Sarah Palin Is Less Stupid Than The Liberal Press Over Paul Revere: Vote Obama for Gaffes

SARAH Palin is no academic heaveyweight. But, then, neither is Barack Obama. Neither was George Bush – both of them. Americans like their leaders to be above average in looks and charisma, have telegenic hair and a nice goofy grin. They like their leaders to be within reach, or, as you might put it, within shooting distance.

You might expect, then, that gaffes would be plentiful. They are. You might also expect that anyone hopeful of being President should come over as being too smart. Which brings us to Sarah Palin. Is she dumber than Obama No. Is she brighter? No. Is she better at winning over the media? No. Is she worse? Yes.

Palin has been talking about Paul Revere, the rider who warned the Americans that the British were coming to slaughter them.  Palin said of Revere:

He who warned, uh, the British that they weren’t going to be taking away our arms uh by ringing those bells and making sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be secure and we were going to be free and we were going to be armed.

That “uh” let’s you know that the transcriber on Think Progress is no Palin fan.

Jim Newell writes on Gawker:

Revere did not warn the British army to step off by ringing bells in their faces and shooting warning shots at them. That would have been counterproductive. Instead, he notified the appropriate colonists in an alarm system chain to give advance warning for protecting the rebel arsenal in Concord.

Sarah Palin would’ve shot all those Lobsterbacks good, though, one by one.

You pander to your readers. New York Magazine’s Dan Amira is snotty:

Many Americans think they have a solid understanding of the country’s founding. No taxation without representation, tea party, Boston Massacre, George Washington, all that jazz. But, not surprisingly, Über-patriot Sarah Palin knows more than the average American. In fact, she may have more expertise on the subject than anybody else. For example, yesterday she revealed some heretofore unknown facts about Paul Revere’s midnight ride. Did you know that he was actually warning the British, through the repeated ringin’ of bells?

What occurs is that the media takes the quote and spins it to fit an agenda. Legal Insurrection notes:

In fact, as pointed out at Conservatives4Palin, Revere did in fact tell the British that the colonial militias, who had been alerted, were waiting for them.  Here is the original historical text written by Revere (spelling in original, bold added):

I observed a Wood at a Small distance, & made for that. When I got there, out Started Six officers, on Horse back,and orderd me to dismount;-one of them, who appeared to have the command, examined me, where I came from,& what my Name Was? I told him. it was Revere, he asked if it was Paul? I told him yes He asked me if I was an express? I answered in the afirmative. He demanded what time I left Boston? I told him; and aded, that their troops had catched aground in passing the River, and that There would be five hundred Americans there in a short time, for I had alarmed the Country all the way up. He imediately rode towards those who stoppd us, when all five of them came down upon a full gallop; one of them, whom I afterwards found to be Major Mitchel, of the 5th Regiment, Clapped his pistol to my head, called me by name, & told me he was going to ask me some questions, & if I did not give him true answers, he would blow my brains out. He then asked me similar questions to those above. He then orderd me to mount my Horse, after searching me for arms.This account in “Paul Revere’s Ride” by David Hackett Fischer (Oxford University Press 1994), may be of interest to Think Progress and all the others laughing because they purport to be so much better informed than Palin:

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Posted: 5th, June 2011 | In: Key Posts, Reviews Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink