Insert shoe here, Ms Palin...

Nice to see Sarah Palin managing to upset everybody again. It's at times like this you are thankful for living in a country with good, honest politicians like Cameron and Clegg...oh wait...

What has she come out and said now?

Look at the news for her Blood Libel stuff...

.................sweet...............fucking..................Jesus.

She really is an entirely new level of utterly stupid, isn't she?

It's incredible that in this world of spin doctors, speech writers and the like they can't provide her with even a little common sense. I'll admit that I had to look it up but I'm not an international politician. If I was I'd ask my staff to makes sure there wasn't anything there that could offend. To use the line is showing she knows it.

Well indeed, that makes it even more remarkable. There's no way that speech didn't go through a number of different versions and get flashed before no end of different eyes before she recorded it. She's a possible Presidential candidate for 2012, she should already have plenty of people to read speeches like that, slap her with it, and scream "Are you fecking mental????".

Instead, her advisers have considered it and thought -" yes, that's a suitable comparison to make. That'll work"

Tells you all you need to know about the Tea Party really, doesn't it.

Sadly that's politics these days. US politics has been about personalities for years. The UK has gone the same way. It's not about policies anymore because they are all so close together. Even so, the fact that the Tea Party can't even get this right shows you how poor they are.

And it's the Republicans to lose. There was no way that Obama could ever live up to the promise. I remember talking to Macca on a thread about it. He suggested I was being cynical because I said come back to me in a year and lets see what he done. Macca was impressed with his speech. Fair enough but look where he is now.

The problem is that Obama is an intelligent man. Bush Jr got by on the fact that people thought he was crap but it wasn't really his fault because he was dumb. Obama won't have that excuse. BO has been handed a no win situation and, in some ways, it was the best election the Republicans could lose.

And still the Tea Party make comments like this! Labour should watch and learn. They are in a position to make the best of a situation if, as many people fear, Cameron and Clegg don't achieve what they hope for. I hope Milliband has better advisors...

I said it on Facebook and i'll say it here...I'd hit that

As unusual as it is for me to say this, I agree with you on the American situation. The Republicans got out of the White House at just the right time, because whoever became President just as the financial crisis was hitting was always going to have one hell of an uphill battle on his hands.

They were also very fortunate in that they retained sufficient powers to frustrate any headway Obama did try to make. I remember that conversation with Macca. I think Obama's speeches and rhetoric were very impressive, and I think he has a genuine desire to improve things. But as you and I both expected would happen, sadly he's learnt the realities of sitting in the big office - that it doesn't actually give you the power to do what you want.

He's not exactly been aided by his people though, it has to be said. I don't want to bash America. I like the place, I have friends there (including those on this board) but there really is some incredibly backward and prejudiced thinking in some parts of the country, as was so clearly demonstrated when the health bill was being discussed, and as is still being seen with the rise in popularity of the likes of Palin. I think Obama also reckoned on being able to use a level of public support which ended up not being there.

Sadly, I do suspect that Americans will make a snap reactionary judgement in 2012 and relect a Republican. Her Tea Party may actually serve to make the mainstream Republican candidate seem a more sane and reserved choice, effectively pushing Obama further to the left in people's minds.

I'm not commenting on the UK situation, due to the Civil Service Code.

The OC wrote:

I said it on Facebook and i'll say it here...I'd hit that

So would I. With a fucking car. At 200 MPH. And then back up.

I won't get into British Politics because I will almost certainly offend somebody, somehow.

American Politics always has interested me, I don't have the time to observe it as in-depth as I used to, however when I was studying Politics I knew a lot about the place. This Tea Party movement intreagues me because they seem to not know what they are really doing (cynics would say no shocks as Palin leads the way). What I mean by this is that they almost want to break away and be a third party, however historically and also due to the nature of American politics, there would be no success if they did that and they know it.

To remedy this, whilst being a very far-right movement, they still hang on to the Republican movement, albehit by a thread. This means they still are part of the main system, and also have easier access to other members/voters of the Republicans to push more to their beliefs. This however makes them seem weak, as everybody knows they can't do it alone.

They're in a big catch-22, ane their next moves are now vital, especially in the wake of the shooting, and Ms Palin's poor choice of a retort to allegations her movement is to blame.

For me, if this continues in the form it has so far, there is a chance Ms Palin may run against President Obama, as some Republican Party purists buy into her and the Tea movement more than they should. Should she run against Obama, the voters will crush her, as the general American persception of her isn't at all favourable. The other problem the Republicans face at the moment, and why they may struggle to win the Presidential race in 2012, is this: Who the hell is good enough to run? There aren't many stand out candidates at all.

So watch carefull this year, I think Obama's re-election will come down to the next nine months, both in how well he can force some turnaround in the economy, and who will challenge him.