Good grief? How do I counter this B.S. at my job?

[Joanie Baloney]

I was in a discussion with 2 other women at work this morning and one of the women asked what was up the Palin scandal. I asked "Which one?" - and she was referring to Trooper-Gate. I explained what I knew about it and then I said the latest one was even worse - the AIP issue.

The receptionist, an older woman, proceeded to tell me that she has issues with Palin because she thinks "the Presidency is a man's job". (Gack!) But, she also feels that Palin's limited experience as Governor is much more valuable than Obama's experience as Senator and there is no way he is experienced enough to be President.

My mind was exploding - I wanted to respond to her women-can't-be-President idiocy (but, on the other hand, I didn't want to defend Palin)...and then I just sputtered something about her experience as Alaska governor does not qualify her to hold the highest office in the land.

Should I just save my breath? I don't want to piss her off as I need her support at work.

Jeeze...some people!

Any advice?


:wtf:


JB

[tekisui]

1. Let that argument go, and pick it up in November.

[Joanie Baloney]

13. A little Neener-neener

makes everyone feel good. But, I can't wait!!

:rofl:

[TooRaLoo]

2. Ignore her.

It will never stop. If you let it, it will just ruin your day(s) and have you daydreaming about quitting. You can't cure stupid (most of the time).

[Joanie Baloney]

15. Very true..

although it's hard to ignore. :/

[crispini]

3. Just laugh at it, that's the best tactic.

Governor of what? Alaska? Population: 50 people and some moose?

Hear she's a great hunter. That would be nice, if she was going to protect us against al-Caribou instead of al-Quaeda.

Sarah Palin was mayor of what? A town smaller than (insert local population-appropriate comparison here)? I think Mayor McCheese is more qualified than her.

[Joanie Baloney]

16. and...

Mayor McCheese likes mooseburgers too, I hear. :)

Thanks!

[izquierdista]

4. The Columbo method

Remember Peter Falk as the detective Columbo? He never came right out and accused anyone, he just asked leading questions, questions that led the perp into a trap he wasn't able to get out of.

Columbo: So "executive" experience is more valuable than legislative experience. There's just one thing I'm wondering. Those Enron executives, the smartest people in the room, they had "executive" experience, didn't they?

[Joanie Baloney]

12. "One more thing...

"Exactly how long have you been stupid???"

I get too mad to be an effective Colombo. But it's a great strategy if you can pull it off!

Thanks!

[RedEarth]

14. Good one....

[Danieljay]

5. Dont argue with idiots, they will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.nt

[AnneD]

9. Wise advice...

O infinite cavern of wisdom.

[Joanie Baloney]

10. LOL

I love that tack...beautiful!

Thank you!

[demo dutch]

6. Appeal to her in this way regarding Palin's motherly responbilities as follows

Hey I'm all for working mothers, strong independent women, etc etc., but let's get real here......

Palin is a mother of five, incl one child is a 4 months yr old with down syndrome, AND a 17yr child who's 5 months pregnant, who's surely going thru a tremendous difficult time as she getting ready to become a teenage mother and has decided to wed the young boy who her got her pregnant. And that doesn't even incl the daily issues of the other young children.

Why doesn't Sarah Palin, given her family situation, ask herself whether if she really thinks that this is where she should be right now, ......... running for vice president of the United States of America,
The VP job CAN NOT be compared to the Governor's job, so is this really Pro-Family values or just Pro-Palin.

My republican mother-in-law will be voting for Obama for that very reason!

[phleshdef]

7. The years in service are about the same, Obama's experience is way more substantial and superior...

Obama's district as an Illinois state legislator had more people in it than the entire state of Alaska.

Obama's tenure in the Senate put him in a "national" position, something Palin has never had.

His law-based education and experience using that education is unparallelled. His knowledge of the constitution is something to be admired and, when compared to Palin OR McCain, he can definately make the claim of having more knowledge of the constitution and how legislating works in general.

To top it off, his more humble experience as a community organizer is a small scale example of EXACTLY what a president is SUPPOSE to do. And that is organize, bring people together and figure out the best ways to take on a problem.

I don't let anyone give me this bullshit about Obama's experience anymore and you shouldn't either.

[Joanie Baloney]

18. I may email her this one...

I couldn't tell this to her face without ripping out her hair.


