage before he asks for a hike? While
we are at it, shall we ask Al Gore to parameterize a general circulation model and forecast global
temperatures without ad hoc adjustments? Could Bill Clinton explain the difference between Sunni and
Shia Islam in the 1992 election? Perhaps Sen. Biden could be asked to evaluate the evidence that
unilateral trade liberalization raises the standard of living of working families before he discusses
the US-Columbia free trade agreement.
I remember a story by Herb Stein that JFK remembered what the Fed did because Chairman William Martin had
a name that ended in "M" and "M" also stood for money. I remember a story that J. M. Keynes was tyring
to explain some obvious economics to FDR in the White House. FDR's response was so lame that Keynes
said he would flunk any freshman who gave him such an answer, and walked out in disgust. Yet, JFK and
FDR are revered by liberal Democrats.
Come on, guys, if all academic liberals can do is sneer, you have nothing to contribute.
Posted by: B.H. at Sep 11, 2008 3:01:13 PM
^^BH, I would definitely agree with you that Sarah Palin is the victim of sexism, but nobody's heard her say much on any current event, except that she opposes the bridge to nowhere and is in favor of opening up domestic areas such as the OCS and ANWR to exploration/drilling.
Whereas both Obama and McCain have expounded quite a bit on a number of issues.
No one's saying that the candidate needs to have an informed and enlightened and well researched opinion on EVERYTHING--but such an opinion is necessary on at lease SOME things.
Posted by: pants at Sep 11, 2008 3:08:20 PM
B.H. pretty well said it all. How many of you knew all the details of your job before you started?
Posted by: Tom Kelly at Sep 11, 2008 3:08:44 PM
B.H.:
She's being singled out because she has not answered ONE. SINGLE. QUESTION. in two weeks on the national stage.
And yes, the potential leader of the free world should know how the Federal Reserve works. That's not "being a policy wonk." That's a basic job requirement. So far, the only evidence available-her Fannie/Freddie mixup-doesn't look good.
Posted by: KP at Sep 11, 2008 3:12:00 PM
Great question, Pants.
" Someone should ask her: "how do you feel that the US has entered Pakistan or were you (like the rest of the country) too distracted by the media coverage about you at the time to notice?" "
I was really wondering why nobody (other than the Pakistanis) seemed to be making a big deal of this.
Posted by: d.cous. at Sep 11, 2008 3:12:14 PM
Ask Palin and Obama how many state are in the U.S.A.
Oh yeah we already have Obama's answer being 57.
Posted by: indiana jim at Sep 11, 2008 3:26:43 PM
I wonder if Biden would do better.
Posted by: Nate at Sep 11, 2008 3:36:37 PM
Pants--great one. Add "explain the status of the securities issued by the GSEs" (pre-bailout of course) to the list.
Tyler, I'm afraid that many are missing the joke.
Posted by: Thomas at Sep 11, 2008 3:39:55 PM
I know one at least, the EU puts out standards for the manufacturing of products that are supposed to apply to all countries. In reality, countries get to, and do, make rules for themselves in addition to these, but the spirit of it is that they won't. Does the product you're using meet these standards? Take a look at the labeling and if it has the logo "CE" then it meets those standards.
Posted by: JordanT at Sep 11, 2008 3:49:11 PM
Nobody is being mean by asking these questions. They are perfectly reasonable, even if they are not entirely comprehensive. The first question by Politt is rather blunt, but hey, her position is far outside the mainstream. Why is it so outrageous for her to answer our questions about how she'd want to shape policy regarding a very significant issue?
Perhaps Biden couldn't answer these questions. I wouldn't have any problem having answer them, but the reason he doesn't have to is that, rightly or wrongly, he doesn't raise the same level of doubt that Palin does, as he's been a national figure for more than two weeks.
All of the people who claim that Obama isn't qualified because he made a mistake about the title of the Canadian leader or the misspoke about the number of U.S. states are ridiculous. Those are mistakes, much like the times I give my old cell phone number instead of my new one. They are hardly comparable to the possibility of Palin not knowing the basics of national policy.
Posted by: Brian J at Sep 11, 2008 4:01:28 PM
I don't understand the Iraq War or oil pipeline "God's will" question. If the quote I saw is the one people are referring to, she prayed that America was doing God's will, not that the Iraq War was God's will. It's a subtle difference, but an important one. As for the pipeline, it will bring economic benefits to the whole state. There's nothing new about praying for success in America.
For the most part though, Republicans prefer honest leaders over smart ones, while Democrats prefer smarts over honesty.
Posted by: 8 at Sep 11, 2008 4:04:37 PM
Nobody is being mean by asking these questions. They are perfectly reasonable, even if they are not entirely comprehensive.
Sure they're reasonable. But they are reasonable to ask all 4 presidential and vice-presidential candidates, not just Palin. The implication of singling her out for a hypothetical oral exam is that the others are presumed competent and knowledgeable (and so there's no point in administering such a test), whereas Palin is presumed stupid and ill-informed and such an exam would expose her as the fraud she is.
Does anybody think Bush has an especially keen grasp of the nuances of finance? But did this prevent his administration from appointing Bernanke and Paulson and from their taking on financial problems in ways that knowledgeable people across the political spectrum seem to regard as appropriate and necessary?
Man, if I read any more sneering articles by Obama partisans, the annoyance level is probably going to rise to such a level that other considerations just won't be able to compete on election day.
Posted by: Slocum at Sep 11, 2008 4:14:43 PM
Not knowing the number of states WOULD be like giving out an old cell phone number if the number of states had recently changed. News flash: it hasn't.
Posted by: indiana jim at Sep 11, 2008 4:15:54 PM
Palin Haters,
Maybe McCain restricts access to Palin on purpose. It builds interest for when she does speak. And the criticism she gets just lowers expectations. Afterwords, even a so-so performance looks good. It happened for her convention speech and it may very well happen for her first big interview.
I think negative comments just help her and make her stronger. Especially when they seem condescending ("snort" Tyler?) or just plain awful. And by "awful" I mean some of those questions in The Nation article. The ones trying to belittle her religious beliefs or asking her to think about her daughter being raped. I'm a pro-choice atheist and they seemed wrong to me.
Keep up the good work?
Posted by: Jason at Sep 11, 2008 4:17:15 PM
