As we move closer to election season, both the bold and the cowardly are coming forward to test their bids for the White House.
President Barack Obama has lost his position as the champion of hope and the “yes we can” mentality is under fire from all corners of the GOP’s relentless push to retake the presidency. Within all of the noise and banter of those who would like to reach the apex of their own personal ambition, what is most fascinating about this current race is the gaggle of potential candidates who will seek Mr. Obama’s position.
Whereas it has been the case throughout this nation’s history that the presidency is reserved for the best and brightest of our citizenry, the Republican Party has made it its mission to find a candidate who represents the worst elements of our social make-up. There is no greater example of such a pursuit as the former governor of Alaska and failed vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin.
As I have been recently watching Palin’s speeches along with her other GOP contenders, I suddenly found myself wondering how this woman has been able to bring herself to the position she now occupies.
Palin, whose only serious accomplishment is being excellent at making her corruption look like the fight for the “common man,” also stirred up such levels of hatred that she was almost blamed for the shooting of congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Watching her muddle through a language she obviously has yet to master and scream out falsified facts and baseless opinions makes me wonder how the force of Palin was unleashed upon an innocent nation.
The Republican Party is no newcomer to finding its most unqualified members as the contenders for this nation’s highest office. We have learned this lesson already through the numerous preceding GOP administrations of recent decades, but Palin represents something that is both new and far more terrifying.
Whereas in the past the Republican Party has, at its minimum, erected the facade of an intelligent and charismatic leader, with both the Bush administration as evidence and the growing list of possible 2012 contenders, it appears that this party is no longer making such an effort.
Instead, Republicans are content with finding the candidate who represents the greatest level of incompetence and idiocy we as modern humans are capable of imagining.
President Bush’s famed persona of being the “guy you want to have a beer with” has unleashed upon this nation the most disgusting and horrifying
movement of celebrated stupidity and ineptness. The results of this movement are now becoming clear as our capital is quickly filling with people holding a level of intelligence and judgement comparable to an infant.
A version of this article appeared in the Apr 20 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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I really don't think many people take her seriously. Sarah Palin's media attention is more a product of journalistic laziness than it is legitimate interest in her candidacy. She's a goof candidate same as Donald Trump.
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u obviously think if u use a large amount of big words that say the same thing every sentence that wow r we going listen ur the idiot u couldn't close to what
Sarah Palin has done in her life. u r nothing but a woman hater and cant stand it that she has accomplished more in just birth than u will ever accomplish
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like those were big words lol
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Are you referring to me or are you referring to the article and accidentally replied to my comment.
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I would like to thank you for this view point. It is all too much these days as I read accounts of slander and babbling theocratic motivation for policies in which serve no purpose but to put ourselves ass backwards on the front line of another civil war. This woman is dangerous, and to think of her in the oval office with nukes at her disposal scares the crap out of me. I wish more people would speak out about her ignorance and lack of humanity! Thank you again!
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Really? I'll submit to you that this woman is about to CRUSH your guy, Obama, in the 2012 election. Man, you people are unreal.
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Sarah Palin would get owned against Obama. She is an idiot. I still think she would be a billion times better than him, but she will never win the election.
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I'm pretty sure the only people that would get owned during an Obama-Palin election would be the American population.
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aahhahaha
Obama is a MASSIVE disaster. A slow witted moron. The S&P just told the world he is an incompetent boob.
ALL OF YOU CLOWNS VOTED/SUPPORT THE FOOL so insulting Palin (coming from you fools) is a compliment!!
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RE THE GUY REFERENCING THE S&P
the fact that Obama might be incompetent aside, do we really want to live in a world where the financial markets determine which policies we can or ought to have?
whatever happened to the concepts of real freedom and democracy?
How is having the markets judge our leaders and determine our outcomes for us any better than having a strongman do the same?
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Sarah Palin is an idiot as are most of the GOP hopefuls. However, Obama has royally screwed our country. How can a liberal honestly back Obama going into libya without congressional approval after bashing Bush about the same thing for years? When will america wake up and realize both of these parties suck? They both only say what they say to get elected: they both have evil agendas. We need a third party candidate to win to save this country, or Ron Paul.
