Well, the "news and entertainment" media have tried their best to make her look stupid or foolish, and it looks like you've swallowed their bait, hook, line and sinker. Easy to do when one doesn't bother to read her quotation in context. The context of the quotation is her announcement that she is resigning the office of governor of Alaska. The announcement is full of grammatical errors (sentence fragments) and style faux-paus (half a dozen exclamation points) and would not have earned her a passing grade in my high-school's English Composition class, but the content--her ideas on the proper role of government and those who govern--is outstanding. Here's a link to the announcement:
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/exec-column.php?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O
W3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aU1yDEmP:QMDCinchO7DU
The line you quoted is actually a quotation from General Douglas MacArthur, and its meaning is very germane to Governor Palin's situation. You see, there really is a difference between retreating and advancing in a different direction.
You know what retreat is--it's what Great Britain did at Dunkirk:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20040208/ai_n12586790/
Then there's "advancing in a different direction," which is what MacArthur did when his forces left Pusan, Korea, for Inchon:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/macarthur/maps/koreatxt.html
Quoting from the web page:
July 5 saw the first battle between American and North Korean troops, and the Americans did not fare as well as they expected. Unable to slow the enemy advance below Suwon, the Americans and South Koreans fought desperate delaying operations, buying time with blood as more American units were rushed to Korea. By the end of July, the North Koreans had pushed the U.N. forces to the southeast corner of the peninsula, where they dug in around the port of Pusan. On July 27, a "grim-faced and business-like" MacArthur visited Eighth Army commander Walton Walker. A witness said that MacArthur told Walker, "There will be no Dunkirk in this command. To retire to Pusan will be unacceptable." Gen. Walker gave the "stand or die" order, and over the next six weeks a desperate, bloody struggle ensued as the North Koreans threw everything they had at American and ROK (South Korean) forces in an effort to gain complete control over Korea.
With what is widely considered the crowning example of his military genius, MacArthur completely changed the course of the war overnight by ordering -- over nearly unanimous objections -- an amphibious invasion at the port of Inchon, near Seoul. Evidence has indicated that the Chinese Communists, having studied MacArthur's tactics in World War II, warned the North Koreans to expect such an attack. Still, they were not prepared. The Americans quickly gained control of Inchon, recaptured Seoul within days, and cut the North Korean supply lines. American and ROK forces broke out of the Pusan Perimeter and chased the retreating enemy north.
I'm sure Governor Palin meant it when she quoted MacArthur. BTW, your message having been posted July 4th, I hope you had a happy Independence Day. We sure did!
Regards,
John
