Sarah Palin’s Crib Sheet

Published in El Mundo
(Spain) on 8 February 2010
by Pablo Pardo (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Adam Zimmerman. Edited by Katy Burtner.
Every politician has their own style. Hillary Clinton in her [2008 campaign] meetings, for example, demonstrated an incredible knowledge of material, above all in the sections dedicated to taking questions from the audience. The questions came in cascades and often went on for an hour or more, and even if they were posed by supporters of the then-candidate and now secretary of state, they covered virtually every aspect of the political, economic and social life of the United States.

So Hillary Clinton had the answer to everything in her head. Sarah Palin, however, has the answer in her hands. Literally. This Sunday, at the “Tea Party” convention, the probable 2012 presidential candidate opened her left hand too wide during one of the public sessions.

Wide enough so that the pitiless cameras were able to catch a series of words written on the palm of that hand: “energy,” “tax,” “lift American spirits” and “budget cuts” (this last one crossed-out). Perhaps the most surprising thing is that these were not sophisticated notes with percentages about energy policy, public debt or the number of troops in Afghanistan, but just basic talking points.

A little later, during the question and answer session, when the founder of the “Tea Party” organization, Judson Phillips, asked her a question, Palin looked openly at the palm of her hand before answering. Evidently, Palin knew the answer “like the palm of her hand,” as they say. For her appearance at the event, the champion of plain old everyday Americans collected $100,000. Each member of the audience had to pay $300.

The anecdote is even more significant because Palin has sarcastically criticized Barack Obama for his constant use of the teleprompter, a small television screen from which the president usually reads his speeches, and to which he became “addicted” to from the first moment of his campaign. The ex-governor of Alaska has described Obama as “a charismatic guy with a teleprompter.”

Palin’s “crib sheet,” a beloved reminder of what we used during biology or art history exams in high school, was not the only anecdote about the ex-governor of Alaska. Sunday, in an interview with Fox News (for whom she works as a political analyst), she declared that she is considering running for president in 2012.

In the same interview, Palin gave a demonstration of her cold political calculation when she said that Barack Obama could only be re-elected if he declares war on Iran. Palin did not say that Obama should attack Iran for electoral motives, but that only in this way (or “doing whatever he could to help Israel” in a wave of bombardments against the Islamic Republic) could he “change the dynamic” politically in the U.S. and be re-elected.


Cada político tiene su estilo. Hillary Clinton, en sus mítines, por ejemplo, demostraba un conocimiento de las materias increíble, sobre todo en las secciones dedicadas a aceptar preguntas del público. Eran cascadas de preguntas, que a menudo se extendían durante una hora o más y que, si bien estaban formuladas por los seguidores de la entonces candidata y actual secretaria de Estado, por lo que no eran demasiado duras, cubrían virtualmente todos los aspectos de la vida política, económica y social de Estados Unidos.

Así que Hillary Clinton tenía una respuesta a todo en su cabeza. Sarah Palin, sin embargo, tiene la respuesta en sus manos. Literalmente. Este domingo, en la Convención del 'Tea Party', la probable candidata a la presidencia en 2012 abrió demasiado su mano izquierda en uno de los actos públicos.

Lo suficiente como para que las poco piadosas cámaras cazaran una serie de palabras escritas en la palma de esa mano: "Energía", "Impuestos", "Animar los ánimos de los estadounidenses" y "Recortes presupuestarios" (esta última, tachada). Acaso lo más sorprendente es que no eran sofisticadas notas con porcentajes sobre política energética, deuda pública o número de tropas en Afganistán, sino 'talking points' básicos.

Poco después, en el turno de preguntas y respuestas, cuando Judson Phillips, fundador de la organización 'Tea Party Nation', le formuló una pregunta, Palin miró disimuladamente la palma de su mano antes de responder. Evidentemente, Palin se sabía la respuesta 'como la palma de la mano', como suele decirse coloquialmente. Por su asistencia al acto, la campeona de los americanos comunes y corrientes se embolsó 100.000 dólares. Cada miembro del público tuvo que pagar 300 dólares.

La anécdota es aún más significativa porque Palin ha criticado con sarcasmo el uso constante por Barack Obama del 'teleprompter', una pequeña pantalla de televisión en la que el presidente suele leer sus discursos y a la que ya se hizo "adicto" desde el primer momento de la campaña electoral. La ex gobernadora de Alaska ha calificado a Obama como "un chico carismático con un teleprompter".

La 'chuleta' de Palin, un entrañable recuerdo de lo que hacíamos todos en los exámenes de biología o historia del Arte en Secundaria, no fue la única anécdota de la ex gobernadora de Alaska, que el domingo, en una entrevista con la cadena de televisión Fox News, de la que es colaboradora, declaró que está considerando presentarse a la presidencia en 2012.

En esa misma entrevista, Palin dio una muestra de su frío cálculo político, cuando dijo que Barack Obama sólo puede ser reelegido si lanza una guerra contra Irán. Palin no dijo que Obama debería atacar a Irán por motivos electorales, sino que sólo así (o "ayudando a Israel en todo lo posible" en una oleada de bombardeos a la República Islámica) podría "cambiar la ecuación" política en EEUU y ser reelegido.
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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