All right, there's a meme going around about Supreme Court cases. I don't really agree with the basic premise - that it is because Sarah Palin can't name any Supreme Court cases other than Roe v. Wade, but I think it's an interesting meme, so I'll do it anyway. After I give lots of links for videos you've probably already seen.
Sarah Palin has not appeared extremely well-educated in the series of Katie Couric interviews that have been released in the last week. First, she cited her proximity to Russia as foreign policy experience. (Honestly, I see the point she's trying to get at, but she doesn't do a great job explaining it.) She had a rambling answer to a question about the bailout that made, really, no sense. (SNL did a funny intro last week involving a rambling answer that was amusingly similar to Palin's actual response, and they also reference the Russia comment.)
Next, she gave a weirdly evasive answer when Couric asked what newspapers and magazines that she reads. (I just can't believe that she really can't name one - I have to imagine that she was coached to be evasive on direct questions like this, but her answer just looks nutty on film.) In her most recent gaffe, she can't come up with an answer when Couric asks what Supreme Court decisions she disagrees with other than Roe v. Wade.
I don't necessarily agree with McCain that asking Palin any difficult question qualifies as "gotcha journalism," but this does seem a little bit unfair. I honestly don't require my Vice President to be a case law expert. I have to give her the benefit of the doubt and say that she probably could name another case if it weren't restricted to cases she disagreed with. Also, I don't understand why Palin won't just say that she doesn't know. I think that what she said sounds a lot sillier than, "You know, I'm not a case law expert, and it wouldn't be my job to overturn Supreme Court decisions as Vice President."
So, to be fair to Sarah Palin, I'm answering with a Supreme Court case with which I disagree, because THAT is the question she couldn't answer.
Long before Brown v. Board of Education, with which I do agree, the Supreme Court decided in Plessy v. Ferguson that it was acceptable to separate races into different accomodations, as long as those accomodations were "separate but equal." This doctrine was used as the rationale for racial segregation - I wasn't there, so I can't guarantee it, but I believe pretty strongly that the accomodations for minorities were separate but probably not equal - until it was overturned in Brown v. Board of Education.
Sarah Palin has not appeared extremely well-educated in the series of Katie Couric interviews that have been released in the last week. First, she cited her proximity to Russia as foreign policy experience. (Honestly, I see the point she's trying to get at, but she doesn't do a great job explaining it.) She had a rambling answer to a question about the bailout that made, really, no sense. (SNL did a funny intro last week involving a rambling answer that was amusingly similar to Palin's actual response, and they also reference the Russia comment.)
Next, she gave a weirdly evasive answer when Couric asked what newspapers and magazines that she reads. (I just can't believe that she really can't name one - I have to imagine that she was coached to be evasive on direct questions like this, but her answer just looks nutty on film.) In her most recent gaffe, she can't come up with an answer when Couric asks what Supreme Court decisions she disagrees with other than Roe v. Wade.
I don't necessarily agree with McCain that asking Palin any difficult question qualifies as "gotcha journalism," but this does seem a little bit unfair. I honestly don't require my Vice President to be a case law expert. I have to give her the benefit of the doubt and say that she probably could name another case if it weren't restricted to cases she disagreed with. Also, I don't understand why Palin won't just say that she doesn't know. I think that what she said sounds a lot sillier than, "You know, I'm not a case law expert, and it wouldn't be my job to overturn Supreme Court decisions as Vice President."
So, to be fair to Sarah Palin, I'm answering with a Supreme Court case with which I disagree, because THAT is the question she couldn't answer.
Long before Brown v. Board of Education, with which I do agree, the Supreme Court decided in Plessy v. Ferguson that it was acceptable to separate races into different accomodations, as long as those accomodations were "separate but equal." This doctrine was used as the rationale for racial segregation - I wasn't there, so I can't guarantee it, but I believe pretty strongly that the accomodations for minorities were separate but probably not equal - until it was overturned in Brown v. Board of Education.
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