Many out there are making a big deal about the fact that Palin has been “applying” for the VP job for six weeks and still doesn’t know what that job entails. While that is a valid point, the critique of Palin doesn’t go deep enough. Every citizen should know what the vice president does, let alone the governor of the largest state in the union. That is not an unreasonable expectation. I’m not asking for every one of us to be a policy wonk or to even have a firm grasp on how a bill becomes a law. My expectations of our educational system have been so diminished that I will settle for a basic understanding of the separation of powers.
Then again, Palin only seems to have become conscious of the world outside the pageant circuit (and even worse, the TV anchor circuit) during the Bush administration. She has only known a bigger world under the vader-esque power of Dick Cheney. I certainly don’t want any Vice President to have the power Cheney and his black heart (no, really) have exerted, let alone the insane expansion of power that Palin’s idiocy would suggest. This begs the question: with a role model like Cheney, can we really blame her? Let me stop you right there…yes, we can.
I just can’t picture Palin in the cloak room saying to Patrick Leahy, “fuck yourself!” In fact, the image that comes to mind when you think about Sarah Palin in the Senate is not her palling around with that bunch of corporate shills making policy. Instead, it is a bunch of patriarchs patting her on the forehead and suggesting that she get back to playing her flute and counting her oil dollars. You betcha!
I find her candidacy offensive. She is disturbingly uneducated and culturally illiterate. I think the biggest problem (and least reported issue) with Colin Powell’s endorsement of Obama is his throw-away comment that implicitly gives a modicum of credence to Palin’s selection, saying, “She’s a very distinguished woman, and she’s to be admired.”
No, she is not. Her candidacy is indefensible.
Election to public office does not distinguish you. Her behavior in our modern bloodsport, in every political Coliseum across the country, is not admirable. She is an abomination.
I cannot imagine how anyone could vote for McCain knowing that she is a heartbeat away from ruling the “free” world. If you intend to do just that, please explain it to me in the comments section. I really and truly would like to understand your rational for such behavior.
After the jump, a video that Palin absolutely needs to watch and we all could use as a civics refresher course.
#1 by The Truth on October 24, 2008 - 12:43 pm
Joe Biden unfamiliar with U.S. history
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV5_T6CfHvE
FDR president in 1929? I think not. Getting on TV also at that time? Again, incorrect. The best part is that he says this on the heals of this line: “Part of what a leader does is instill confidence and demonstrate that he or she knows what they’re talking about.” Thanks for clarifying Joe and providing us an example of someone who clearly doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
#2 by Patrick T. Laferty on October 24, 2008 - 12:57 pm
No question about it, Biden mispoke in that instance. But it wasn’t even a gaff (defined as an impolitic, but true, statement). I’d equate that with McCain’s moment in western Pennsylvania the other day when he told the crowd that John Murtha called them racists and then said that he “couldn’t agree more!” In fact, here you go:
In both cases, neither meant what they said. They were just being tired, old men that have been traveling and speaking publicly far too much lately.
Palin is a different beast altogether. Her comment is 1) incorrect 2) ignorant and 3) has been repeated, by her, on multiple occasions and in each case she has been jumped on for not knowing what a vice president does. I say this with only a tinge of bloggish hyperbole: her election to national office is the biggest domestic threat facing the United States today. Let me stress again: that isn’t an endorsement of Obama. It is a screaming red flag against Palin.
Can’t we stop worrying about moments when a couple of old guys are tired and can’t speak properly anymore? Let’s focus on the real threats, like Palin.
#3 by The Truth on October 26, 2008 - 10:00 pm
The only difference is that Biden has been rampling off constant foot-in-the-mouth-isms since he started running w/ Obama. Claiming that Hillary would have been a better VP, then most recently announcing to the world that the U.S. will be tested internationally if/when they win. Old and tired? Biden’s been rambling like this from the get-go. If you think he’s tired now, how long do you think he’d last if elected? Sorry, not buying it.
#4 by Patrick T. Lafferty on October 27, 2008 - 12:53 am
I appreciate you listing a bunch of examples of a point with which I already agreed, but that doesn’t really push the dialogue forward. We can both just keep railing off lists of moments when these old men act old. Personally, I prefer video:
Now, if you want to talk about substantive points, do you think that either new administration won’t be tested in the next six months? Joe Lieberman does. Joe Biden does. I do. Anyone who is serious and reasonably studied in the ways of the modern world does. How about the “executive experience” issue? The only one of the “big four” that does have executive experience is Sarah Palin. The (republican-led) Alaskan investigation found Palin broke the law AND acted unethically, abusing her executive power. What if we try taking Palin at her word and assuming she understands the meaning of her words? In that case, she evidently has the desire to vastly expand Cheney’s destruction of the system of checks and balances between the legislative and executive branches of our government? If you feel like debating any or all of these serious points, or anything else of substance, you know where to find me.
Thanks for the comment!