Gov. Palin’s open door policy

November 14, 2008 By

doorReader Bekah pointed us to a story in the Daily Mail with a religion-infused quote from Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin:

But the Alaska governor, who has been promoted as a possible candidate in some republican quarters, has not yet decided to mount a campaign.

She said: ‘I’m like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I’m like, don’t let me miss the open door.

‘Show me where the open door is.’

And in a perfect display of how the media seem congenitally incapable of getting Palin’s religious rhetoric, note how the Daily Mail headlined the piece:

Sarah Palin:

God will show me a door to the White House in 2012

Um, no.

She didn’t say that. She made a perfectly normal conditional statement.

It’s like there’s something about Palin that makes reporters just lose any sense at all when covering her.

You think?

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Filed Under: Evangelicals, Journalism, Politics
  • Jacob Stump

    It was a “perfectly normal conditional statement” if one is a believer. Otherwise, it might be odd sounding and a bit scary. So, it depends on your perspective, I would say.

  • http://www.getreligion.org/?p=3978 Elizabeth Eisenstadt Evans

    We are having a conversation on my post about Rowan Williams about how many British headlines have nothing to do with what’s in the story, let alone reality. In this one, they can’t even capitalize Republican!

  • Pamela

    This is amazing to me. I watched her say the exact thing mentioned in the first box. How on earth can you jump from the first box to the second one?

  • http://faithandfumbleswriter.typepad.com Martin Davis

    I love this site and the work you do, and I cite it frequently on my own blog, Faith and Fumbles. But I have to disagree with you on this one. No, she didn’t say “God will show me a door to the White House in 2012.” What she offered, instead, was a simple conditional statement. But both people of faith and not of faith are inherently skeptical of people who say I’ll do this if god opens a door. I’m a person of deep abiding faith, but I am very skeptical of people who tell me god will or will not tell them to do something, or they wait for a “door” to open. How does one know one simply doesn’t say this as a front for pushing their own ideas. If found the statement personally appalling. What she’s really saying is, if I decide to run (conditional) then God has told me to do so (command). So what’s a voter to do, vote against god? Ms. Palin should keep her prayer life and thoughts to herself when it comes to seeking office.

  • http://bethaniqua.blogspot.com Bethany

    yeah, that one is pretty eggregious. I really wish Palin would articulate her views on religion or anything in a more clear and concise way, though. I feel like I am always having to pull her meaning out sideways because of her speaking style.

  • http://perpetuaofcarthage.blogspot.com/ Perpetua

    Mollie,

    Now that the campaign is over, I think it is time for someone to let Sarah know that there is a problem with her speaking style. While I agree with you about the conditional, there really are two problems with the way Sarah Palin put this that she needs to confront in this example:
    1) Use of confusing slang, and
    2) Giving commands to God.

    Let’s be honest. This sounds like young teenager-speak. She needs to learn to speak in complete sentences without slang.

    She said: ‘I’m like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I’m like, don’t let me miss the open door.

    ‘Show me where the open door is.’

    This should have been:

    She said: ‘I pray to, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, please don’t let me miss the open door.

    ‘Please show me where the open door is.’

    Note that I put in the “please”s. That is my understanding of an appropriate prayer to God. It is of concern if Sarah Palin understands her relationship to God such that she gives commands, and may be part of the reason for the headline.

  • Brian L

    This post has nothing to do with defending Sarah Palin. This is the way some (many) religious Americans talk – whether it rises to your personal standards or not is entirely beside the point.

    In fact, this is the perfect post to display (what I think is) the whole point of this blog. Palin made a reasonable statement that bears no relation to how it was characterized in the press. If the reporter or editors had made even the slightest attempt at understanding their interview subject, this embarrassing gaffe could have been easily avoided and -get this- they could have reported actual _facts_ and not slanted errors that invite charges of bias and fear-mongering.

    The Daily Mail did not get religion. The editors have made a public claim that is demonstrably untrue (by their own reporting no less). They failed big time and ought to be called on it.

  • http://christinthemountains.blogspot.com/ Fr. Andrew S. Damick

    Perpetua,

    There’s nothing wrong with “giving commands to God,” that is, with using the imperative mood in prayer. The most classic and most used of all prayers, Lord, have mercy, inserts no “please” anywhere. There is no implication from it that the supplicant is demanding anything of God.

    Indeed, even the Our Father itself inserts no “please” and contains several “commands” to God. I’m also at a loss to find a “please” in the numerous “commands” to God in the Psalms.

