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The huge cache of Sarah Palin's emails released Friday offered not only a chance to see what she was writing about during her uncompleted term as Alaska's governor, but also an opportunity to see how well she writes.
AOL Weird News brought samples to two writing analysts who independently evaluated 24,000 pages of the former governor's emails. They came back in agreement that Palin composed her messages at an eighth-grade level, an excellent score for a chief executive, they said.
"I'm a centrist Democrat, and would have loved to support my hunch that Ms. Palin is illiterate," said 2tor Chief Executive Officer John Katzman.
"However, the emails say something else. Ms. Palin writes emails on her Blackberry at a grade level of 8.5.
"If she were a student and showing me her work, I'd say 'It's fine, clear writing,'" he said, admitting that emails he wrote scored lower than Palin's on the widely used Flesch-Kincaid readability test.
"She came in as a solid communicator," said Paul J.J. Payack, president of the Global Language Monitor. The emails registered as an 8.2 on his version of the test. "That's typical for a corporate executive."
An example of Palin's strongest writing came on Jul. 17, 2007 in an email to Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell about the controversial Gravina Island Bridge, infamously called the "Bridge to Nowhere."
"We cant afford it, the Feds won't pay for it, the general populace isn't placing it as a high priority … can you diplomatically express that?! Of course we want infrastructure -- and this is NOT a "bridge to nowhere" (that is so offensive), but as it stands today with the highest-cost bridge design selected by the Ketchikan community, we need to find a lower-cost alternative [if] a bridge will be built."
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"She's very concise. She gives clear orders. Her sentences and punctuations are logical," Payack said. "She has much more of a disciplined mind than she's given credit for."
A study by Smart Politics on the readability ratings of recent State of the Union addresses also showed Ms. Palin in good company. President George H.W. Bush's average SOTU score was 8.6. Bill Clinton came in at 9.5. Ronald Reagan, who like Ms. Palin was heavily criticized by liberals and regarded as a doddering old fool, logged an impressive 10.3 rating. And George W. Bush, who earned even more left-wing contempt than Mr. Reagan, if that's possible, edged the Great Communicator with a10.4 ranking.
Then there is President Obama, heralded as the smartest president and the most gifted orator in living memory, but whose 2008 "Yes we can!" victory speech came in at a comparatively anemic Flesch-Kincaid rating of 7.4. Some numbers just speak for themselves.
Originally posted by Lionhearte
reply to post by mishigas
I honestly don't understand why people hate Palin in the first place.
i find it hilarious when people attack palins intelligence all i have to say is two words: nancy "we have to pass the bill before we know whats in it" pelosi.
for crying outloud the same old leftist" i'm smarter than you" crap when they arent.
i find it hilarious when people attack palins intelligence all i have to say is two words: nancy "we have to pass the bill before we know whats in it" pelosi.
for crying outloud the same old leftist" i'm smarter than you" crap when they arent.
Originally posted by neo96
same old leftist tune.
they get hung up on syntax and grammar and not the content of what she said.
anything to marginalize people they dont agree with attack and marginalize right out of saul alinksys playbook.
i find it hilarious when people attack palins intelligence all i have to say is two words: nancy "we have to pass the bill before we know whats in it" pelosi.
for crying outloud the same old leftist" i'm smarter than you" crap when they arent.
I don't understand the feverish support she gets from some. She's 8th Grade equivalent? That's hardly news or a ringing endorsement. My youngest(15) can communicate better than that. Is she considered for the highest office in the west(maybe world)?
Originally posted by mishigas
Yeah, yeah, so can all of our kids, I'm sure. Why can't you accept the findings for what they are - a measure of how well average CEO's and pol's score, and the comparisons against POTUS's?
Oh - that's because she scored higher than Obama, isn't it? I shoulda known.:shk:
You fervent partisanship is making you seem a fool. I've been saying for years that Romney is the man for the job. He's much more articulate and qualified than Barbie. Go ahead, nominate Palin. That will be the death knell of the GOP. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Originally posted by mishigas
Guess what? There are people, like myself, who will defend someone that they see being maliciously attacked from all quarters, just because they don't like cowards who hit and run.
People like you, however, will attack the Palins of the world because you are insecure and you feel threatened because, despite all of your puerile attacks, you have failed to break her. I mean, you libs actually attacked her Downs Syndrome baby. And people should take you seriously. Ptooey! Disgusting.
I think this post is misleading. It sounds like they are saying Sarah writes like she was in the 8th grade. When in fact , according to their grading scale, the Flesch-Kincaid readability test, she recieved between an 8.2 or 8.5 rating .