Politics

Writer: Palin Can’t ‘Be Taken Seriously As a Presidential Contendor Dressed Like That’

Writer: Palin Can’t ‘Be Taken Seriously As a Presidential Contendor Dressed Like That’Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin is gracing the cover of the current issue of Newsweek magazine. As can be expected, she is receiving some criticism — this time over her image. Earlier today, Jonathan Capehart took to The Washington Post’s PostPartisan blog to criticize the 2008 vice-presidential candidate. In making a clear reference to her garb and presence in the cover photo (see right), he writes:

Folks want to be able to envision someone sitting in the Oval Office. They don’t necessarily want to envision them in the pages of Esquire magazine’s “Sexiest Woman Alive 2011” or Maxim. She can’t possibly be taken seriously as a presidential contender dressed like that, especially since this is the second time she has graced Newsweek in a less-than-presidential pose.

Examining Palin’s cover image, one may wonder where the author drew his comparison to Esquire or Maxin from. Capehart also cites the fact that this is the second non-professional outfit Palin has worn on a Newsweek cover (although the image that was used in 2009 was taken for Runner‘s World and used at Newsweek’s discretion; a photographer leaked the images, which Palin lamented. Capehart declines to include this key fact in his post).

He goes on delve into what he calls a more “substantive” critique. He writes that he is “particularly incensed by the lunacy” of Palin‘s take on the nation’s potential default on its debts. In her interview with Newsweek, Palin questioned how severe the situation truly is:

“It is not the apocalypse,” she said, and questioned the need for the urgent negotiating sessions Republicans and Democrats were conducting in search of a debt-limit agreement (ongoing at press time). “The fact is that we have $2.6 trillion in revenue coming in, and if we just use some common sense there—take that revenue, service the debt first, take care of national priorities—we don’t have to increase debt.”

While Capehart accuses Palin of sputtering “nonsense,” he doesn’t spend much time defining his actual issues with her political statements. Instead, he refers readers to a previous post to explain why he thinks her comments constitute insanity. In his other article, which focuses on the nation’s debt, he writes:

Failure to raise the national debt limit is not akin to a government shutdown. Whereas a government shutdown would prevent Social Security checks from being issued until the impasse were resolved, default would stop Social Security checks cold as the federal government moved first to pay the debts it has already incurred with the cash it has or will collect. The damage from a default would be far-reaching and long-lasting.

He concludes his Palin hit piece by targeting her for quitting halfway through her gubernatorial term and questioning why anyone would take her seriously as a leader. Then, he calls Palin’s assertion that she “can win” in 2012 “laughable” and says that she’s a star merely trying to hang on to her fame.

It‘s interesting to see such criticism of a potential presidential candidate’s clothing, considering the praise President Obama has received for his shirtless escapades on the beach. President Bush, too, was known for occasionally sporting “plain folks’” clothing. Is there a difference, here, perhaps due to the fact that Palin is a woman?

Either way, the dig about her garb has little to do with viable disagreements with her policy stances.

So what does it take for a presidential contender to be taken seriously? Click over to The Blog where Meredith offers up more thoughts on this story.

(h/t The Daily Caller)

Comments (513)

1 2 3 ... 16
  • ak
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:56pm

    Oh so now there is a dress code for the Presidential candidates. Will some one define it. Also, since there has been no woman President because of such people, there is no precedent how a woman candidate should dress, she must dress like man.

    What about senators and congressmen they can dress any way they like? Some have posed half dressed i think! A posed photograph is a posed photograph. Or a woman posing as woman is no no.

    They call themselves progressive / liberal!

    Report Post »  
    • Stoic one
      Posted on July 11, 2011 at 2:08pm

      at least one congressman has posed nude……….

      Report Post » Stoic one  
    • Wilkins
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 12:44am

      It’s very simple. To be take seriously as a presidential candidate, a woman needs to wear a pant suit.

      Report Post »  
    • JJ Coolay
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 1:52am

      Umm… IS she a presidential candidate? Cause if so, then I missed that. Why don’t they back off for the time being. As far as I can tell, she’s just an analyst right now.

      Report Post » JJ Coolay  
    • dogman1313
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 7:37am

      Mrs. Clinton tried to dress like a man but her balls keep sticking out.

