[honeychile]

My own bottom lines after reading this thread:

-Sarah Palin will never translate into a viable national candidate as long as she's measured on her looks ("bump-it" hair, eyeglass style, etc), or as long as most people continue to confuse what she's said and what the Tina Fey look-a-like said. Most of the United States will probably never know who she really is or what she really stands for. I'm tempted to say that about most political women, but there are exceptions to every rule.

-"Tea Party" is a catch-all phrase for those who are sick to death of the inflated Beltway egos and their "what's good enough for me is too good for the average American" attitudes. Our Representatives rarely represent their district any longer (yes, even more so for those in DC), and Tea Party people are simply vocalizing what many people have been saying for years. I hope the movement to form a new party doesn't catch on, so much as brings more to the table of each of the parties. It's human nature to rebel, and when I hear Universal Health Care doesn't include the very people voting for it, I call shenanigans.

-VandalSquirrel's summary of undergraduates is completely on the money. Sadly, I had a grandmother like that, so it's not a shortcoming of a certain age group or educational class - too many people only want to hear their own side of a story, instead of weighing the facts of each side. It's the quickest way to dumb yourself down, IMHO.

-Lastly, anyone who thinks that the world spins according to GreekChat has been sipping too much of the Kool Aid.