    Interestingly, the media in this case took Gov. Palin’s statement in the opposite manner that you did—she wasn’t giving a command to God, but He was commanding her! Instead, it’s clear that she was simply asking God for guidance, to show her the way.

    It really is amazing how clearly in this election the press showed that they don’t get religion.

  • FW Ken

    I searched the Daily Mail site for some parallel treatment of Sen. Obama’s “righteous wind” comment. Surely they would have headlined that as “Obama says God is moving him toward election.” I found nothing.

  • Brian

    Perpetua: Given that this was off-the-cuff speech, one shouldn’t complain too too much about the style. Also, the informal setting means that the punctuation that the reporter used is just a guess. If you write it down more like this: “I’m like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I’m like, don’t let me miss the open door, show me where the open door is.” Which makes it clear that everthing after the “OK, God” beginning is her asking God to guide her and should remove your complaint that she is somehow “giving commands to God.”

    Of course, if only she said “um” instead of “like” she’d be hailed as a genius and the greatest speechifier since Cicero because the media wouldn’t transcribe it at all.

  • Dave2

    I think the headline is pretty bad. Palin was pretty clearly indicating (i) that she was willing to run for President in 2012, (ii) that she hadn’t made the decision yet, and (iii) that she was looking to God for help in making this big decision.

    None of that suggests, not in the slightest, that she thinks God is going to usher her into the White House.

    I saw a similarly bad headline a couple of days ago (I wish I could remember it), and it made me (an atheist with contempt for Palin) cringe on her behalf. So it looks to me like reporters (or headline writers!) are dropping the ball on this one.

  • http://perpetuaofcarthage.blogspot.com/ Perpetua

    Well, you can argue with me, but it is avoiding the problem. It is appropriate for Mollie to criticize the media, but it is time for Sarah Palin to do a little analysis of her style and make some changes. She needs serious media training.

    She needs to practice talking like an adult college educated woman rather than a teenage girl who hangs out at the mall.

    And while in actual prayer the supplication comes through in the tone of voice, when giving media interviews, you can’t count on your tone of voice reaching the audience. She has an opportunity to teach her faith, or muddy it, and she is muddying it when she speaks like this.

  • Julia

    She needs to practice talking like an adult college educated woman rather than a teenage girl who hangs out at the mall.

    My late 1st cousin once removed was a highly educated Jesuit priest who had defended his PhD thesis in Latin. Sometime in the 1980s he got into Cursillos and Charismatic worship and the like. I can’t begin to tell you how shocking it was to hear how his prayers over meals at family gatherings changed.

    There is something about certain kinds of religious expression that really values little hesitations and folksy talk to God that supposedly indicates complete spontaneity. My cousin began praying something like this:

    You know God, we just want to thank you, those of us here today, that you have been so good to us – meaning Jimmy there who had a football game today and Sally who, God bless her, is getting ready for her first Prom. We just want to let you know that this food that Dorothy bought at the Safeway is so good and she spent a lot of time in the kitchen on it, and, oh yes, Julia really helped a lot in there. So, we just want to let you know we appreciate this meal and want you to bless it and all of us. Amen.

    This from a highly-educated man, a professor, in his 50s. I wish I had $1 for every time he used the word “just”. Sarah is not dumb, but she could probably use some practice in speaking in a more structured way or she will be viewed as odd by those who don’t get where she’s coming from. Especially by diplomats and politicians from Europe and Asia. Bush’s speaking mannerisms also gained him a backwoodsy, cowboy image in Europe.

    Anyway, that’s my guess. And it appears Sarah was trying to say that she hopes she doesn’t miss opportunities that appear; and also hopes that God will somehow point out those openings to her – not that He will open the door himself. It’s called discernment, but people in her church probably don’t use that word.

  • Julia

    not that He will open the door himself

    I should have added: “or that He created that door or opportunity.”

    Also, I should have noted that some Protestant groups are very adamantly against rote, written prayers as being inauthentic. I think, for some, that attitude seeps over into their everyday speech patterns. They don’t want to talk in a polished and rehearsed manner.

    If Sarah wants to win in a national election, she is going to have to moderate her speaking patterns in interview situations as well as in making formal speeches (which sound fine to me).

    Dave said:

    Of course, if only she said “um” instead of “like” she’d be hailed as a genius and the greatest speechifier since Cicero because the media wouldn’t transcribe it at all.

    Amen to that.

  • George

    So a more accurate headline would be:

    “Palin looking for a sign from God before deciding to run in 2012“?

  • Deacon John M. Bresnahan

    Two points–First, The way Sarah Palin talks about her relationship with God is pretty much how most Christians used to talk about it. But the MSM has turned it into a scare–what’s the matter with them. In other words the MSM, in my opinion, is guilty of a form of subtle or soft bigotry against people who still talk like Real believers. And she is getting the message even here in comments which really are saying: “You better burn some language incense to appease the media gods if you want to get anywhere.” (which is probably true). And second–I recently saw a story about President-elect Obama and his religion in some mainstream news site. In it he talked about his personal relationship with God in a manner similar to how Gov. Palin does–BUT the story was spun in a very positive way. Of course Obama is a member of a radically liberal church while Palin consorts with all sorts of Pentecostal, Evangelical, and fundamentalist Yahoos.
    What to make of these two situations I am not sure. Maybe noone in the media believes a liberal actually has a relationship with God so presume Obama is blowing smoke to get support. On the other hand–Egads! those right-wingers really seem to believe in that hooey.

  • Emily

    Re: Palin’s use of “I’m like”

    Spoken English is constantly evolving. English teachers might not like it, but “like” is widespread as a substitute for other verbs (e.g. “I’m like, ‘OK God’” — “He was like, ‘I don’t think so.”). When a construction is so widespread, at what point does it become acceptable?

    I’ve noticed that it’s more common in certain areas of the country than others. Go to my hometown, for instance, and you’ll hear everyone under the age of 50 using it — not just the “teenage girls” another commenter mentioned.

    I hold a professional degree, and I use the word “like” quite frequently. Several of my colleagues also do. I don’t think using that word means that we are uneducated, nor does Gov. Palin’s use of that word mean that she is uneducated.

    “Like” is a verbal tic, and an amazingly different habit to discontinue. So, why do journalists treat this verbal tic differently than others (um, uh, stuttering, etc.)?

  • Emily

    Oops. Last graf should read:
    “Like” is a verbal tic, and an amazingly difficult habit to discontinue.

  • Deacon John M. Bresnahan

    Note: I found the Obama interview. It was in 2004 and in the Chicago Sun-Times and was recently reprinted on Beliefnet (and elsewhere). One headline used Obama’s own words: “I think I have an ongoing conversation with God.” And the story originally and on Beliefnet did not have the scare hysteria surrounding it that Palin gets with her “God-talk.” In fact, the story on Obama seemed like a “Puff job” to me.

  • Tyson K

    I agree fully that the headline completely distorted Mrs. Palin’s words, and (likely) her intent as well.

    As someone interested in linguistics, I agree with Emily that use of the word “like” simply reflects our constantly evolving language and is not a Bad Thing. However, I do think Mrs. Palin probably needs to realize that although her constant use of colloquialisms may, in her mind, be appealing to her base supporters, it’s not going to win her any votes among the more affluent suburban swing voters who decide elections in this country. I personally think the biggest problem with her speaking style is not her vocabulary, but her mangled syntax. The biggest concern is that in trying to appear off-the-cuff, she’s not really thinking about the structure of what she says before she says it, and it becomes quite convoluted. I think her speaking style probably undermines perceptions of her intelligence more than anything else.

    I’m tempted to agree with the poster who says that saying what Mrs. Palin said makes it look like she’s using religion as a “front” to put forth her views. However, I personally want a person with sincere faith (whether that person is Mrs. Palin or Barack Obama or Keith Ellison or anyone) to talk about the fact that they are praying about the decisions they will make about their life. Of course, the question then becomes the sincerity of their faith. Personally, I don’t doubt the sincerity of Mrs. Palin’s faith, but other certainly can if they choose. I guess the point is that I don’t want Mrs. Palin (if her faith is sincere) to “keep her prayer life and thoughts to herself when it comes to seeking office.” In fact, I’d like her to share them as proof that she is taking such “seeking” seriously.

  • http://perpetuaofcarthage.blogspot.com/ Perpetua

    Hi 17. Emily and 10. Brian,
    I think the difference is that Sarah Palin is not using “like” as a place holder, as one does with “um”.

    She said: ‘I’m like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I’m like, don’t let me miss the open door.

    If you leave out the “like”s, you get:

    She said: ‘I’m, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I’m, don’t let me miss the open door.