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I wasn't aware we had thousands of ground troops fighting in Libya.
Ron Paul wants to eliminate the department of education, get out of here.
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I am a libertarian, yet I do not align myself with the Tea Party. I am a fan of true conservatism (not religious neo conservatism). I don't think that prayer should be in school. I don't think that we should be deemed a "Christian" nation. I believe that we should respect intelligence. Look up Taft and Groover Cleveland if you want to read about true conservatism. Sarah Palin, the "I quit" Governor, the egocentric "public servant" who went on a 6 million dollar book tour while leaving Alaska behind. The "average American" who truly is average. A communication degree from community colleges. I bet she knows exactly how to handle the Fed, and the complexity of our economy! Foreign Affairs - her accent would make China respect the US so much. I loathe Sarah Palin. She is everything that is wrong with America. If the GOP elects her, I will vote for Obama, just to spite them. It would be a slap in the face to true conservatives.
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Um, as a libertarian (i too am one) you would be an idiot to vote for Obama. If Ron or Rand Paul, or some other liberty-minded individual wins the nomination, you should vote for them as a republican. If not, you should vote Libertarian, or not vote.
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Pretty sure he said that he would vote for Obama if Palin won the Republication nomination and not that he's going to vote for Obama.
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How exactly would not voting help anyone?
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In the primaries I will vote for Ron Paul. In the General Election I will not vote because there will be no difference between Obama and whichever Republican stooge the Party leaders and media shove down our throats. People like Ron Paul, Rand Paul, Gary Johnson and Jessie Ventura are true outsiders and true change. But all these other turds like Romney, Palin, Huckabee, Obama, Clinton, McCain and all the rest of them are the exact same-- they are arguing specifics over the SAME FREAKING POLICY.
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Ron Paul MAY actually stand a decent chance this time around, if not his son Rand may. Despite the tea party being hijacked by the GOP, there is a growing libertarian movement in America. Also, there are 0 prominent candidates for the GOP that can bring the party together, e.g. why this article was written. Ron would get all of the republican vote while also stealing a substantial number of liberals and independents -something no other GOP candidate can do.
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I agree that Ron Paul is the ONLY GOP candidate that can steal TONS of liberal and independent votes from Obama. However, the leadership of the Party will once again do everything in its power to make sure that Paul does not get the nomination. Do not believe me? Join the Party, go to the mass meetings, the county, district and state conventions, and watch the leadership screw Paul. I went to these in 2007/2008 and saw firsthand at the county and district level how the leadership manipulates things. The chairwoman of the party (Paty Manthy, at the time) told me and another incognito Paul supporter at the 9th District meeting "we have to watch out for Paul supporters, they are showing up at meetings across the country."
Paul is a threat to the entire establishment of both parties. He takes a wrecking ball to the false left-right paradigm in which the masses are tricked into voting for the lesser of two evils. The powers that be hate Paul.
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I want a President who will get rid of all my taxes and give me more benefits. I want a strong defense, medicare, medicaid, social security, as much pork as I can consume...oh...and cheap gas. I also demand no domestic terrorist attacks but I don't want anybody spying on me or patting me down at the airport. Dammit, why can't they deliver?
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If you actually think Jessie Ventura is a good candidate for president, you sir, are a moron. Venture is one of the biggest idiots to ever hold any type of elected office. His stupid "Conspiracy Theory" show is the perfect display of his ineptitude to hold ANY office. Watch his interview with Piers Morgan. Piers rips him a new one the entire time. Palin would be leaps and bounds better than Ventura.
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Do you know how many people watch Fox News? How many buy Entertainment Weekly and other gossip magazines? Who better to represent the true American "spirit" than Sarah Palin: the perfect confluence of pseudo-conservative whack job and celebrity.
