You remember the answer that Miss Teen South Carolina gave when she was asked why one-fifth of Americans can’t find the United States on a map. I couldn’t find a transcript of her incoherent ramblings but this is a synopsis of the event:
“I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don’t have maps,” she ventured.
During her meandering response, she also tossed in out-of-the-blue references to “the Iraq” and “Asian countries” and their need for the support of the American educational system in identifying the United States on the map.
Upton is described as a varsity athlete and student leader at Lexington High School, where she graduated in June with a 3.5 GPA.
Despite the on-camera gaffe, Upton finished as third runner-up.
And then there was this screed from Senator John F’n. Kerry in response to media questions about a recent tornado disaster:
[I] don’t want to sort of leap into the larger meaning of, you know, inappropriately, but on the other hand, the weather service has told us we are going to have more and more intense storms,” Kerry said. “And insurance companies are beginning to look at this issue and understand this is related to the intensity of storms that is related to the warming of the earth. And so it goes to global warming and larger issues that we’re not paying attention to. The fact is the hurricanes are more intensive, the storms are more intensive and the rainfall is more intense at certain places at certain times and the weather patterns have changed.
Maybe it’s just me, but that made less sense than Miss Teen SC’s response.
Miss TSC had the disadvantage of being in a high-stress situation, and did the best she could do given her state of mind.
Kerry, on the other hand, fights his way through to be in front of the media, and is certainly used to bloviating. I can’t cut him any slack for that, and he sounded like an idiot while trying to politicize the tornado disaster.
Despite his lack of articulation, however, Kerry finished second in his last big contest. Go figure.