Via Andrew Sullivan, a video of responses by Palin supporters at a rally in Ohio.
Thought I'd try my hand at responses to their statements. Their statements are in bold. My responses in italics.
"I'm afraid if he wins, the black [sic] will take over. He's not a Christian! This is a Christian nation! What is our country gonna end up like?"
Were you concerned for the past two hundred fifty years when the whites were in charge and denied blacks equal rights? Obama has a white mother and white grandparents, why would he do anything to make them second class citizens by letting the blacks "take over?" Obama has been a Christian for twenty years, converting as a young man after having been raised by a mother who professed no religion. This is not a Christian nation, it is a secular nation, with no religious test for national office and no official religion. The majority of citizens here are Christians, it is true, but the first amendment guarantees that there will be no establishment of religion and that all may practice their faith here, regardless of what that faith is.
"When you got a Negro running for president, you need a first stringer. He's definitely a second stringer."
Are you kidding me? First of all, many of our presidents (all white by the way) were anything but first stringers. George W. Bush, for instance, failed at every business he ever got involved in, and did poorly in school. Bush couldn't even make the team. As for a "Negro" having to be a first stringer, how ridiculous is that, especially when you consider Obama having graduated first in his law class at Harvard and being elected president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review, where he worked amicably with both conservatives and liberals. Have you paid any attention to his campaign? It is nothing short of genius. Obama is definitely "first string," so you apparently haven't been paying attention.
"He seems like a sheep - or a wolf in sheep's clothing to be honest with you. And I believe Palin - she's filled with the Holy Spirit, and I believe she's gonna bring honesty and integrity to the White House."
Palin wouldn't know honesty if it hit her in the face. She lies about Obama and about herself. She hid her daughter's pregnancy, called Obama a "pal" of terrorists (which he is not - he has had a few inconsequential contacts with a former radical who lives in Chicago where the man associates with hundreds of political figures, both Democrat and Republican), she continues to lie about troopergate, saying she was cleared of legal and ethical violations when the first sentence of the report says she clearly violated the ethical requirements of her office. How does one judge whether or not one is "filled with the holy spirit?" And in our country, it is more important to be filled with knowledge, wisdom and experience (none of which she has) than to be "filled with the holy spirit," however you judge that. As for Obama being a wolf in sheep's clothing (which you no doubt got from one of McCain's sleazy ads), all I can say - since this is so ridiculous - is that Sarah Palin knows a little about wolves - she shoots them from helicopters.
"He's related to a known terrorist, for one."
He's not related to any terrorists. His bio is available on the internet and in his books and he has no relatives who are terrorists. His grandfather fought in Patton's army in World War II, his grandmother worked in a factory to support the war. His mother was an archeologist. His birth father was from Kenya and Obama only knew him briefly. His stepfather was an Indonesian. None of them were terrorists. This is a stupid statement, especially considering how easy it is these days - what with Homeland Security, domestic wiretapping and all - to identify terrorists. If Obama had any connection to terrorism, he would not be running for president, he would be in jail.
"He is friends with a terrorist of this country!"
He is also not "friends" with terrorists. He knows a man - Bill Ayers - who was a radical in the sixties (though Ayers killed no one- terrorism is defined by the targeting and murdering of innocent civilians) and sat on one or two charitable and educational boards with him in Chicago (as did many prominent people - one of the boards was funded by a prominent republican who chose Bill Ayers for this position) but he has no social contact with him, and the man has nothing to do with his campaign nor his senatorial staff. Until Sarah Palin came along, men like Bill Ayers, who are reformed radicals from the sixties, were not called "terrorists." They were called "radicals." Palin is calling him a terrorist now to fool you into thinking of Osama bin Laden and that is disgusting and dishonest. Some Christian!
"He must support terrorists! You know, uh, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. And that to me is Obama."
He must support terrorists? Who says? What evidence do you have? What makes you think he "must support terrorists? Because he's black? Because he has an African name? Because Sean Hannity said so? I can assure you, Obama is not a duck, nor does he support terrorists, regardless of what you think he "must" do.
"Just the whole, Muslim thing, and everything, and everybody's still kinda - a lot of people have forgotten about 9/11, but... I dunno, it's just kinda... a little unnerving."
Just the Muslim thing? Obama is not a Muslim. He is named after his father who was from Kenya. His name is African. He is not and never has been a Muslim. He is a Christian. Nevertheless, this Muslim accusation dishonors the millions of peaceful and law abiding Muslims who live in and contribute to this great nation. And I can assure you, no one has forgotten about 9/11. That's what Sarah Palin is counting on.
"Obama and his wife, I'm concerned that they could be anti-white. That he might hide that."
"I'm concerned that he could be anti-white." This is what is called projection - accusing someone else of something that characterizes you. You are most probably anti-black and so you assume black people must be anti-white. You need to examine your own heart and get rid of your faulty thinking. Have you ever spent ten minutes listening to Obama? Obviously not, because if you had, you would see how ridiculous your concern is. Or do you just listen to Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity?