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Superb article. I agree that we are in need of a third party to prevent us from going into a political civil war. The current republican line-up is a JOKE and Obama's reelection chances are weak (not that I want him reelected). What's even scarier than Palin however is Trump...can't stand to even imagine him leading our nation...
anyway, can't wait to read matt hurt's arrogant, ultra conservative response to this article. That kids needs to quit fighting his homosexuality...have you seen his fb profile???
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The world seriously needs less people like you. Matt Hurt is twice the man you'll ever be.
Three cheers for tolerance and open-minded, mature discussion, everybody!
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tolerance? open-minded? MATURE?
All ironic is describing a conservative argument
Hurt't twice the man? That's laughable
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Matt Hurt's "arrogant, ultra conservative response." As opposed to Jason Campbell's humble, ultra moderate articles? Please. This opinion piece is a hit job with no facts to back up Jason's seething. You can practically see the spittle flying from his mouth as he typed this. It's simply typical, emotion-based writing that's so typical of the contemporary left. Funny thing is, I have no use for Sarah Palin myself but this column is so over-the-top it's ridiculous. Perhaps young Jason is auditioning to take Eugene Robinson's place as the the resident "most partisanest left winger" at the Washington Post.
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The current office holder was just as unqualified, in fact, less so. His "learning on the job" has hurt this country here and abroad. He truely is the worst President ever placed in office (which is something, considering I voted for Carter and still have regrets for that!!).
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Please explain to me how a governor who didn't even complete her term in office is more qualified to be president than a senator.
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The "senator" was only in office for an hour in a half before he started his run for higher office. He voted "present" the majority of the time his ass was in that seat. The dude has never even held a "real" job in his life and certainly never been an administrator over any meaningful organization prior to his "selection" by the "informed" masses. He's a joke of a leader...
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"only in office for an hour in a half"
Please learn to speak English before you vote.
Folks, this is where our country is, and there's not a thing you can do about it. Awesome.
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haha "hour in a half"...thank you for calling that. as i was reading this, i was hoping the next comment would have something to do with the lack of proper english in that phrase.
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Yeah seriously, extremely strong counter point.
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People who write tripe like this are people who don't know a thing about Palin's record.
"Palin, whose only serious accomplishment is being excellent at making her corruption look like the fight for the “common man,”
Heh. Tell that to the Big Oil companies she crushed with her patent leather pump. They're having a field day up there trying to tak advantage of Alaskans again now that she's gone.
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tak = take
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I think the author of this political hit piece on Palin gets too much of his news from Saturday Night Live. Hey, didn't Tina Fey graduate from U.Va? Go figure.
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That's the one thing she did right, and she wouldn't even have gotten that done without Democratic legislators in Alaska backing her up. And other than one post on Facebook, I haven't seen her do much to urge that the profits-based tax structure not be repealed. In fact, she often says we shouldn't tax energy. Her policy positions seem to go wherever the wind is currently blowing.
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I submit that today the word "elite" carries a connotation of someone who looks down on other people rather than someone who is truly educated and has the right ideas. And the education one receives at Ivy League schools these days leaves a lot to be desired, IMHO.
BTW, I talked to a guy who went to Harvard with Barack Obama. He said that there was only one guy in his class that didn't graduate with honors. Guess who?
Obama wasn't remotely qualified to run for President. After his term in office, pretty much anything goes.
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You might want to check your facts. Obama graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard; an honor reserved for the top 20% of the graduating class, that literally means "with great praise".
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But the gossip pages on Fox News probably say otherwise, and THEY must be true...
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Bush also went to harvard and yale too i believe, that's not saying much. You can go to a great school and still not be a good politician. Obama is a smart man, but he's also got a socialist agenda that is ruining this country quicker than Bush.
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Except Bush had a 2.35 undergraduate GPA leaving Yale. Leaving high school, he had a 1200 SAT score. How many people do you think could get into Yale with an SAT score that low without a famous family? He got into both schools based on his name.
I think it's foolish to compare politicians based on college grades, but don't talk about Bush graduating from Yale as if it is a huge accomplishment.
