One last commentary on the Palin interview before I return to bashing John McCain for being a dishonorable liar.
I'm struck by the conservative divide over the Palin pick; specifically, how the analysis has laid bare the disagreement between intellectually honest conservatives [a very small minority] and the right-wing, religious ideologues.
From the somewhat more intellectually honest conservatives, a new meme is hardening on Sarah Palin, post-Gibson interview: she is fundamentally unprepared to be Vice-President.
Reading Ross Douthat this morning, the young-ish conservative author of "Grand New Party", I was struck by the unflattering comparisons of Sarah Palin to Dubya. In fact, the title of his last two blog articles at The Atlantic are: "Channelling Dubya" & "Sarah, the Unready".
Douthat writes:
She seemed about an inch deep on every issue outside her comfort zone.
There's no way to look at her performance as anything save supporting evidence for the non-hysterical critique of her candidacy - that it's just too much, too soon - and a splash of cold water for those of us with high hopes for her future on the national stage.
On the blog "The Next Right", Kristen Soltis writes, in reference to Sarah Palin regurgitation of talking points:
There were oh so many times when I could practically envision the talking points. "We shouldn't second guess Israel. No matter what, they are our ally. We don't second guess Israel." And so it went. "We can't second guess Israel, Charlie."
Whether that's the correct policy or not what I'm debating. What matters is that it didn't seem like it was really her opinion. I can't see inside the mind of Sarah Palin, so I have no place saying if it is ACTUALLY her opinion or not. But the feel of it? It didn't feel genuine. It felt like a repeated talking point. It felt "done".
And if you're going to try not to sound political, of all the things you can't afford to do, it's sound like Bush. Remember - he was the candidate of cowboy authenticity, shoot-em-straightness, of "lets do this thing, lets get them terrorists". No doubt Palin has been prepped by Steve Schmidt (Rove's protege), Nicolle Wallace (former Bush staffer). So maybe that's why I'm so sensitive to Bush-sounding
language.
But, what else should we expect from the 'shoot first, ask questions later' crowd?
And it's not just the regurgitation of tough sounding talking points and the use of forceful language to answer questions that called for nuance, it's the almost complete and utter lack of intellectual curiosity about events that occur outside her little provincial fiefdom.
Ignorance of key issues + a lack of intellectual curiosity + a desire to seem decisive and tough = a terrifying redo of George W. Bush.
If McCain wins, there is a 1 in 3 chance that we will have a President Palin. That message cannot be pounded home enough. A McCain wins means a 1 in 3 chance of President Palin. For anyone that has lived through the Bush Presidency, that should be a terrifying thought.
Even Rich Lowrey, writing at The National Review Online [for the love of god--that's about one step removed from Hannity] stated:
The foreign-policy session was a white-knuckle affair. She barely got through it and showed no knowledge more than an inch deep.
I mean, when even the National Review can't hold the line . . . it should be over.
However, I think conservative writer David Frum summed it up best yesterday on the National Review Online, comparing Palin to Dubya:
A president does not need to know everything. In fact, it's certainly impossible for him (or her) to know everything that he might possibly need to know. That's what the White House staff - and beyond them the whole vast apparatus of the US government - is for. Collectively, the US government knows a lot. And all of that knowledge is at the service and disposal of the president. All the president has to do is - is ask.
But that's not as easy as it sounds.
Somebody who knew President Bush well once remarked to me. "You'll notice he never asks questions."
"Why not?" I said.
"Because he doesn't know what it's okay for him not to know."
A John McCain victory means a 1 in 3 chance of President Palin.
We are currently bogged down in two wars, have a tanking economy and a mortgage crisis.
We have to do everything in our power to ensure that this terrifying scenario doesn't become a reality. If the McCain campaign wants to promote the myth that the media is out to destroy Sarah Palin, just throw the Republicans own words back at them.
VOTE. VOLUNTEER. DONATE.
Oh, and a final postscript: John McCain is a dishonorable liar.
UPDATE: Thanks for the rec's. Only my second one [although I love them all equally].