Sarah Palin would be a good president of the United States.

There is clearly a vast spectrum of how well presidents can perform. As far as the evidence is concerned, there is simply no reason to think that Palin would even be an average president, let alone a good president. As such, I will spend the rest of this round by continuing to defend my views that Palin lacks the necessary intelligence for the presidency. In addition, it seems clear that her religious beliefs are also quite troubling. On top of this, there are good reasons to think that my opponent's defense of Sarah Palin is nothing short of misguided. And for the record Roy, Obama gave that speech about religion on June 28, 2006. [1] C1: Sarah Palin's views are incongruous with the pursuits of a civil society. My opponent's attempt to compare FDR's religiosity with Palin's is simply fatuous, but let's leave that aside for now. There are significant and specific aspects of her religious beliefs that are worrisome. In one instance, while former Governor Palin was speaking to her church about her son's departure to Iraq, she urged her fellow religionists to pray "that our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God; that's what we have to make sure we are praying for, that there is a plan, and that plan is God's plan. " [2] Basically, everything that has come forth about Palin's life in Alaska suggests that she is a devout and literal-minded religious dogmatist. As such, my opponent's attempt to argue that she is comparable to past presidents is incorrect. Fortunately, Palin has given the world a glimpse into her religious worldview. And the evidence that has come forth is quite scandalous. Like other Pentecostals, it seems likely that Palin believes that she and her fellow congregants can have a unique insight into future events through divine revelation. If this is not the case, what could she possibly have meant when she told her parishioners that "God's going to tell you what is going on, and what is going to go on, and you guys are going to have that within you"? [2] Moreover, Palin's contempt for scientific rationality and the scientific process is not just evident in her apparent beliefs; it is also evident in the way she talks about matters concerning science. She ignorantly mocked research that was done on fruit flies. [3] However, that research on fruit flies has been essential in helping find treatments for autism. All of this evidence indicates quite clearly that Palin's religious beliefs would negatively impact her presidency. Gaze, as though through a glass, darkly, upon the world as Palin sees it. She is an avid member of a church where worshippers enjoy "baptism in the Holy Spirit," "miraculous healings" and "the gift of tongues. " [4] It's worth pointing out that this is the same brand of religious fervor adopted by Becky Fisher – the trashy little guttersnipe that ran Jesus Camp. [5] While I have never been to Alaska, I have had the unique experience of going to a Pentecostal church. And I can say with a fair amount of certainty that the people who go to places like that are all slightly deranged. Consequently, the thought that some religious fanatic like Palin would lead the United Sates is beyond hilarious. C2: Sarah Palin doesn't posses the intellectual prowess necessary for high office. Honestly, I doubt Palin would rank in the 120 – 130 range on an IQ test, but that is beyond the point. She is borderline retarded in terms of the relevant knowledge a person needs to be an effective leader of the free world. According to Carl Cameron of Fox News, McCain's staffers have stated that Palin didn't know basic things about the structure of the United States government. [6] This seems likely to be true, given that Palin didn't even appear to know what the role of the vice president is. [7] In particular, some sources within the McCain campaign have even claimed that she was unaware of the fact that Africa is a continent. Of course, I think it's unlikely that all of the specific claims about Palin are true in every detail. It seems incomprehensible that any governor wouldn't know that Africa was a continent, but the point still remains. Sarah Palin may be charming and a nice person, but she is a former beauty queen/sports reporter that happened to find her way into small town politics. Such qualifications may be relevant in some professions, but they hardly make anyone qualified to direct the utilization of our nuclear arsenal. A1: ‘Sarah Palin is honest and has sound principles. ' Con has claimed that Palin is honest and transparent, but all the evidence indicates that this isn't true. It's true that most of the 19 ethics charges against her have been dismissed. [8] However, it is still likely she fired Walter Monegan over personal family matters. [9] Moreover, even her former allies have called her deceitful. As I've pointed out earlier, McCain's highest ranked advisor has come out to denounce Palin saying, "There were numerous instances that she [Palin] said things that were — that were not accurate that ultimately, the campaign had to deal with […]". My opponent completely ignores the fact that the people who oversaw her thought that she was duplicitous. It's almost as though my antagonist is willing to forgive any transgression Palin may make short of cannibalism. In light of the evidence coming from her former allies, it is simply untenable to think that she is honest and transparent. A2: ‘Sarah Palin has good administrative skills and contextual intelligence. ' In truth, Palin is a slick campaigner, despite what my opponent has suggested. Her ability to raise money and excitement within the Republican Party has demonstrated this. Unfortunately, this is all she is truly good at. She knows how to work a crowd and how to connect with certain groups of people. She does not, however, possess the insight necessary to give substantive and thoughtful responses to questions about policy issues. This is why she falls back to platitudes and talking points when being interviewed. It is inconceivable that Palin would manage to become a respectable and well-informed candidate for president in the next year as a result of her newly acquired free time. Therefore, it seems clear that she still lacks the ‘contextual intelligence' one needs to be president. ::Conclusion:: My antagonist has offered nothing apart from Palin's own campaign slogans to demonstrate that she is qualified to be president. Upon close examination, even these vague platitudes turn out to be untrue. Sarah Palin is dishonest, ignorant, and lacks good administrative skills. Additionally, she is quite evidently absorbed in a very backwards form of religion that ensures her commitment to rather pernicious dogmatisms. None of this, absolutely none of this, is any sort of evidence that she would be a good or even an average president. Let's all hope that Palin doubts whether or not she is qualified to lead the United States, while more thoughtful, intelligent, and qualified people determine the future of civilization. Sources: 1. . http://usliberals.about.com... 2. . http://www.newsweek.com... 3. "YouTube - Rachel Maddow on Palin & Fruit Flies. " YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 16 June 2010. 4. . http://en.wikipedia.org... 5. . http://en.wikipedia.org... 6. "YouTube - Fox's O'Reilly: Sarah Palin Unaware Africa Was a Continent. " YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 16 June 2010. 7. . http://www.thinkprogress.org... 8. . http://www.huffingtonpost.com... 9. . http://www.cbsnews.com...