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Bush got an MBA from Harvard Business School. If liberals are going to point to Obama's postgraduate degree from Harvard as "proof" of his brilliance then Bush's can't be discounted.
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Personally, I think Sarah has good qualities, a heart that is for the American people and integrity which are all things Obama lacks. I personalyl would like to see Palin run in 2012.
I found an article with some reasons why she would run: http://freedomist.com/2011/04/five-reasons-not-to-count-sarah-palin-out-in-2012-time-com/
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Oh yeah. Trump Palin 2012...I'm there. Here's #1 reason she should run.
http://lynnrockets.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/sarah-palin-quitters-world.jpg
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As a liberal, I think it would be great if Palin got the GOP nomination. I also think it'd be great if Trump, Bachmann, or Huckabee got it.
Really, I just think I'm lucky that the only republican candidates with any visibility are religious nut jobs.
Palin, for the reasons you gave is a horrible choice - Bachmann is the same as Palin with a different name - Trump isn't even a savvy business man. How many times has he declared bankruptcy? - And Huckabee raised a dog murderer, and doesn't believe in the separation of church and state. Woo
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The statement that Trump isn't a savvy business man is completely false. Anyone who would say otherwise knows nothing about business. Yes, he declared bankruptcy, but the man paid off all of his debts and is doing quite well.
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Regardless...he's a birther, and a lunatic.
not so savvy.
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Birther? Yes. Lunatic? Yes. But those two things have not stopped his business success...
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"...Huckabee raised a dog murderer..."
LOL. Wow. I find it hilarious that not only is this your best argument against Huckabee running, but that you honestly think this is in any way relevant to his ability to lead a nation.
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I suppose I probably should have been more clear about why that ends up being a serious problem.
Huckabee's son ended up not being punished legally for what he did. His father, the governor, made sure of that. He was kicked out of the boy scouts, as he was a troop leader when he tortured and killed the dog, but when it came time for charges to be filed, his father made sure nothing came of it.
If he was willing to abuse his power to favor his son, who else will he favor while potentially in office?
Obviously that's not the only thing wrong with him. He's also religiously intolerant, which to me personally is a big deal.
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I suppose I probably should have been more clear about why that ends up being a serious problem.
Huckabee's son ended up not being punished legally for what he did. His father, the governor, made sure of that. He was kicked out of the boy scouts, as he was a troop leader when he tortured and killed the dog, but when it came time for charges to be filed, his father made sure nothing came of it.
If he was willing to abuse his power to favor his son, who else will he favor while potentially in office?
Obviously that's not the only thing wrong with him. He's also religiously intolerant, which to me personally is a big deal.
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I suppose I probably should have been more clear about why that ends up being a serious problem.
Huckabee's son ended up not being punished legally for what he did. His father, the governor, made sure of that. He was kicked out of the boy scouts, as he was a troop leader when he tortured and killed the dog, but when it came time for charges to be filed, his father made sure nothing came of it.
If he was willing to abuse his power to favor his son, who else will he favor while potentially in office?
Obviously that's not the only thing wrong with him. He's also religiously intolerant, which to me personally is a big deal.
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I don't. Even though I am not a Republican, I still want the major parties in this country represented by intelligent, thoughtful people with a positive vision for this country. If the GOP really does nominate one of the candidates you mention above, it will be a heartbreaking indication that a good portion of American voters have lost their capacity for critical thinking.
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The author that wrote this article should probably look up terms such as political correctness or tact. What purpose does this article serve other than to slander a political party and its members? Blatantly bias articles are nothing new from the Collegiate Times, but this has to be the biggest piece of trash I've read. Do I think that Sarah Palin running for the Presidency is a joke? Yes, but the author is obviously too lazy to provide facts to his audience to sustain his argument(or lack there of) so he resorts to attacks on her character. They really must be scrounging for things to fill up the paper because this article had to be at the bottom of the barrel. One more thing. Since when is picking on Bush and Palin new or exciting? Congratulations on beating a dead horse.