    Something is clearly missing. She was using “I’m like” as a pronoun verb construction to mean … what? Is it “I say” or “I’m saying”? Is it “I say” or “I’m praying”? Isn’t “like” clearly functioning as a verb in her sentences there?

  • Pingback: What a pathetically funny example of bias.

  • Emily

    Perpetua–
    Yes, she is using “like” that way. But it is entirely possible to edit around those “likes” if you wish:

    Palin said that she prays: “OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray… don’t let me miss the open door.”

    (Actually, an editor could reduce that quote to “OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere… don’t let me miss the open door.” That captures the gist of the statement without syntactical confusion.)

    My position is that journalists either should treat the construction as a linguistically appropriate variant of the English language and always include it, or they should treat it as a verbal tic and edit quotes around it when ever possible. The problem I’ve noticed is that many journalists tend to include “like” in the quotes when they want the speaker to sound uneducated, and edit out the “likes” when they want the speaker to sound intelligent. That, I think, is a problem.

  • http://buddhateach.blogspot.com Robert

    Every language has quotative verbs– verbs that indicate a quotation. In modern colloquial spoken English, two of those quotatives are “to be like” and “to be all.”

    So, I’m like, this is a stupid argument and I was all, this is a stupid argument are two perfectly good alternatives for I say that this is a stupid argument.

    No, it’s not accepted literary style for term papers. But it’s perfectly good, ordinary, effective language in normal speech.

  • http://www.getreligion.org Mollie

    The point isn’t whether we agree with Palin or disagree with Palin or wish she spoke differently or not. It’s simply that the media outlet didn’t accurately describe what she said.

    People are free to disagree with her on their own time. They’re not free to put words in her mouth.

  • str1977

    Perpetua,

    God isn’t all that big on appending “please”.

    “Giving commands to God.” Give me a break!

  • str1977

    Perpetua,

    It is proper to criticize medie reporting.

    It is also proper to give advice to Mrs Palin about her speaking style.

    And is not proper to criticize her for how she words her prayers. (And certainly not by telling her to append “please”.)

    It is not proper to twist her words. One medium has done that and GR reported on that, as it should! And that’s the topic here!

  • Jim W.

    Palin has an ongoing problem with sentence structure that sometimes makes it impossible to understand what she said.

    I saw a video of Palin’s statements that are the subject of this article.
    I understood what she meant. Hearing her sometimes makes it easier to understand.

    Everyone should listen to CNN’s interview with Palin last week. Her tone of voice indicated she did not like the question. She barely answered the question.

    “BLITZER: Gov. Palin, before the election you were speaking with James Dobson of “Focus on the Family” and you said that you were confident that God would do the right thing for America on Nov. 4th. Did God do the right thing for America?

    PALIN: I don’t know if that was my specific quote. But I do believe that there is purpose in everything. And for me personally I put my life in God’s hands and ask him to — don’t let me miss some open door that he has for me, and I’ll travel through that. I think the same thing for our nation as we seek God’s guidance, his wisdom, his favor and protection over our nation, that at the end of the day, that the right thing is done.

    And I do believe that prayers were answered, others who prayed across this nation in the election that this nation would be protected, that we would be safe, that we would be prosperous and favored. I believe that prayer is answered.”

    While she said good things about Obama she once again stated that she still had questions about Obama’s association with a domestic terrorist. Numerous independent organizations and witnesses have verified that Obama’s relationship with Ayers was business and one political activity in his home. As a Christian we are told not to lie, gossip, slander, etc. It was Palin’s obligation to ensure what she said was factual, including non-stop lies about Obama’s tax plan.

    Palin thought it was right to say Obama does not see America like you and I see it. Threats against Obama increased substantially after Palin incited crowds. It takes more than not having an abortion to be a Christian

  • Ora

    Jim W.,

    You’re raising a good point – the question was meant to goad Palin. “You said God would do the right thing – what do you say now that you lost?” Of course, believers believer that God does the right thing, and that doesn’t always have to be instant gratification for them.

    What she actually said in that interview:

    “To me, it motivates us, makes us work that much harder and it also strengthens my faith because I’m going to know at the end of the day, putting this in God’s hands, that the right thing for America will be done, the end of the day on November 4th.. Collectively, we can do all that we have within us to strengthen our country and to let Americans know that government has to be on their side, it’s their government and as we seek God’s wisdom and His will in this election, we have to have faith that it’s all going to be good at the end of the day there on November 4th as this country moves forward.”