      Report Post »  
    • Mil-Dot
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:24am

      Check out the bod on Palin. Pretty sweet.

      Report Post »  
    • Thighmaster
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 10:49am

      Don’t forgert about the bj Clinton got and the hide the cigar trick in the Oval Office. Now that’s presidential….

      Report Post » Thighmaster  
    • Bum thrower
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 11:15am

      Pants suit; yuck; thots of Hillary……….this years ass in last year’s pants suit….

      Palin’s HOT!! vote for the ‘hot’ one…..LOL

      Report Post »  
    • bumpkin
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:04pm

      Personally, in this photo, I see a fully-dressed beautiful woman, in a powerful stance, saying I am a strong woman but I am nobody’s daffodil, who has all questionable body parts covered, (EVEN cleavage and shoulders) and isn’t afraid of goofballs like Jonathan Capehart trying to sway public opinion with his assumption that if a media-man says it it MUST be true. That was great-grandma’s era, and its long-gone! So she’s dressed casually. Big deal. She’s a lovely woman, and the magazine wants to sell copy. No reason not to use this photo of her. Capehart is a coward who cannot stand up to his editor that said “find a way to smear this cover pic of Palin” to him. Poor job, Capehart. Tell your Editor to eat sushi!

      Report Post » bumpkin  
    • pipsqueak
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:35pm

      I believe its called “dress code”. In the photo Mrs. Palin is inferring such higher inspirations that one would normally associate a more prestigious (professional) dress code. People in the past held more respect for dress code. But, with the “dumbing” down of America (which started with GW) dress code has gone the way of so many other “rituals”

      Report Post »  
    • Libertyluvnmomma
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:47pm

      I suppose the image of Obama snorting cocaine and talkin’ marxism jive was soo prezidential.

      Report Post » Libertyluvnmomma  
    • J-BOMB
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:56pm

      Good Gawd folks, the woman is wearing ‘active attire’. Wow…

      Report Post » J-BOMB  
    • Libertyluvnmomma
      Posted on July 13, 2011 at 9:08am

      OH PIPSQUEAK- your intellectual elitism is so refreshing. I just love it when I see people still believe they single handedly have the market cornered on being right (wrong).

      Report Post » Libertyluvnmomma  
  • liberalsarealiens
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:55pm

    So Obama in his golf shorts makes him look soooooo presidential! What a MORON this “writer” really is!

    Report Post » liberalsarealiens  
    • urrybr
      Posted on July 11, 2011 at 2:21pm

      Or Obama on his bike with tassles, and a big, dorky looking helmet is regal, . . . right????????????? These guys just hate that Palin isn’t a “stuck-up, sticky-beak.” That she’s a real person (and not a bad-lookin’ one at that), and that she likes to “go casual.”

      Report Post » urrybr  
    • skinnydipinacid
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 12:36am

      Don’t forget Bill Clinton in his jogging short-shorts… now that spells presidential

      Report Post » skinnydipinacid  
    • gman2012
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 1:45am

      This is so messed up. Have you seen MooBama get off planes dressed like something out of Express? Her ass is so large I’m amazed at the lack of criticism for her dedication to eating “healthy”. Who cares what our representatives (not Congressional, but any rep) wear when enjoying time not in office. Does anyone make fun of how totally stupid Obama looks in his shorts and socks when playing golf? What a doof! In the words of the Great One, Mark Levin, I‘d vote for a can of orange juice before I’d vote for Obama. This is all propoganda………

      Report Post »  
    • pipsqueak
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:44pm

      I believe we are taking things out of context again. But, then, comments from the religious right (wrong) are tending in that direction. Mr. Obama was in a more leisurely atmosphere than that which one would infer from the Palin on the front page of Newsweek.

      Seems that comments here do not consider the whole picture. But, then, that would be too difficult, too much of a challenge.

      Report Post »  
    • Libertyluvnmomma
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 11:01pm

      Don’t forget those mom jeans when he threw a baseball like a girl.

      Report Post » Libertyluvnmomma  
  • stinkybisquit
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:55pm

    Obama on a bike. Mr. MomJeans. Flipflops & socks. Sure, vote for that instead of Palin.

