Well, we have finally met Sarah Palin.
I watched her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention this evening, and she is a snide, snickering, smart-aleck, not at all the sharp, ambitious stateswoman the McCain campaign has been portraying the past few days.
I can’t recall a more mean-spirited speech during this convention or the Democratic one last week. There were so many low blows and so little actual content that it doesn’t require a rebuttal so much as a warning from the referee. This will definitely cost her a point or two with the judges.
Oh, sure, the speech was popular there in the convention hall. I think some of the attendees were starting to feel the Rapture. There was a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on in Saint Paul, but Americans won’t be buying what she is selling, which seems to be mockery, smirking and smears.
The good news for the Democrats is this: Until tonight, there was concern that in the Vice Presidential debate, Joe Biden would necessarily have to go easy on her, because she has little real knowledge of world and national affairs, and she’s just a cute former beauty queen who’s gotten in over her head, and by forcing him to pull his punches in this way she could fight him to a draw and come out more or less unscathed. After her vicious attacks tonight, she can forget about anybody going easy on her. No doubt she will try to turn on the damsel-in-distress act when she faces Joe’s big guns, but I nonetheless predict Joe will shred her, and it will be no more than she deserves.
_______________________________________
After the last few days of talk about her pregnant daughter, her own child rearing practices, her lack of experience and now her convention speech, I got to thinking, I wonder what the last moderate Republican president – Eisenhower – would think and say about the 2008 version of his party?
I suspect he would be in a rage…
Sarah Barracuda is like a piece of strange candy. On the outside she looks like tasty chocolate but on the inside she’s a toxic mix of the worst possible values.
What baffles me is why so many people will vote for McCain-Palin? They offer nothing, they project negativity, they have nothing in common with the majority of Americans. Yet there they are.
Bill – Ike would be a Democrat by now.
To address your question, I think you need to listen to the nasty, vindictive, sneering tone of Palin’s speech. A lot of Republican voters (not all) are engaged in some kind of personal vendetta, they know not why. Like playground wars in 5th grade, only with real lives destroyed.
She’s an interesting dame, but “interesting” means “not fit for the oval office”.
“I think some of the attendees were starting to feel the Rapture.”
I think I saw snakes being handled.
P.S. The snakes did NOT seem to be enjoying it, although they are now possibly pregnant and will be forced to carry baby Republicans to term…sorry. Ssssore ssssubject.
Go read Krugman’s column in the NYTimes today–he reminds us of the politics of resentment that Nixon took to a high art, which answers the question of why people would vote for that ticket.
Also, and this is completely snide, the best name I’ve heard for Palin so far: Caribou Barbie.
Well, with Palin’s speech, the pundits finally got the “red meat” they’ve been crying for during the last two weeks. Only it wasn’t really meat, it was candy. Momentarily satisfying, but ultimately leaving you empty inside. I’m not sure why all the pundits think that “America wants” the candidates to eviscerate each other, but that’s their story and they’re apparently going to stick to it.
I saw Palin this morning (Friday, 9/5) in Wisconsin, in her first campaign appearance since the convention. She gave an edited, shorter version of the speech she gave at the convention, only this time no teleprompter. She was reading from notes, and she made a lot of mistakes, had trouble picking up the logical thread of what she was saying (because she probably didn’t know what she was saying), didn’t look at the camera enough and seemed not quite as smart as she did on Wednesday night. It wasn’t the entire mocking diatribe from Wednesday, but the parts she used were word for word, so I’d have thought she’d have it down pretty good. She didn’t.
I see her now as a distraction, rather than a force for the Democrats to reckon with. Like a feral cat, she will scratch you and hurt you if you are not careful, but she is easily dealt with if you know what you are doing, which I think the Obama/Biden campaign does.
I hope you’re right, Larry. Personally, even though I’ve been writing about politics for the last couple of years with some regularity on my blog, I find myself rendered speechless by both McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin as VP and the Obama campaign’s relative silence on the subject since it happened. So now it’s Monday, Sept. 8. Perhaps this is the week that Obama will open the floodgates? Please, Barack? Please, Biden?
I see her now as a distraction, rather than a force for the Democrats to reckon with.
Not so fast, Bucko. lol. Sorry, I cracked myself up with my use of “Bucko.”
I’m with Wren. Where’s Biden???????
Larry, I know you share my feeling about him. We should write him letters telling him to get on the stick and go on the attack! I saw Obama’s response to her today and it was NOT GOOD.
I’ve really been counting on Joe. He better not let us down! Or, or, or….
So, now that more is becoming known, i.e., Palin’s religious bent – will it make a difference? The polls show a Obama-McCain 50-50 split.
the following is from
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/08/palin.pastor/index.html
Pastor: GOP may be downplaying Palin’s religious beliefs
Six years ago, Palin left Assembly of God to join the non-denominational Wasilla Bible Church. But the Assembly of God says she still returns for special conferences and events, such as the graduation of ministry students in June. Video of a speech she gave at the church just two months before joining the Republican ticket is making the rounds on the Internet.
Speaking of the troops in Iraq, Palin says on the video, “Pray for our military men and women who are striving do to what is right. Also for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending them out on a task that is from God. That’s what we have to make sure that we’re praying for — that there is a plan, and that plan is God’s plan.”
—
Welcome to the another installment of the Dark Ages.
Blue Girl – I saw Obama live from Dayton this AM, responding to Bush’s speech earlier in the day about troop redeployments and reductions. He was tough, but I’m starting to think maybe he should just completely abandon the idea of making sense, and start speaking in slogans and bumper stickers. Most people don’t seem to be able to follow any logic more profound than “Drill here, drill now, pay less.” How about “If you want change, change parties.”
On the other hand, when he took questions from the reporters, I almost wept. Seriously, I was moved by the image of a man listening, processing the data in the question, and responding with real thoughts and actual facts and genuine opinions. It’s in such stark contrast to George II, who simply nods and grunts during the question, and then “responds” with memorized talking points, whether or not they relate to the question, finishing off with a smirk.
Bill – Of course they’re hiding stuff. But not from the right-wing fundamentalist base. They are using code to send the message to those people, but they know the rest of us won’t go along if they come right out and say “To hell with the polar bears, it’s the End Times!” These End Times nuts have been standing on street corners in America since the 19th century, exhorting repentance “before it’s too late,” suggesting that the world is ending soon. They’ve mostly been laughed at, because the concept is so ridiculous. It freaks me out that now they’re in the White House.
To the commenter who calls himself/herself “Impressionist”: Since you gave a fake email address and no other contact information, you wouldn’t know that I emailed you this message (I’m posting it here in case you venture back to see all the shit you stirred up):
Your comment on my blog (Miss Wasilla Speaks) was stopped by my spam filter, and after reading it I decided not to post it because I agree with you that most of the links you referenced are to scurrilous web sites that are, to say the least, disrespectful. I don’t want to propagate that kind of crap. Please feel free to post comments on the site in your own words, without the long catalog of links to ugly web sites. I’m not afraid of intelligent criticism, but I will not be charged with the crimes of others, as you seemed to be trying to do. I stand by my statement that her speech was mean-spirited. Clearly the goal for the Republicans this year is to deflect any discussion of issues, and focus on personalities. I don’t blame them, as they are out of step with the electorate on issues. Palin did a good job in her convention speech. I suspect, however, that we’ll grow tired of her before the election.
Larry Jones
And sadly, though not unexpectedly, America seems drawn to the very mean spirit she embodies.
{sigh}