Kelly the Dog Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 I think this is a terrific evaluation. There has never been a second's debate among liberals, to use an old-fashioned word that may yet return to vogue, over Mrs. Palin: She was a dope and unqualified from the start. Conservatives and Republicans, on the other hand, continue to battle it out: Was her choice a success or a disaster? And if one holds negative views, should one say so? For conservatives in general, but certainly for writers, the answer is a variation on Edmund Burke: You owe your readers not your industry only but your judgment, and you betray instead of serve them if you sacrifice it to what may or may not be their opinion. Here is a fact of life that is also a fact of politics: You have to hold open the possibility of magic. People can come from nowhere, with modest backgrounds and short résumés, and yet be individuals of real gifts, gifts that had previously been unseen, that had been gleaming quietly under a bushel, and are suddenly revealed. Mrs. Palin came, essentially, from nowhere. But there was a man who came from nowhere, the seeming tool of a political machine, a tidy, narrow, unsophisticated senator appointed to high office and then thrust into power by a careless Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose vanity told him he would live forever. And yet that limited little man was Harry S. Truman. Of the Marshall Plan, of containment. Little Harry was big. He had magic. You have to give people time to show what they have. Because maybe they have magic too. But we have seen Mrs. Palin on the national stage for seven weeks now, and there is little sign that she has the tools, the equipment, the knowledge or the philosophical grounding one hopes for, and expects, in a holder of high office. She is a person of great ambition, but the question remains: What is the purpose of the ambition? She wants to rise, but what for? For seven weeks I've listened to her, trying to understand if she is Bushian or Reaganite—a spender, to speak briefly, whose political decisions seem untethered to a political philosophy, and whose foreign policy is shaped by a certain emotionalism, or a conservative whose principles are rooted in philosophy, and whose foreign policy leans more toward what might be called romantic realism, and that is speak truth, know America, be America, move diplomatically, respect public opinion, and move within an awareness and appreciation of reality. But it's unclear whether she is Bushian or Reaganite. She doesn't think aloud. She just . . . says things. Her supporters accuse her critics of snobbery: Maybe she's not a big "egghead" but she has brilliant instincts and inner toughness. But what instincts? "I'm Joe Six-Pack"? She does not speak seriously but attempts to excite sensation—"palling around with terrorists." If the Ayers case is a serious issue, treat it seriously. She is not as thoughtful or persuasive as Joe the Plumber, who in an extended cable interview Thursday made a better case for the Republican ticket than the Republican ticket has made. In the past two weeks she has spent her time throwing out tinny lines to crowds she doesn't, really, understand. This is not a leader, this is a follower, and she follows what she imagines is the base, which is in fact a vast and broken-hearted thing whose pain she cannot, actually, imagine. She could reinspire and reinspirit; she chooses merely to excite. She doesn't seem to understand the implications of her own thoughts. No news conferences? Interviews now only with friendly journalists? You can't be president or vice president and govern in that style, as a sequestered figure. This has been Mr. Bush's style the past few years, and see where it got us. You must address America in its entirety, not as a sliver or a series of slivers but as a full and whole entity, a great nation trying to hold together. When you don't, when you play only to your little piece, you contribute to its fracturing. In the end the Palin candidacy is a symptom and expression of a new vulgarization in American politics. It's no good, not for conservatism and not for the country. And yes, it is a mark against John McCain, against his judgment and idealism. I gather this week from conservative publications that those whose thoughts lead them to criticism in this area are to be shunned, and accused of the lowest motives. In one now-famous case, Christopher Buckley was shooed from the great magazine his father invented. In all this, the conservative intelligentsia are doing what they have done for five years. They bitterly attacked those who came to stand against the Bush administration. This was destructive. If they had stood for conservative principle and the full expression of views, instead of attempting to silence those who opposed mere party, their movement, and the party, would be in a better, and healthier, position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Totally misleading thread title Oh well, I can get pics of MILFs elsewhere I guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 The unlikely source being Peggy Noonan. (Reagan's primary speechwriter). All's you can say is, 'Ouch!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsNYC Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 SPDS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Mix the two together and you have Sarah Palin: demagogue: 1. a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power & I make my living off the Evening News Just give me something-something I can use People love it when you lose, They love dirty laundry Well, I coulda been an actor, but I wound up here I just have to look good, I don't have to be clear Come and whisper in my ear Give us dirty laundry Kick 'em when they're up Kick 'em when they're down Kick 'em when they're up Kick 'em when they're down Kick 'em when they're up Kick 'em when they're down Kick 'em when they're up Kick 'em all around We got the bubble-headed-bleach-blonde who comes on at five She can tell you 'bout the plane crash with a gleam in her eye It's interesting when people die- Give us dirty laundry Can we film the operation? Is the head dead yet? You know, the boys in the newsroom got a running bet Get the widow on the set! We need dirty laundry You don't really need to find out what's going on You don't really want to know just how far it's gone Just leave well enough alone Eat your dirty laundry Kick 'em when they're up Kick 'em when they're down Kick 'em when they're up Kick 'em when they're down Kick 'em when they're up Kick 'em when they're down Kick 'em when they're stiff Kick 'em all around Dirty little secrets Dirty little lies We got our dirty little fingers in everybody's pie We love to cut you down to size We love dirty laundry We can do "The Innuendo" We can dance and sing When it's said and done we haven't told you a thing We all know that Crap is King Give us dirty laundry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Adams Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 