Palin Protests Rahm Emanuel

[Rahm] Emanuel used a non-PC term in a private meeting. I have done the same thing before, as have many people I have met privately with ["Sarah Palin Embraces 'Retarded' Political Correctness," usnews.com]. Rather than calling for his resignation, perhaps a verbal or written reprimand is more in order. One could reasonably believe that this is a fairly easy issue to correct, and that demanding one's resignation is a punishment disproportional to the offense. But, it makes for great, free media coverage if one was interested in staying in the spotlight (as I believe is the case with Palin). However, I still do not believe Palin is, nor should be, a relevant figure in the context of present-day politics. I personally believe that she lacks the contextual sophistication needed to truly understand not only America's economic and diplomatic situations, but also the ability to present practical solutions.

Comment by Steve of VA

Much has been written and commented on about Rahm Emanuel's recent remarks. This author is trying to brush it off as "merely an apt metaphor." Really? Come on, you're missing the bigger picture, and that is the decency that we expect our elected officials to show. They are elected to represent us (all of us). With this responsibility comes a position to act as role model. This is not the average Joe down the street, this is an elected official representing the people, who are televised, reported on, written about, and supposedly "respected." There is nothing to respect about this remark and it just proves that Rahm Emanuel hasn't the decency to be in the position he is in. I agree with Sarah [Palin].

Comment by Danny of AK 

I'm sorry to report this, but the term "retard" is a scientific word. As a person who is working toward her doctorate in psychology, I hear this term daily. Popular culture has turned it into a joke, but scientifically, it is used to describe a person who has an intelligence score bellow the average. I'm sorry if some people in this country use it as an insult, but that will happen with every word we use to describe this condition. The word "special" is already being taken out of context. So, we all just need to thicken our skin, be adults, and not blow this our of proportion.

Comment by Natalie Foster of RI 

No matter what you do, or who you have in your family, you'll never feel the pain of a parent who has a child with a disability. You may think you can because you became someone's guardian, but you can never understand it until you live it as a parent. Maybe Governor Palin is being hypersensitive, but when you have a child with a disability you're given a little latitude. And why is it wrong to hold our elected/appointed officials to a higher standard? We wouldn't be in this mess today if we had done that with our last four presidents (current one included). We make it a popularity contest instead of an interview. Would you hire your child's doctor the way you hired your elected official? I think not. The president is talking in my state today, and if I could afford to take the day off of work, I'd go and give him a piece of my mind. But alas, I have to work and pay my taxes!

Comment by Bill of NH 

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