My darling spouse tries the same trick as Sarah Palin: sometimes he nonchalantly pronounces a statement so confusingly absurd that for a moment I think he's making perfect sense until it hits me - he's full of malarkey and hoping I won't notice.
He must have given Palin lessons.
When I listen to excerpts of her speeches, like the one during her resignation as Alaska's governor, my initial reaction is "HUH?" I often fail to unravel any logic in her thought process, despite the fact that English is indeed my first language. My eighth grade nun, who spent an entire school year teaching us how to properly construct and diagram sentences, must be wincing in her grave. (If she is in fact dead, which she probably is because a class of 50 hormone-rich 14-year-olds who couldn't care less about proper sentence structure is enough to drive anyone to a premature demise.) For example, Palin's recent plea that media stop their infernal lying "in honor of the American soldier" seems convoluted, sketchy, and a little like something your wacky Aunt Martha might say after a few Manhattans.
But despite her communication failings, she sure does a bang up job at building drama. Days of Our Lives could learn a trick or two from Palin - she knows drama!
She also knows how to protect her offspring like a mother bulldog, so I will say nary a word about the kids. But may I say a utter a "tsk tsk" regarding her husband? He's a grownup, no? Then why doesn't he dress like one? During his wife's recent gosh-darn-it resignation festivities, she was resplendent in an I'm-outta-here business suit while he was sat on stage sporting jeans and a parka-type vest. It was disappointing, to say the least. I feel just as disgruntled when I see people wearing shorts and a T-shirt to a funeral. (My humble theory is if the deceased can dress appropriately for the burial, so can the mourners.)
Yes, yes, I realize that I'm ranting a bit, but have I made my thoughts about direct sentences and dressing-for-success clear? Good. Try it some time, Sarah - ya'll might like it.