Answering the question “Do you think Sarah Palin is qualified to be president?” with the “Well she was born in the US and is over 35!” trope is a lame excuse for not answering the real question people know is being asked. Rick Santorum is the latest trying this duck:

“What does it mean to be qualified to be president? She is born in this country and she’s the right age. Those are the qualifications.”

— Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), in an interview with National Journal, on whether Sarah Palin is qualified to be president.

Talk about needing to buck up, people. Stop intentionally confusing, misusing and substituting an answer about eligibility requirements with answering the actual question being asked: does Sarah Palin earn your subjective evaluation as being competent enough to be our president?

And media – stop asking if people think she’s qualified and start asking if they think she’s competent. Or find some other word that can’t be read so concretely that everyone can wiggle out of answering with a smirk. Do your job, for goodness sakes and get the answer.

Cross-posted from original at Writes Like She Talks.