On Language

When I watched the VP debate, Palin's idiocy was overwhelming. Her use of the word 'attribute' in its verb form stuck out to me. I was so confused by it that I had to look up the definition on dictionary.com to make sure that I actually knew what it meant. Sure enough, I did, and she is just as dumb as I thought she was.

Definition from dictionary.com:

Attribute: to regard as resulting from a specified cause; consider as caused by something indicated (usually fol. by to): She attributed his bad temper to ill health.

Palin's Uses:

#1: "I'm not one to attribute every man -- activity of man to the changes in the climate."
Climate changes are attributed to man, not the other way around.

#2: "And it is my executive experience that is partly to be attributed to my pick as V.P. with McCain, not only as a governor, but earlier on as a mayor, as an oil and gas regulator, as a business owner."
Her being picked is attributed to her experience, not the other way around.

Of course she could mean that climate change causes the activity of man and that her being picked has given her executive experience. I have been looking through the internet for other bloggers to pick up on this, but nobody has. This worries me that maybe I am the one who somehow does not understand the meaning of the word.