.

Well. She wasn't as bad as i was anticipating. Not particularly impressive for someone seeking one of the highest offices in the most powerful nation on earth...but probably better than I could have done :P

I stil don't like her. I still think she's a bitch. But she's not quite the thick-as-pigshit waste of a brain that I thought she was...

On Thatcher: yeah, in some ways she did break down barriers. Unfortunately once in office she set about implementing policies which were extremely detrimental to women in particular. The anti-single mum attitudes hardened up considerably. The idea that if a woman wants to claim benefits she must name the father of her children came from this time. Many of the job protections which were removed (as we all moved to a more flexible working style) were those which mainly affected women (part-time work for example). Froze child benefit for years. Presided over a government that made traditional (patriarchal) family values the cornerstone of their most oppressive legislation (such a the anti-gay stuff) thereby shifting the debate in directions that I consider to be a serious step backwards in terms of gender politics.

Left a legacy that makes it very hard to imagine that this country would be comfortable with a woman PM for a long time to come.

Oh, don't get me wrong, much as I hate her (and I still do) I also admire her.

I respectfully disagree. I am sure we have more sense than that. Those on the knee-jerk right (who I have to hear when I work in the pub) think she was amazing. Those on the left would rather drink poisoned Kool Aid than deny a politician because of gender.
So we have a date in Trafalgar Square then?

Yes....but I'll be armed with purple flour.

I too was struck that she said "Nuke-u-lar."

Now, I know this is not a huge deal, except it is. Here is why I believe it is:

Bush has said nuke-u-lar all along. This is not to be attributed to dialect or accent or locality. The word is, clearly, nuclear.

Now, all these years I have wondered: you know someone has HAD to tell Bush that he is mispronouncing a word that he has had occasion to use quite often. You know he has been advised as such. He has never waivered from his mispronunciation. I feel there can only be a handful of reasons for his failure to correct:

1) He really doesn't give a flying rat's ass what is correct and what is not. He'll do and say whatever he damn well pleases and who cares, in fact we can all bite him in the ass if we don't like it. (see: Iraq)

2) He is trying to portray himself as just one of the common folk...see, this is how we talk, us "regular" people. Surely Ma and Pa and Betsy and Johnny from Marsh Lake Ohio will appreciate how really common I am. (see: Palin)

3) He really is just that stupid.

So, yeah it's just a word, but I expect the leader of the free world to strive to do a little better.

I almost choked when Palin said it, over and over, last night.

We had a supply teacher for history when our regular teacher was on maternity leave. I've never hated history (usually one of my favourite subjects) so much.

Why?
We were studying the Russian revolution. And she said commonists. Drove me crazy. Yes, she was Welsh, but that is no excuse. Commonists, over and over again. No wonder I turned out the way I did.

My 7th grade teacher mispronounced Edinburgh. I knew the correct pronunciation from my Bay City Roller days (which I just mentioned in the concert thread, see what I did thar?)

He was a great guy: he said "OK Shawnee, prove it" and pointed at the encyclopedia. Me being me, I jumped up, found it, and showed him.

He was impressed. I think he held back a "well I'll be goddammed!" Instead he smiled and laughed at his mistake oh those many years.

She was honest in at least one way. Right up front she said she wouldn't answer the moderator's questions.

Sarah Palin channels Donald Rumsfeld:

I liked that: I can answer any damn way I please. Eff you for asking me questions I don't want to answer. Look, a bird.

Shades of Bush.

She did a good job. Better than Biden. I still won't vote for McCraine.

mercy, what did she do better than Biden?

I just thought her presentation was better. She is crisp and has a much better stage presence. He came off as the same ole Washington insider with years in the Congress doing nothing.

This was a pretty good summary:

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2...in_debate.html

I just happened upon this:
PALIN WINS BIG WITH A REAGAN-LIKE FLAIR

Really? I thought he came off as pretty warm and straightforward. I felt like she was pushing too hard. It seemed forced.