If Sarah Palin Weren't a Fanatic, I Might Feel Sorry For Her
By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.
Todd Purdum's excoriation of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin comes as close to making me feel as sorry for her as any gently disguised screed possibly could. When Sen. McCain first chose her as his running mate, I thought it was a stroke of genius. Then she opened her mouth, completing the transition from strong, successful woman to evangelical extremist. The nadir was Palin's Katie Couric interview, in which she waxed poetic about the history of our great country, while dodging the question, "Besides Roe v. Wade, are there any other Supreme Court decisions you disagree with?"
The Purdum piece offers juicy nuggets as follows:
Palin is unlike any other national figure in modern American life—neither Anna Nicole Smith nor Margaret Chase Smith but a phenomenon all her own. The clouds of tabloid conflict and controversy that swirl around her and her extended clan—the surprise pregnancies, the two-bit blood feuds, the tawdry in-laws and common-law kin caught selling drugs or poaching game—give her family a singular status in the rogues' gallery of political relatives. By comparison, Billy Carter, Donald Nixon, and Roger Clinton seem like avatars of circumspection. Palin's life has sometimes played out like an unholy amalgam of Desperate Housewives and Northern Exposure.
Gov. Palin is a woman on a right-wing mission. She's clearly not ready for prime time. She's easy grist for any journalistic mill. If she weren't such a fanatic, I could feel sorry for her. But since she enjoys killing moose, wolves, and anything else in her rifle sight, I'll pass, thanks.
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Reader Comments
geez
At the very least, those of you who find Palin repugnant could use decent grammar when raking her over the coals.
Sorry, but who can fault a right-winger for having a right wing agenda? Like the current administration doesn't have a left wing agenda? For heaven's sake, the two wings illustrate two very different philosophies about what government should and shouldn't be, should and shouldn't do. Who made a couched screed the icon of ultimate truth?
Read the Federalist Papers. They're really interesting if anyone wants to know what the founding fathers had in mind. It wasn't Uncle Sammie's fingers in every single piece of the private sector's pie, nor was it what has happened to political debate. I shrink with horror when I watch campaigners "debating." Rather than "Resolved:..," the televised debates are a mud slinging and pat sets of platitudes on both liberal and conservative sides of the fence. Rather like this forum, but slightly more balanced.
Sarah "What Took You So Long?"
SURPRISE!!!! NO!!
People this was not a SURPRISE! Oh, how we have short memories. Sarah did terrible on her quest for Vice President. There were times when she literally had tears in her eyes before and after she spoke or should I say rambled on talking abt issues she knew little or nothing about. Because she knew she did baddd. Answering questions with questions hoping to confuse the interviewers and listeners becaused she knew she didn't know what the heck they were referring to about issues 99% of the interview time. Trying to fake a smile (when she wanted to cry) throuout the interview as if this would lessen the pressure or expectations for answers to hard questions. She knew a little about stuff they're doing in Alaska, but her accomplishments were not impressive, because she had a host of help from other staffers with that Alaska stuff whoes brains you know she borrowed. Now the spot light is on her in Alaska and those brains are not so readily available for her and she has to swim or sink and 'nough said...she knows she will sink... I'm glad she knows it's best for Alaska if she took her dumb butt somewhere and earn easy money with a book (that will be edited before published by other brains) or a talk show host, (who will teach her what to say for that kinda stuff) or with folks who will forgive her stupidity however debt..folks who gets courage mixed up with intellect. Oh, yeah, and the constant smiling only fooled poor little John McCain for a while, even he knows now what a boo boo he made and is probably kicking himself over and over and saying man, WHAT WAS I THINKING WHEN I CHOSE HER AS A RUNNING MATE? It takes more than a smile to deal with hard issues for the country. She said "trust her" O.K. we do trust her...and as she herself defined a "Quitter" came right back and said she "Quit"
We trust her...She "Quits" too late to doctor on that statement now. She called herself a Quitter, FIRST, NOT THE MEDIA THIS TIME.
Politics are not for the faint hearted. if she can't handle the heat as governor from only americans, what in the world makes her think she can handle unfair critizism (as she called it, but I think the media was only warning and exposing her dumb tail) from the entire world as president. I am still trying to find a speech that she made that makes total sense. I thought she would cave-in and quit during her campaign. I WAS NOT SURPRISED and I hope the media rephrase the SURPRISE THEORY and say FINALLY... Finally she regonized her weaknesses. "Not smart enough for politics." She cannot think through, make decissions on hard issues or stand the pressure. You cannot discuss in details, or make decissions on topics you know little or nothing about, Sarah. WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG TO "QUIT."
Sarah Palin quits
The Purdum piece offers juicy nuggets as follows:
Palin is unlike any other national figure in modern American life
What? She is just about a clone of Gorge Bush, which I am so surprised that no one that I have read has clued into. She is like George:
Cock sure of herself and willing to alter her mental reality if it conflicts with her beliefs.
An uneducated seemingly illiterate intellectual zero
Hard core religious fanatic who believes in the end times
The kind of down home sort you would invite over for dinner(for those who voted for Bush for that reason)
Good looking with libido
In short a "one of us" populist not one of those Ivy league lawyer snobs
I am sure readers can think of some more.
That has got to be the reason she was chosen as a vp candidate to pick up the Bush vote - totally logical really
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