Sarah Palin’s bus tour brought her to historic Boston Thursday where she delivered what many have come to expect from her public appearances: a monumental gaffe.
The criticism this time is Palin’s unfamiliarity with American history.
Sarah Palin’s Revolutionary Screw-Up
In speaking at Old North Church, Palin said of Paul Revere:
“He who warned the British that they weren’t going to be taking away our arms by ringing those bells and, um, making sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that, uh, we were going to be secure and we were going to be free.”
Wrong on at least five accounts:
· * It wasn’t Paul Revere in the belfry but his friend, Robert Newman, the church sexton.
· * He didn’t ring bells- which would have drawn enemy attention- he held up lanterns. “One if by land, and two if by sea” was the cue so familiar to generations of Americans since.
· *There were no warning shots. Like bell ringing, warning shots presumably would have quashed the revolt before it began.
· * The purpose of the signal was the antithesis of sending a message to the British. The message’s purpose was to alert Charlestonians of the arrival of the British by sea, in case Revere was captured and couldn’t deliver the message.
· * Revere didn’t ride through town firing off shots, he left town secretively to alert his comrades in Concord and Lexington that the British were coming.
Enemies and Friends, It’s All the Same to Her
One of Palin’s most memorable gaffes occurred when she appeared on the Glenn Beck show. When Palin announced, “Obviously, we gotta stand with our North Korean allies,” Beck interjected “South Korea.”
Palin replied, “And we’re also bound by prudence to stand with our South Korean allies, yes.”
Her comments suggest she had no clue about America’s relationship with these countries.
Nonexistent War
Another of Palin’s memorable gaffes was her Oct. 31, 2008 comment in a FOX news interview about the importance of the U.S. winning its wars with Iraq and Iran The U.S. was not at war with Iran and has never in its history engaged in war with Iran.
Indifferent to Accuracy
Palin publicly accused President Barack Obama of failing to return calls to the Norwegians and Dutch after they offered their help to deal with the Gulf Oil spill. Palin said the Dutch and Norwegians were known for dikes and cleaning up water.
In fact, Obama had accepted Dutch and Norwegian help to find a solution to Gulf oil crisis weeks earlier. Since the purpose of a dike is to keep water from flooding land, dike building was of no relevance to the Gulf oil spill.
Palin Mistakes Proximity for Insight
During the 2008 presidential election, Palin made numerous memorable gaffes that revealed her ignorance of geography and world events. What has become a trademark declaration attributed to Palin,”I can see Russia from my house” is actually Tiny Fey’s “Saturday Night Live” satire of what Palin said.
During a Sept. 11, 2008 interview with ABC’s Charlie Gibson, Palin said it was important to keep an eye on Russia and to have a good relationship with that country since it was Alaska’s neighbor. Gibson asked how the proximity of the state gave her insight into Russia’s actions. Palin infamously answered, “They’re our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.”
When given a second chance at the question, she repeated her inane answer.