    Report Post »  
    • ReviveOurNation
      Posted on July 11, 2011 at 2:13pm

      Don’t forget the shirtless beach shots with the MSM fanning themselves at the very glimpse of his scrawny chest.

      Report Post » ReviveOurNation  
    • dogman1313
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 7:40am

      I wonder if that Beach shot is where Chris Mathews got that Thrill running up his leg from ?

      Report Post »  
  • geonj
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:55pm

    “…Is there a difference, here, perhaps due to the fact that Palin is a woman?” no, the difference is Palin is Palin, and all the leftist loons, like this one from the washington post, are terrified of her.

    Report Post » geonj  
  • Randyrocker
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:55pm

    What a joke the publication that picks the photo, has WaPo claim that the photo that they picked will not do for someone who might wish to be President, as if Sarah Palin herself personally picked the photo to be used.
    Let’s see maybe Paris Hilton will want to run for President again as she did in the last election, and Newsweek will show a still capture frame from one of her unsolicited porn films, and then the WaPo can make the same kind of claim that the photo is unbecoming of a Presidential candidate.
    Idiocy of the press in their support for Obama is unbelievable, then again the ‘DailyBeast and Newsweek’ are left wing organs that are in the pockets of the Democrats and support every thing and all things Obama.

    Report Post »  
    • Lamarr01
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 12:29am

      The picture of Sarah Palin in jogging shoes and red jogging shorts was for the cover of a “running” magazine. It is completely appropriate for the cover of a “running” magazine to have a picture of someone dressed in jogging clothes.

      Newsweak purchased the rights for the picture and placed it on the cover without Sarah’s permission. There is no way Sarah would pose for these pictures if she knew they were to be used on the cover of Newsweak.

      This is the same crap that the tabloids use to sell papers. They buy a picture of a celebrity and use Photoshop to modify the picture. They then invent a good story. Sometimes the tabloids will place to celebrities it one picture and the celebrities haven’t even met each other.

      Report Post » Lamarr01  
    • busterpuddles
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 6:49pm

      If Paris Hilton does run again and a still shot from one of her videos is used as a presidential photo, part of me might gravitate towards pulling my voting lever for her.

      But seriously, tell me Obama wears his suit during his workout and I’ll agree with the author. These pics aren’t chosen by Palin, they’re chosen by the mag editors.

      Report Post » busterpuddles  
    • Libertyluvnmomma
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 11:04pm

      Paris Hilton uses her v@gina as a purse……

      Report Post » Libertyluvnmomma  
  • The Toad
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:54pm

    This is to crazy to respond to!

    Report Post »  
  • rienheart
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:53pm

    The only way the Left will take Sarah Palin Seriously is if she was dressed in a Burka, completely covering her up. They want to keep her in the Back of the bus. Unfortunately for them, they have less credibility than a Glow Worms Belly. Palin MAKES them look like fools every time they open their Mouths and try to paint Palin in their image of someone who doesn’t matter, but every time they write or speak about her, they just reinforce the Notion that she SCARES the Crap out of them, and she Matters more than them BIGTIME. They are Pissants peeing into the wind, It just sprays back all over them.

    Report Post »  
    • BigBadBoogeyman
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 8:55pm

      The only way people will take Palin seriously is when she shuts up.

      The old windbag can’t even face the press (and the phone hacking empire of Murdoch is NOT the press). Maybe when she can respond in understandable English, without having to use a Facebook ghostwriter, like a 12 year old, she’ll be taken seriously. Until then, she will always be considered a an enormous joke and an insult to all women who are able to stand up to those who have differing opinions and respond to their questions in a legible manner.

      Report Post »  
  • karinee
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:53pm

    Who do you think you are kidding Washinton Post?. You think that Newsweek magazine allowed Sarah
    to pick her picture? What la-la land do these leftists live in, that they think we are stupid. Their companies
    are close to bankruptcy and circulation is next to nothing. What a sorry bunch of human beings these
    lefties really are. They see Sarah, and its like throwing red meat to the lions. Scared of Sarah guys????

    Report Post »  
  • goodstix
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:53pm

    What’s a “contendor”?

    Report Post » goodstix  
  • welovetheUSA
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:53pm

    Liberals………..“Do as I say” “Not as I do”

    Report Post » welovetheUSA  
  • CatB
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:53pm

    And yet they will vote for THIS GUY???

