Ah, I see. Yes, I did miss your original point. With which I don't disagree very much, but I don't feel very strongly about it either. I tend to agree with seishonagon that this is more an issue of Palin's imprecise language, probably reflecting imprecise thinking, than of her genuinely believing the sort of things you're inferring from her sentence.

Of course, there *is* that inference to be made from the specific words she said, and if you're taking issue with her perpetuating the sort of mindset you're objecting to by using those words rather than others, regardless of what she actually means... well, I think I'd have to agree with you there. It's common, but it does mean more when someone with Palin's visibility says it on TV than when Sarah Q. Random from Podunk, Idaho says it to her family and friends.