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October 30, 2008
Palin Pales in Comparison to, Well, Dan Quayle and All the Rest...
I usually can do a pretty good job of putting myself in other people’s shoes to understand their views on particular things. For example, I am in favor of the death penalty, but I definitely understand why a lot of people are against it. I am not in favor of increasing taxes on rich people, but understand why others think that is what our country needs. I eat meat, but understand why vegetarians don’t. I like the cooch, but understand why some guys like the cock (after all, I’m quite fond of mine!). Point is, I try to understand where other people are coming from as much as I can, and for the most part, I usually am successful.
With that stated, I’m really baffled by something. I simply don’t understand how any semi-literate human being can get excited about Sarah Palin. How can people in the Republican Party – my Party (albeit, I admit that I am about as liberal as a Republican can be, and I’m more libertarian than anything) – be inspired by this woman? I guess if she offered to take off her clothes, there might be reason for excitement. And hell, maybe she is a great governor, and one can get excited by that.
But excited by her as a possible commander-in-chief?
Excited by her as a possible head of state?
Excited by her as a possible national policy maker?
Excited by her as a possible leader of the Republican Party?
You simply have to be kidding.
I’ve watched her scripted speeches. She’s entertaining and energizing when she delivers prepared remarks. I get that part. But ask her a question that requires her to actually think, and her words come out in a way that makes Mush-Mouth of Fat Albert fame and the current President Bush seem like master linguists. To say she is in over her head on national issues, let alone international ones, is akin to saying that Vice President Cheney has had occasional heart ailments or that Chinese People (i.e. Asians) like to take pictures.
Asking a candidate what she reads is not a “gotcha” question. Time, Newsweek, the Economist, the New York Times, The Anchorage Daily News, the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard, there are so many possible answers.
Asking her what Supreme Court decisions she disagrees with – also not a “gotcha” question. A basic high school civics class gives you an answer for that one – Dred Scott or Plessey v. Furgeson. End of ball game. Maybe she knew the names of those cases, but was afraid she would actually have to explain them. Or maybe she spaced out for a minute – I’ve been there, done that – and couldn’t recall the names of any cases. Well, that is perfectly fine. But you have to answer the question in a way that doesn’t make you sound like an absolute imbecile. She failed miserably.
Asking her if she would characterize a person who bombs an abortion clinic as a terrorist – yet again, NOT a gotcha question. The correct response: “Yes, absolutely! Let me be clear: I find abortion absolutely abhorrent, but any person who bombs an abortion clinic is a terrorist. End of story.” Instead, Palin said, “There’s no question that Bill Ayers, via his own admittance, was one who sought to destroy our U.S. Capitol and our Pentagon. That is a domestic terrorist. There’s no question there. Now others who would want to engage in harming innocent Americans or facilities that, it would be unacceptable. I don’t know if you’re going to use the word terrorist there, but it’s unacceptable, and it would not be condoned, of course, on our watch.”
How many times can a candidate drop the ball and not be held accountable by her supporters? How many times can people explain away her inability to answer questions as some liberal media conspiracy against her? How many times can people just look the other way when she commits another gaffe?
There is no doubt that the media want Obama to win and that they have given him far more favorable press coverage. Biden’s missteps aren’t reported with anywhere near the intensity that Palin’s are. But we’ve known Biden for decades. We’ve known Palin for weeks. Her idiocy on issues of national importance is not the result of a liberal media; her idiocy is the result of being thrust into a position for which she is not qualified. It would be like taking a popular, young, inexperienced high school principal and making him the president of a major state university. It’s just too big a leap.
The day McCain announced that Palin would be his running mate, a dear friend called me and asked me what I thought. I told him I was excited by the pick – if for no other reason than it was different and would shoot a bolt of energy into the upcoming convention. However, I told him I would need to learn more about her before I decided whether it was a wise selection worthy of support.
Well, it was not a wise selection. It was an idiotic one. Vicente Fox would have been a better selection, and he's not even a U.S. citizen.
Sarah Palin is a moron (as it pertains to the specific task which she has been assigned – i.e. to be Vice President; she is probably a very competent governor and ready for that particular job, but she is barely more qualified to be Vice President than the schizophrenic homeless man I pass every day on my way to work).
Surely by now, this cat is out of the bag, yes? The McCain camp has done everything possible to keep her away from the media, but there has been enough exposure by this point for people to have a sense of what she brings to the table. Surely by now, even the most die-hard Republicans can tell that this woman is quite lacking for this particular post, right?
Yet that appears to be anything but the case.
She still attracts thousands at rallies.
There is chatter that she will become the face of the Republican Party if McCain loses. This speculation should be dismissed immediately as sheer lunacy. But it’s not. There actually are many out there who would like Palin to be the face of the Republican Party.
How can this be?
I can understand a lot of things that don't strike my particular fancy. But this is one around which my mind cannot wrap. Can yours?
Comments
As to Palin becoming the face of the repuplican party, my tax prof said it best when she said:
Well, its because they all want to fuck her.
Posted by: little fish in law school at October 30, 2008 08:39 AM
Is the homeless man you pass the bald guy with the beard who's always wearing a brownish sport coat? I see him a lot. Once I even had a dream he shot at me.
I don't think Palin will become the face of the Republican party. I think if the Republicans were smart they'd work to elevate Mike Huckabee to a lead position. He's not an economic conservative though, so that'd cut against him. But if he were the VP candidate right now, I can gaurantee you McCain would be in a much better place.
Posted by: Philosofer at October 30, 2008 10:48 AM
Great minds, Toots!
HCFG and I had a similar conversation the other day about how Palin makes Quayle look good.
*shudders*
Posted by: LisaBinDaCity at October 30, 2008 11:49 AM
I read an article the other day in which a "close personal friend" of Palin "defended" her by saying she doesn't do well with "process questions." Seriously. I'm pretty sure I mastered process questions in, oh...kindergarten?
Posted by: Harmless Error at October 30, 2008 12:52 PM
I read the Hot Air website to get some perspective of people on the Right, and posters there think she's ready to be president now, not just in 2012. They think she has a better grasp on issues than John McCain. It's really frightening.
And just a note on Ayers, yeah, he was a domestic terrorist. I have no beef with that label, but he put bombs in toilets in the Pentagon and The Capitol, and called about them so they could evacuate people before the blew up. He and the Weathermen were not trying to destroy those buildings and kill people. I don't defend their actions, but blowing them way out of proportion to try and demonize Obama is outrageous.
Posted by: CBK at October 30, 2008 02:02 PM
Yes, I too cannot understand this. Which is why I understand the Republican Party's motivations less and less.
I would have voted for McCain but for his extremely poor choice of running mate. She's an affront to all women. She was the ultimate token choice. Very offensive to me. He cinched my vote for Obama.
Posted by: teahouseblossom at October 30, 2008 08:13 PM
i think she really does represent the modern day republican party which just shows how far they've come from being the party of Lincoln. What a shame that the only choices we have are Nadar and the Dems.
Posted by: M. at November 1, 2008 04:33 PM
I don't think that's fair M. I think Huckabee is a much better representation of the social conservative aspect of the Republican party. I mean, he came closer than anyone but McCain to getting the party's nomination.
Posted by: Philosofer at November 1, 2008 09:30 PM
On social issues, I am fairly liberal/libertarian. On economic issues, I am conservative. In other words, Huckabee is not the candidate for me.
Posted by: Fool at November 1, 2008 10:16 PM
Oh, I didn't think he would be. But I think a fair amount of this country would like the guy.
Posted by: Philosofer at November 2, 2008 12:54 AM
