HYMAN: Why they hate her

Very well said Mark. Sarah Palin is one of the most incredible people on the political stage. Her accomplishments are enormous. True reformer, true budget hawk. And you are dead on about her National Guard command. Hers is the only one on permanent deployment, manning our northern air defenses. She is the first line of defense for the US against threats from Russia, China, or North Korea. Governor Palin carries one of the highest security clearances because of this unique position. And lets not forget her time running the Alaskan oil and gas commission that oversees everything to do with energy. Her resume is stronger than Obama's, Biden's and McCain's combined. Sarah Palin is the only reason Obama didn't win in a landslide. Instead, she was able to drag McCain towards the finish line to only get beat by a few million votes. She carries a 80 plus approval rating in Alaska, and a 92 percent approval rating among conservatives nationally. No one since Ronald Reagan has had this kind of juice! The Obama campaign should be very afraid indeed. In 4 years, when he has run this country into the ground, it will be Sarah Palin who will be there to get the keys to the White House from him!

Despite all the unfair attacks on Gov Palin , the lies and gossip the main stream media and others are spreading about Gov.Palin she is staying very cool, sportive an stately. Gov.Palin has reached her current position through hard work and on her own power. With team spirit and a singular vision,Gov.Palin achieved more progress in two years toward the development of a natural gas pipeline than the previous two administrations put together and she ushered in reform at a time when Alaskan legislators were being convicted of corruption She is really a full emancipated ,smart,strong and attractive woman;and that make some people ( mainly on the left) very envious.

No. Americans don't like her. Americans LOVE her! She is not a victim, because she is a VICTOR! Liberals HATE her because she is not elitest. They HATE common people. They think only the elite are worthy to lead. They do not believe in citizen-governance; it must be only by the annointed ones. Unfortunately, those annointed ones too frequently lack the quality of character that is required to lead this great nation. You forgot to mention that she can bring down a moose. Without Senator McCain hindering her, I am certain she can bring down the reigning Democrat in 2012, also.

The Cafe/Starbucks crowd, the social intellect only seeks consensus and then hides behind the confusion and blames when things go awry. Obama is a person of consensus but they are not sure what he can do, so there is a lot of hope and much more uncertainty. Palin seeks consensus but knows what to do without it. This scares the social intellect. Someone who can act and speak without a teleprompter. She can actually think based on her values (This also bothered McCain's staff) and some legal tautology. What scares them worse is that she has been successful. What they fear they hate.

Is this article supposed to be the ridiculous parody it is? Or is Hyman totally clueless? "Women want to be her. Men want to be with her and not just because she is very attractive." Dude - relax. Woman voted overwhelmingly for Obama - they not only don't want to be her - she actually embarrasses them. The only men that "want to be with her" or middle-aged white men with absolutely no game, like you. What a laugher. Amazing that the Times pays you for this swill.

Mr Hyman, You do realize that the Governor's approval rating was the lowest of the 4 presidential and vice presidential candidates? Almost no one hates her. They may hate the idea of such an ignorant and incurious boob being second in line for the presidency though. Governor Palin does not command the Alaska National Guard in any day to day sense. Any AKNG unit in active federal service (such as air commands guarding US airpsace) are commanded through the regular military chain of command. Palin would only "command" them if they were to be used for disaster assistance for example and has no command authority when the troops are overseas. I could go on and on about how wrong the rest of your scribblings are but that would waste more of my time. I'll let the last two elections results speak for me to demonstrate how wrong you are about most of the country. And I'm almost certain the people of Alaska will speak the same way next election and boot Mrs. Palin out.

We are already in Obama's recession, things will only go downhill from here. She will be the first woman President, surely a historic occasion that we can all cheer for *yes we can*

Remarkable person, Sarah Palin, and you added some more accomplishments we knew nothing of. To the list of nasties who viciously attacked this innocent woman, I could add one that I noticed that may have been more widespread than some others. There were a lot of otherwise good people who felt contempt for this, the nation's most accomplished woman, because she learned informal speech patterns. Most of rural and small town Americans who do not have educated parents, such as myself, speak English differently than those who learn standard English as a first language. We give ourselves credit for being brighter than others using many excuses, and this is one of them. I should not need to point out that speaking French does not mean you are brighter, everyone who is French does, even children. Speaking standard English does not make you brighter than rural people, nor does being urban. This has to be in the same category as thinking you are better or brighter than someone who is a different race or national origin, except it is more pretentious.