I think this is a terrific evaluation. Agreed. I could easily have been a McCain voter and assumed I would be several months ago. His choice of Palin is a betrayal. I could even forgive that he "thought" he knew her and went out on a limb with the choice--if he later asked her to resign once he saw what a dolt she is. But he didn't and I can't vote for someone who thinks it's OK to have her that close to the presidency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 I think Noonan is a big Romney backer. She probably was going to be a speechwriter for him if he was Pres or VP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan_in_raleigh Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 I think Noonan is a big Romney backer. She probably was going to be a speechwriter for him if he was Pres or VP. so your implying that Romney crowd is behind this hoping for a new run in 2012 hoping McCain implodes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowLinesandArmadillos Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 so your implying that Romney crowd is behind this hoping for a new run in 2012 hoping McCain implodes I think there a number of Republicans hoping this besides just the Romney crowd, but the read meat Ohio Republicans love her.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Fong Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 She makes some great points in that article and really brings together for me some loose thoughts that I've had about the campaign. It seems to me that the McCain campaign has been campaigning to their core supporters instead of trying to target undecideds or people in the Democratic camp that could possibly be swayed. All their speeches have to me seemed like a big pep rally instead of an attempt to reach out to voters beyond their core. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 Another one, this one even more amazing than Peggy Noonan. Why so, since my views align a lot more with McCain’s than with Obama’s? And since I truly dread the notion of a Democratic president, Democratic House, and hugely Democratic Senate? Primarily for two reasons, those of temperament and of judgment. When the economic crisis broke, I found John McCain bouncing all over the place. In those first few crisis days, he was impetuous, inconsistent, and imprudent; ending up just plain weird. Having worked with Ronald Reagan for seven years, and been with him in his critical three summits with Gorbachev, I’ve concluded that that’s no way a president can act under pressure. Second is judgment. The most important decision John McCain made in his long campaign was deciding on a running mate. That decision showed appalling lack of judgment. Not only is Sarah Palin not close to being acceptable in high office—I would not have hired her for even a mid-level post in the arms-control agency. But that selection contradicted McCain’s main two, and best two, themes for his campaign—Country First, and experience counts. Neither can he credibly claim, post-Palin pick. I sure hope Obama is more open, centrist, sensible—dare I say, Clintonesque—than his liberal record indicates, than his cooperation with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid portends. If not, I will be even more startled by my vote than I am now. Ken Adelman, one of the original neo-cons/architects of the Iraq war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 To be honest, I don't want to see her in the White House. She just doesn't appear to be ready at this point. Maybe someday she will be. She strikes me as a decent person, even if I don't agree with her on all issues. She is just being torn apart right now, like anyone else in her position would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Ken Adelman, one of the original neo-cons/architects of the Iraq war. "I sure hope Obama is more open, centrist, sensible—dare I say, Clintonesque—than his liberal record indicates, than his cooperation with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid portends. If not, I will be even more startled by my vote than I am now." Good luck with that one, Ken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outsidethebox Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 She makes some great points in that article and really brings together for me some loose thoughts that I've had about the campaign. It seems to me that the McCain campaign has been campaigning to their core supporters instead of trying to target undecideds or people in the Democratic camp that could possibly be swayed. All their speeches have to me seemed like a big pep rally instead of an attempt to reach out to voters beyond their core. To late, they already drank the kool aid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Agreed. I could easily have been a McCain voter and assumed I would be several months ago. His choice of Palin is a betrayal. I could even forgive that he "thought" he knew her and went out on a limb with the choice--if he later asked her to resign once he saw what a dolt she is. But he didn't and I can't vote for someone who thinks it's OK to have her that close to the presidency. I'm glad he picked her. Prior to that I was fretting over who to vote for. After picking her I mailed in my vote just today. I voted third party for the first time in my life. Thanks Johnny boy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I'm glad he picked her. Prior to that I was fretting over who to vote for. After picking her I mailed in my vote just today. I voted third party for the first time in my life. Thanks Johnny boy. Welcome to the Revolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In-A-Gadda-Levitre Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Another one, this one even more amazing than Peggy Noonan. Ken Adelman, one of the original neo-cons/architects of the Iraq war. sounds a lot like what Colin Powell said... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outsidethebox Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I'm glad he picked her. Prior to that I was fretting over who to vote for. After picking her I mailed in my vote just today. I voted third party for the first time in my life. Thanks Johnny boy. Obama thanks you for your support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Obama thanks you for your support. Perhaps your fellow Republicans will return to their TRUE conservative roots, rather than pandering to the "religious" right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowLinesandArmadillos Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I think this is a terrific evaluation. Scary that McCain has gotten sucked into the our America v. their America debate with Palin leading the charge. I thought it was "United We Stand, Divided We Fall" This is not leadership, this as Noonan emphasized a recipe repeating the disaster that is and was George Bush, Dick Cheney and the assorted Neo-Cons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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