:sigh:

Thanks!

[bunkerbuster1]

22. Don't forget his experience managing his current campaign.

He's got about a thousand or so people on the payroll. Even Republicans will admit that he's run an outstanding campaign, and will grudgingly attest to his management skills, I'd imagine.

[Arkansas Granny]

8. There are some people that you just cannot argue politics with. I have a similar

problem with someone where I work. Twice we have had a discussion about politics and twice I have allowed myself to be goaded into losing my temper. It's is just not worth it.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. Ask them: would you vote for Palin for Pres, McCain for VP? . . . nt

[Joanie Baloney]

19. That's a good question

but, she already thinks no woman could be President. What if McCrock keels over, huh, huh, huh???

I don't think she's reasning correctly.

Thanks!

[apnu]

17. Abraham Lincoln:

8 years in the Illinois Senate, 4 years as a US Senator, held the United States together through the darkest times of our history.

If that ain't enough, then apparently they would have voted against Lincoln.

[Joanie Baloney]

20. Abe? He was just a young whipper-snapper!

I think she was around then...probably DID vote for the other guy!

Ha!

Thanks!

[VWolf]

21. Simple response

"Obama's got exactly as much 'executive' experience as McCain. The difference is that Obama's intelligent and MCain's an idiot."

Depending on personalities, you might want to leave out that last sentence.

[endthewar]

23. Since you live in California

I think it's okay to talk about your objections to the notion that women can't be President.

[yardwork]

24. This is why I avoid talking about politics at work.

You won't change the minds of idiots, you'll just make them mad, and you don't want that in a workplace.

My advice is to ignore it and run from political discussions. Your receptionist sounds like she's going to vote Republican no matter what because of at least one and maybe both these reasons - (1) She'll pull the anti-abortion lever every time and/or (2) She can't bring herself to vote for a black man.

Either way, nothing you say will have any impact whatsoever. Even Jesus recommended not throwing our pearls to swine. Just move on.

[NYC_SKP]

25. Ask her how the hell did Obama win with "so little experience"...

Ask her why more of his peers, US senators, supported him over Clinton...

[slackmaster]

26. Keep telling yourself "It's only a job"

:argh:

[Samantha]

27. It doesn't matter how much we vent about this issue here at DU

because it was on the chronic Republican talking points the masses hear everyday. Believe it or not, my Republican nephew actually said this to me last week.

It has been said for decades that the experience one receives as a Governor tops that of a Senatorial or Congressional stint. Governor are administrators.

So in essence, the GOP is totally discounting Obama's 20 years in public service, even that in the Illinois State Senate, and repeatedly saying Palin has more experience since she has been the Governor of Alaska (less than two years). The additional GOP point is that she took on a tough challenger and took him out. AND THAT IS WHY SHE REPRESENTS CHANGE. Never mind, her opponent was already being investigated for corruption and she simply became an opportunist, SHE TOOK HIM OUT.

The problem we now face is that the Obama camp must step out and refute this idiotic talking point. Obama must do this loudly and repeatedly. If not, those who do not do their own research on the Internet will never know of the various scandals attached to Palin and they will not know the depth of Obama's experience.

That's just my humble opinion. You can't refute this -- Obama must.

Sam

[Stryguy]

28. Think like a repug.

Don't fight the "women should be barefoot and pregnant" mentality. Reinforce anything that would make a person not vote McCain/Palin. My response has been, "I do wonder what would happen if she decided her family has fallen apart enough and she wants to devote her life to raising her young children and not work so hard at being VP. That Governor experience is only good if she's not worrying about her very young children at home." - If anyone ever challenges you based on sexisim on this comment you can make it clear that this would be a concern man or woman. With a mentally handicapped baby, a pregnant teen daughter that dropped out of high school I would have the same worry if Palin was a man. At some point your family falls apart to the point that you decide no job, even vice presidency, is worth destroying my kid's lives.

Then combat the Obama inexperience not with trying to change a person's mind. You can't change someone's mind. Instead inform them further. Obama picked Biden because of his immense experience and I doubt someone as well respected as Biden would put his name with a guy he didn't have confidence in.

You said she was older. Some young pup (or kitten lol) isn't going to make her suddenly "see the light" and start running around with a Obama button on. Reinforce without agreeing with her screwed up view on women and move on.