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/13737541@N00/2556936463/

    TEA!

    Report Post »  
  • MartyTr
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:51pm

    http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/moon/general.htm ..Wapo writer, you work for a psycho Sun Myung Moon, an ex-con who thinks he is god!!!!!! Someone please make this stop. The insane are running the insane asylum.

    Report Post »  
    • VegasGuy
      Posted on July 11, 2011 at 2:16pm

      Another selectively misogynistic liberal bashes Palin. When is this tactic going to get old?

      Report Post » VegasGuy  
    • A Doctors Labor Is Not My Right
      Posted on July 11, 2011 at 2:36pm

      TheBlaze author, Billy Hallowell asked:

      “Is there a difference, here, perhaps due to the fact that Palin is a woman?”

      Yes! Yes, there is.

      Respectable as Mrs. Palin is in her positions, leaders of other countries are rightfully (in one sense) ogling her.

      It‘s in mens’ nature to want to be leaders and providers, and it‘s in womens’ nature to want men to be leaders and to support them; So men are simply not going to respect Mrs. Palin as a President.

      I think if you ask women, they would tend to agree with this (as long as they don’t mistakenly see this position as “controlling”).

      Report Post »  
    • Wilkins
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 12:50am

      @A Doctors Labor Is Not My Right

      Two words: Margaret Thatcher. She was considered quite fetching in her day. Men learned to respect her. Had no choice. Best post-WWII PM Britain had, and one of the best ever.

      Report Post »  
    • A Doctors Labor Is Not My Right
      Posted on July 12, 2011 at 11:42am

      @Wilkins,

      “Two words: Margaret Thatcher. She was considered quite fetching in her day. Men learned to respect her. Had no choice.”

      Did men learn to respect HER, or the men in front of her?

      Report Post »  
  • SpankDaMonkey
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:51pm

    .
    WaPo Writer: Palin Can’t ‘Be Taken Seriously As a Presidential Contendor Dressed Like That’

    SpankDaMonkey: Can’t believe you can type that fast with just one hand!!!!…….

    Report Post » SpankDaMonkey  
  • 13th Imam
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:49pm

    The World goes to Hell,, Who do you want leading the country? Sarah Palin , who knows what end of a rifle to use or Barry who couldn’t even get shovel ready jobs to work. Sarah in a sweatshirt has more cajones than that slender fingered dufus, BHO.

    Report Post » 13th Imam  
    • tower7femacamp
      Posted on July 11, 2011 at 2:07pm

      are we even sure there will be an election in 2012 ?
      Hail Obama king of the Goys

      President Barack Obama is rapidly advancing an executive dictatorship that threatens to completely nullify the US Constitution if left unchecked, with his administration hastily eroding every other branch of government as the White House crosses the rubicon to push through its political agenda on every front, from the war in Libya to domestic gun control.
      http://www.infowars.com/obama-is-establishing-an-executive-dictatorship/

      Report Post » tower7femacamp  
  • BigPaulie
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:48pm

    Seriously, does ANYONE care what the left-wingers at the HuffPo think? Obama dresses in a nice suit often and is like a cancer in the White House and on this country. Only a liberal snob could think wearing a sweatshirt means you cannot be President. As we found out in 2008, anyone can be elected, and just about anyone would be an improvement over our current disgrace-in-chief.

    Report Post »  
    • grandmaof5
      Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:51pm

      Apparently this guy has never seen the tacky, tasteless outfits the FLOTUS has worn. Michelle Obama has absolutely no class and it shows in her wardrobe – she will wear anything that is in style no matter how ridiculous it looks on her.

      Report Post »  
  • poorrichardsnews
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:48pm

    The WaPo is full of sexist hypocrites. They were the ones who drooled over Obama’s “pectacular” beach bod! http://poorrichardsnews.com/post/7497042855/wapo-on-palins-newsweek-cover-she-cant-possibly-be Remember?

    Report Post » poorrichardsnews  
    • CatB
      Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:52pm

      But they will vote for THIS GUY????

      http://www.flickr.com/photos/13737541@N00/2556936463/

      TEA!