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facts would be nice...however, conservatives completely disregard them unless they work in their favor so I wouldn't say it's necessary in this particular article.
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First off, this assumption has no basis in fact.
Secondly, it's laughable justification.
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o0oo, you told me!
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The best article ever!! thank you Mr.Campbell.
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SHE WILL MAKE A GREAT PRESIDENT WE DESPERATELY NEED OBAMA OUT
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ALL CAPS AND A RUN-ON SENTENCE WILL SURELY MAKE PEOPLE READ MY POST
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Oh, CT, really?
Jason Campbell is not qualified to write an intelligent piece on this topic, as it is clearly too emotionally charged for him. He is far too riled up to allow even the slightest bit of logic to make its way into the article. This piece literally makes no case for anything. Mr. Campbell has officially wasted two pages saying absolutely nothing - only throwing a sophisticated version of a temper tantrum. There is literally nothing here apart from a mind-boggling amount of venom, unfounded ad hominem attacks and baseless accusations. I noticed there was not a single fact to back up all these claims about Palin's alleged corruption, bigotry and lack of humanity. Harsh, emotional words cannot hide this, except maybe from people who already agree with you and who are just as likely to stick blinders on as soon as someone within earshot utters the word "Palin."
The amount of unintentional irony in this piece is almost laughable.
It would be worth your while to think about these things before writing another opinion piece (or any journalistic piece, really), Jason. Most of us grew out of using name-calling as a first debate resort a long time ago. Even my least favorite professional journalists who happen to be nutjobs wouldn't write something this shamelessly unfair and reactionary.
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I just don't get why her supporters think she's such a rebel. She basically takes up the positions that others have put out before her. The Paul Ryan plan to repeal Medicare is a perfect example. It's the latest thing to cheer in rightwing circles, so Palin follows along instead of taking some concerted effort to devise any sort of policy of her own. She's lazy, period. I do not want an intellectually lazy person in the White House who doesn't have the patience to labor through complex policy. We already experienced how that works out when Bush sat in the White House for eight years letting a bunch of ideologues run things.
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Yes, because Obama is a veritable master of policy. He's always putting out complex policy proposals. Why, just yesterday he said he's going to have the Justice Department investigate whether someone is manipulating gas prices!
Five minutes later his Justice Department said there's no one manipulating gas prices.
Hope for change, America.
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Where is the leadership?
Doing focus groups, sit downs, beer summits, saying "I won", "elections have consequences", passing unconstitutional laws, refusing to enforce constitutional laws(an impeachable offense), bowing to foreign leaders, increasing debt, insulting our allies, supporting communist (think Honduras), apologizing for America, degrading the citizens of the United States, protecting the unions(so as to funnel more cash to democrats) using tax payers money to buy out private companies only to give it over to organized labor and refusing to make available his birth certificate and educational records(which other presidents and presidential candidates have done), is not leadership. He is not running the country , he is ruining the country. As for leadership? any shift manager of a McDonald's can do better!
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People are not going to turn this country around.(ONLY GOD) Idiots in office, seems to be the choice of this country's political future. It will take more than 2.5 years in office to make a change in this country's future. It will be sad to see the death of America in the next 10 years.
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are you kidding me? well, if God's the answer, why don't you just pray for the country, and that should solve all our problems, right?
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For someone that cares about whether a photo was real or Photoshopped, maybe you can try <a href="http://www.pskiller.com/">Photoshopped Image Killer</a>. This free website maybe can give your answer. By analyzing something like Exif data or so. But it it really bad that the seller is touching op those images? Maybe he just sharpened the image and removed some things from the background.
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You literally could replace every "Palin" in this article with "Obama" and it would still be valid piece of writing.
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You literally could replace "Palin" in this article with "Hokies lose in big games" and it would still be valid piece of writing.
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That's stupid, and makes no sense.
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How much more ineptness and stupidity could you possibly have than with this Obama administration. This guy was totally unprepared to be president. Just because he was a Harvard graduate does not mean he understands anything about leading this country. And this guy doesn't know spit about economics.
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