It's not hate, it's utter surprise and disgust that someone at the level of VP candidate could try to erode the unity that our great country was built upon. The associated press is reporting incidents of the continuing ugliness of political hate speech following our recent election. One should never underestimate the potential consequences that can flow from the demonizing of political enemies. And for this McCain and company should be held to account. Some recent examples of what hate can do to a society...... East Timor fell into a mini-civil war in 2006 when Easterners, backed by the military, were pitted against Westerners, backed by the police. Several skirmishes between the police and the military resulted in many dead including several UN peace keepers. The whole society fell apart and large internally displaced camps were created by those who feared violence in their neighborhoods where each camp had marked the doors on homes with a symbol for either the west or the east signifying which part of the country the occupants came from. In Rwanda, the Hutus waged a campaign of hate calling the Tutsis "cockroaches" and broadcasting hate rhetoric on the popular radio station MilleCollines. This resulted in the 1994 massacres of tens of thousands of Tutsisfollowed by a retaliatory massacre and the mass exodus of over 2 millionHutus into refugee camps in neighboring Zaire. The current problems that are plaguing Eastern Congo now, with General Nkunda's crusade to protect the Tutsi's interests in the area, are a direct outcome of this hate inspired war that blew up in Rwanda and then spilled into Congo. The deep seated hate that these heinous campaigns have forged, have handicapped each society's ability to work in unison. In some cases the hate is palpable and people from one side will not even consider collaborating, solely because they are from the other camp. Although McCain/Palin tactics have been compared to McCarthyism, they are much more volatile. McCarthy waged a war of ideology, this last campaign was much more sinister. Terrorists are seen as killers who strike unexpectedly and linking Senator Obama to such people was an irresponsible, short-sided, and self-serving use of the American people's trust in our leadership. The American people should demand an apology for the hate campaign waged against President elect Obama using exaggerated accusations of "palling with terrorists", of being "anti-American", and using even more incendiary language such as "Democrats think terrorists are the good guys". Before we join Rwanda, Congo and East Timor down hate's "path of no return", our leaders should think about the consequences of their words and Americans should hold them accountable for their actions.

Mr. Hyman: I do NOT want to be Sarah Palin. My husband does NOT want to be with her. Face it: She was a dreadful candidate who is totally unworthy for the vice presidency. And for you to cry sexism, given how the Right has dismissed feminism for years, is laughably hypocritical. Starting thinking with your brain, rather than your crotch, sir. You'll be doing yourself a favor.

"It's not hate, it's utter surprise and disgust that someone at the level of VP candidate could try to erode the unity that our great country was built upon." Wow, that's huge stretch! Are you sure that you don't hate her? My goodness, she's only eroding the fabric of this "great American society." Frankly, I'm kind of sick of hysterical ninnies from both sides of the aisle and their acidic hatred of Sarah Palin. I don't think she was a brilliant candidate, but she no sillier than Joe Biden. Didn't the "right" side win the whole enchilda (if your a Democrat or a true Feminist)? Shut-up and celebrate your victory and ignore Sarah Palin. You folks can't even win graciously.

Vera71 - "Shut-up and celebrate your victory and ignore Sarah Palin. You folks can't even win graciously." You totally lost the point. It is not about just winning. Look past that for a minute and realize that we all lost because so many Americans bought into the "them vs. us" mentality when they were using the "pro-American", "real American" rhetoric. What was the point ? People who don't think like McCain/Palin are "Fake" or "Anti" American ? How anti-American is that thinking ? I have seen hate first hand in Congo, East Timor, Rwanda, and Sudan and I don't want that in my America !!! We all lose when politicians push hate!

freeamerican1994, She's not worthy how? Please explain. Think first just don't blurt out stupid stuff. StopHate,are you for real? Did you happen to notice any hate and vile speech directed towards GWB the last 8 years? The hypocrisy that ozzes from you Lefties is just mind boggling. If Barry is a great Prez you won't have to worry about Gov Palin in 12'. Get your eyes out of the mirror and watch the road,your driving now.

Sarah did not lose this election, McCain and Bush lost it. McCain because he had many past political decisions that were against conservatives. George Bush because he never used the bully pulpit. Sarah won the hearts of conservative America in this election, that is why she is so feared and hated by the left. She is a threat to them. They don't spend their hate energy on someone that is inconsequential to them. All the feminism, minority rights, and other victims are established by the left only to help themselves. It is all about politics with them. But they can't help it, they are the psychological type that is dominated by the emotional side of the brain. And it is played to very well by liberal leaders, like a 12 string guitar. After all, hate is an emotion not a logical conclusion. First it was Bush, now it is Sarah. Hate will destroy itself. It is a negative emotion that provides nothing sustaining to life. Ever notice how easy it is to be fond of someone, but how draining it is to HATE someone?

I almost forgot, "you betcha"!