Over the past few days, listening to the political pundits dissect and analyze the vice-presidential debate held last Thursday, I have come to a stark realization of a new phenomenon: the oblivious Palin disciple.
The Palin disciple is a Republican who - regardless of rational criticism of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's grasp of national issues - still delude themselves that she is ready at a moment's notice to take control of the highest office in the land and the most powerful position in the world.
Let's put this delusion into the harsh light of cold reality: if (God/Yahweh/Allah/Krishna/Buddha forbid) something should happen to Barack Obama that he is unable to carry on the duties of president, are we confident that Senator Joe Biden is capable of filling his spot at a moment's notice?
The answer is a very confident YES.
If something should happen to John McCain that he is unable to carry on the duties of president, are we confident that Governor Sarah Palin is capable of filling his spot at a moment's notice?
The answer is a loud and resounding NO!
And before any Republican can repeat the much overused phrase, "she has executive experience as a governor", let me remind you of another governor who also had executive experience: GEORGE W. BUSH.
Do I really, REALLY, need to finish that line of thought?
Contributing NEWSWEEK bi-partisan reporter Fareed Zakaria said in an recent article (published 9-20-08) "Can we now admit the obvious? Sarah Palin is utterly unqualified to be vice president. She is a feisty, charismatic politician who has done some good things in Alaska. But she has never spent a day thinking about any important national or international issue, and this is a hell of a time to start." He ends his article by hinting that John McCain is now running a campaign only for personal victory: "In these times, for John McCain to have chosen this person to be his running mate is fundamentally irresponsible. McCain says that he always puts country first. In this important case, it is simply not true." (http://www.fareedzakaria.com/articles/articles.html)
To quote a comment made by Karen Tumulty of TIME Magazine on today's airing of ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos with regards to the large viewership of the VP debate (est. 72 million viewers): "[sic] a lot of people tuned in for the same reason they watch auto racing; they thought there might have been a big crash with a fireball at the end of it.." (http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5957630)
A lot of people saw the CBS interviews and are either disappointed, amused, or simply angry - NOT inspired. Watching a VP debate in eager anticipation of seeing a particular candidate fumble and make an ass of herself is NOT a vote of confidence in the ticket, my dear Republicans, no matter how you try to spin it.
And this is not a sentiment shared only by die-hard partisan Democrats or the so called liberal media. Palin's obvious lack of knowledge of national and international issues is a concern being openly expressed by a number of known conservatives in the media (Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post Writers Group, "The Palin Problem" 9-26-08), and being discussed in quiet dismay in Republican social circles. (http://townhall.com/columnists/KathleenParker/2008/09/26/the_palin_problem)
Still, die-hard Palin-Republicans and other such conservative pundits - rather than provide some constructive criticism of their candidate to lend credibility to their defense of the ticket - deliver unrealistic partisan answers with a very obvious "I-drank-the-Kool-Aid" look plastered on their faces, tempered with a "if His Holiness McCain says she's qualified - then she's qualified!" rationale.
Other members of the Republican Party, in an attempt to defend Gov Palin's lack-luster performance, have voiced their frustration that the media is treating Obama as a rock star by failing to publicize his gaffes.
Not true.
ALL MEDIA have willingly pointed out errors made by the Obama/Biden campaign, and on even more than one occasion said that Obama has fudged some of the facts about McCain in rally speeches. But these incidents are few and far between, and are NOTHING in comparison to the blatant Rove-ian tactics that are the backbone of the McCain/Palin ticket.
Also, labeling ALL media - including the major networks of ABC, CBS and NBC as "the liberal media" - with the exception of the Fox News Channel is NOT fooling anyone either.
Simply put, Obama is running a cautious, careful campaign and is taking care not to make irrational and rash decisions, and he has every right to be guarded. If he loses his temper or makes a sudden rash comment he may come across as "militant", something that will not sit well with voters in southern states, or other such states with an apartheid mentality.
McCain, on the other hand, is running his campaign on the fly and with gut instinct - a fact confirmed by campaign insiders. This seems to be very much in keeping with the style of Sen. McCain, which is why he lacked initial support by his own party. And his decisions lately has come into question by all.
It is now apparent that Republicans now find themselves in the same position that Democrats found themselves in 2004 with regards to John Kerry/John Edwards: they are supporting the McCain/Palin ticket only because they are following party lines, and not because they think that the ticket is a sound one. Remember, McCain did NOT have the support of the Republican Party when he decided to run for president, and that feeling, although diminished during the first ten days after the RNC convention, has resurfaced due to the poor performance of Gov Palin in her infamous CBS interviews, and bolstered with the erratic behavior of Sen. McCain during the first weeks of the Wall Street/financial crisis.
This coming week is going to be interesting - and the McCain campaign has already started playing dirty, with Gov Palin at a recent rally trying to link Obama with a so-called domestic terrorist group of the 70s.
Be careful of what you throw McCain; you have the smear of the Keating 5 scandal lurking in your history, an incident that has far too many similarities with the current financial crisis on Wall Street and the banking sector. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keating_5) Do you really want to take pot-shots now?
Maybe that gut feeling is just indigestion over your "Palin" decision.
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