      Report Post »  
    • cheezwhiz
      Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:57pm

      Is there a difference, here, perhaps due to the fact that Palin is a woman?
      ————–
      There is a difference ofcourse, but it is due to the fact that Palin is good looking woman .
      Libidiots only know how to deal with fugly leftwing bee-aches like Madeline Albright, Helen Thomas , Hillary and ofcourse Moochl

      Report Post » cheezwhiz  
  • cheezwhiz
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:47pm

    Did Palin put her own pictures on those covers herself ?

    Report Post » cheezwhiz  
    • Dagger82
      Posted on July 11, 2011 at 2:13pm

      Absolutely NOT ~ It‘s Newsweek for pete’s sake, a liberal rag. I used to read it for international and national news, but it has since become a progressive mouthpiece. Recall what the writer said…
      ________________________________
      While Capehart accuses Palin of sputtering “nonsense,” he doesn’t spend much time defining his actual issues with her political statements.
      ________________________________

      It’s a ridiculous story in a left-slanting media whore. The cover was selected to entice you to pick it up and spend your hard earned money to read the crappy article just like last time. Simple as that.

      Report Post » Dagger82  
  • last frontier
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:46pm

    And Hillary’s cankles are presidential.

    Report Post » last frontier  
  • MartyTr
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:46pm

    But we better take the marxists and the communists in the white house seriously before they destroy America. RUN PALIN RUN. Remember you “smart” elites, it’s not whats on the outside, it’s whats on the inside. Palin has a great American heart, Obama and his followers hate America.

    Report Post »  
  • CatB
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:45pm

    Want to BET!

    TEA!

    Report Post »  
  • PanicFire
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:45pm

    The Dems are so fearful that she will run. LOL!

    Report Post » PanicFire  
  • 1proudAmerican
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:45pm

    She’s a CONSERVATIVE woman. That makes all the difference to the Liberals.

    Report Post »  
    • duckman1911
      Posted on July 11, 2011 at 2:39pm

      Thats why the libs hate us so much. Look at conservative women…. Sarah Palin,Michelle Bochman,Ann Coulter,Laura Ingraham… Now look at liberal women….Hillary Clinton,Nancy Pelosi,Janet Nepolitano….Conservatives have all the good looking female politicians….The libs are just jealous….lol

      Report Post » duckman1911  
    • 1proudAmerican
      Posted on July 11, 2011 at 3:27pm

      That’s for sure. It’s not just politicians, though. Compare Rachel Maddow to Megan Kelly!

      Report Post »  
  • goodgrubguy
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:44pm

    But Obama with no shirt on in Hawaii – greatest President ever?

    Report Post » goodgrubguy  
    • NOBALONEY
      Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:50pm

      More double standard from the MSM.

      Report Post » NOBALONEY  
    • Jim in Houston
      Posted on July 11, 2011 at 4:28pm

      The buffoon doesn’t look (or act) presidential no matter what he is wearing. A dork looks like a dork no matter what.

      Report Post »  
  • IAMMADDOG
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:42pm

    And MOST of the newscasters can’t be taken as serious journalists. So how can we take your criticisms of Palin as news or even as truth?

    Report Post »  
    • Anonymous T. Irrelevant
      Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:57pm

      They are such obvious, biased, morons. What about Obama in his basketball clothes? What, no criticism?

      Report Post » Anonymous T. Irrelevant  
    • bullcrapbuster
      Posted on July 11, 2011 at 2:07pm

      The debt limit crisis is very likely mostly BULLCRAP. This is the same crap that we have been fed by Dems and Reps for years. (give us more money or the sky will fall) Sarah sounds the most believable on the real consequences of failure to raise the debt ceiling.Yep prioritize and trim the fat.

      Report Post » bullcrapbuster  
  • vennoye
    Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:42pm

    The elites are losing their grip on the American People………we just blow them off anymore….wonder how long it will take them to give up and fade away!! Certainly not soon enough!

    Report Post » vennoye  
    • bullcrapbuster
      Posted on July 11, 2011 at 1:52pm

      Palin drives the loons stark raving mad. They are terrified of her. They more that anyone else know who can destroy their socialist agenda. Palin will win She is just too damn good to be stopped by the liberal hate fest. They are out of ammo.

      Report Post » bullcrapbuster  
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