mini

"Well, I assume this is the other shoe about to drop. But if an indictment is warranted, I would think it's going to come whether she's in office or not."

Maybe, or maybe not. A behind-the-scenes agreement wouldn't be unheard of. The Alaska papers have been reporting a potential criminal investigation for months (something to do with the Wasilla stadium, I think), and apparently there has been subpoenas of records, etc. It's not something I follow - I don't find either her or Alaska politics all that interesting.

But Ensign is surely breathing great signs of relief!

"think that using her baby as the model is in poor taste. I admit that the fact that he has Down Syndrome makes it in even worse taste to me."

I agree, and her using the baby to pontificate about how she made a CHOICE to have him to a Right-to-Life Convention was one of the more bizarre and tasteless political choices I have ever witnessed.

AnudduhMom

I'm sorry, Marite, you're right. "Trig" could well mean something significant in another language, who knows.

But I think it's also a red herring for Gov. Palin to say that people were making fun of her baby. I don't think anyone would do that, and certainly if they did, they would be roundly condemned by people at all points on the political spectrum.

Folks would naturally be curious about the origins of the names (not sure what they all are, but Bristol, Track, Piper), they are fairly unusual, and considering that Gov. Palin said that one child is named after an airplane, one wonders whether the others are named after pharmaceutical companies, sports venues, or something similar.

ellemenope

>>By resigning she has lost any chance be considered ready to lead this country in the future. <<

Agreed! The last thing we want in a president is one who bails when the going gets tough. After all, this isn't England where kings can abdicate! Bailing from Alaska with 18 months left on her term DOES NOT give me confidence in her.

I agree with the poster who thinks she is doing this to move into the media arena. She needs to write a book in a hurry to get $$ to pay legal and other bills. As part of the media, SHE will be able to ask the questions and will be prepped to control the interview instead of being on the other end. To capitalize on the media angle, she needs to strike while the iron is hot--that means now, not 18 months from now.

Consolation

Trigg is a Norse name that means "trustworthy" or something like that.

xiggi

Simba, since everyone of us is entitled to his own perspective on "meanness," we may have divergent viewpoints on this. However, without clicking on wikipedia, could you answer many questions such as:

1. How many times was Kerry married?
2. How many children does he have, and what do they do?
3. How many times was Gore married?
4. How many children does he have, and what do they do?
5. Are Gore and Kerry Catholic?
6. What are the professions of their respective spouses and where were they born?

Then compare to what you learned in the campaign about the Palin family. Again, we might have very different perspectives on this, but I believe that the overwhelming majority of "mean attacks" hurled at Gore and Kerry were directed at their political career, performance, and integrity, and that not much (if any) was targeting their children and family -- although Mrs. Heinz-Kerry made herself quite an easy target for political ridicule.

Mentioning Flip and Flop in a sentence that includes John Kerry does not have the same "impact" as, for instance, Tripp, Trap, Trick, Track, Tug, Truck, Tutu and Tallulah.

Oh well!

geeps20

"tega, other candidates don't make snarky comments about community organizers,"

Direct comeback for her being attacked for lack of experience. Short term memory?

marite

^^Actually, that was not good tit for tat. The equivalent of dissing community organizers would have been to diss state governors. Palin was not dissed for being a governor but not having been one long enough to accumulate experience. One could say something similar about Obama about his short senatorial tenure--and it was said--, but community organizers constitute a large category of people, many of whom are quite experienced.

jym626

If memory serves me correctly, there were some pretty mean-spirited comments made on several occasions about Gore's youngest son, the one who was hit by a car and sustained a significant brain injury.

xiggi

"If memory serves me correctly ..." Oh, Jym, I will have to remind you of that line sometimes. Oops, that is probably too much of an inside joke.

On a more serious note, I am not certain about the extent of discussions on College Confidential when Al Gore ran the last time for office. That must have been on the Bronze Age CC forum, or on the predecessor of the old PR forum.

PS Thanks for bringing some humor to the thread. That memory line will become a CC Classic.

AnudduhMom

@xiggi:

1. 1 (second marriage for Teresa Heinz Kerry)
2. no biological children, 2 stepsons, at least one of whom works in the family business
3. 1
4. 4 (1 deceased), 2 work in Gore's foundation
5. Gore is not, Kerry is
6. Teresa Heinz Kerry was a translator/interpreter, born in I believe Buenos Aires or Sao Paolo, Tipper G. was a rock-band drummer turned lawyer from the U.S.

Some of these are guesses, but I bet I'd still do pretty well on the SATs. No fair verifying my answers by checking wikipedia either! Ha.

Yeah, I apologized about that riff on the kids' names, I thought it was funny at the time, but maybe not. I bet some people here won't let it go even after the apology. (persecution complex, perhaps?). To make it up to you, I'm going to name my next child xiggi.

BTW, there was actually a little girl named Tallulah-does-the-hula-in-Hawaii by her parents (in, I think, Sweden), but she shortened it to Tallulah as soon as she got old enough to do it legally.

Cardinal Fang

This is all from memory:

Kerry has been married twice. He has, I think, two kids, one a daughter named Alexandra and I think another daughter. He has some stepkids too. Alexandra is or was a documentary producer. Teresa Heinz Kerry was the widow of Senator Heinz, a ketchup heir. He is Catholic. She is a socialite.

Gore and Tipper were college sweethearts; it's the first marriage for both. I think they've got four kids, two girls and two boys. One of the daughters, Karenna, has gone into politics- she was on her dad's campaign staff. Sometime around the 2000 election there was a big flap about one of the sons being arrested for drunk driving, and I believe there were drug issues as well. Tipper Gore did not work outside the home while her husband was a Senator, then Vice President.

cartera45

I don't think any of Gore's kids died. One was hit by a car when they were leaving an Orioles game years ago, but he was not killed.

xiggi

Please make sure to request a change of CC name from AnudduhMom to XiggiMom. With the right letter and attachment (read substantial checK) the administrator might honor it. This said, one ought to worry about what Anudduh might have to say about being "disowned!"

By the way, you should know that I never thought the commentaries about the Trig, Track, Bristol, Willow, or other obscure names picked by the Palin were malicious. I know at least one frequent poster on College Confidential who is known for never, ever making gratuitous commentaries but nevertheless thought the Palin kids sounded like Click and Clack or reminded her of her trigonometry challenges.

soozievt

I know very little about any of Sarah Palin's kids but Bristol. Sarah thrust her kids into the limelight and for a couple of them, at a very sensitive time that may have been better for their interests to not be in the national spotlight. Then, in the case of Bristol, she voluntarily has sought the press. Because Bristol has been in the NEWS, she was discussed quite a bit. Had she not been in the news so much, I can't imagine even thinking about her or knowing much about her at all.

As far as the kids' names, they are pretty unusual and since they are so public, I don't think it is that odd that people comment on it. I think if the family down the street had such odd names, it might also be a subject of comments. I can't keep Palin's kids' names straight as some of them sound alike and it is sorta like the ducks in Make Way for Ducklings. To each his own, however, in naming their offspring.

coureur

>>3. How many times was Gore married?
4. How many children does he have, and what do they do?<<

I do recall that Gore had several daughters one of which was named Karenna - a name that I still recall these years later because, like Track, Trig, and Piper, I thought it was unusual. I also recall that the sleazier end of the press published photos of one of Gore's daughters at some event she was attending when she was evidently not wearing a bra. And the photo and caption zoomed in on the outline of her nipple showing through her shirt. I thought that was pretty mean journalism, but somehow the conservatives weren't and still aren't so outraged by that as they are about anything to do with Palin's kids.