Palin Induced Head Injury

I have to admit, I have been, secretly, among those who believed that the calamitous performances by Sarah Palin on the stump and in interviews (specifically the Katie Couric interview) were all a clever and complex attempt at the most ambitious lowering of expectations ever.

And then she endorsed Hamas.

I admit, it takes a bit of a logical leap; she doesn’t come right out and say, “Go Hamas!”  But the logical leap one has to take isn’t exactly a very big one.  Here’s the quote:

KATIE COURIC: “What happens if the goal of democracy doesn’t produce the desired outcome? In Gaza, the U.S. pushed hard for elections and Hamas won.”

SARAH PALIN: “Yeah, well especially in that region, though, we have to protect those who do seek democracy and support those who seek protections for the people who live there. What we’re seeing in the last couple of days here in New York is a President of Iran, Ahmadinejad, who would come on our soil and express such disdain for one of our closest allies and friends, Israel … and we’re hearing the evil that he speaks and if hearing him doesn’t allow Americans to commit more solidly to protecting the friends and allies that we need, especially there in the Mideast, then nothing will.”

This comes from yet more of a Katice Couric interview with Sarah Palin; just recently CBS had announced that there was even more potentially embarassing stuff to come from that discussion, and this would seem to be at least a part of it.

So here’s the deal.  The game of lowered expectations can only work so much, and I think at this point, Palin has been defined, or perhaps more accurately, has defined herself in such a terrible light that it’s quite possible that one decent debate performance won’t be able to rectify that.

The fact of the matter is that the damage that she has done to herself thus far has been so deep that she has to be spectacular Thursday night.  That or Joe Biden commits one of his world famous gaffes, which is always a possibility.

Right now, conservatives can’t decide if they want Palin replaced, or want her set loose.  I think it’s reasonable to believe that neither is going to help.  She may score a minor victory Thursday, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that this is all not an act, she really is, for want of a better term, completely clueless and batshit insane.

And it’ll take a miracle for her to stop giving good soundbite… for us.

One Response to “Palin Induced Head Injury”

1. gcotharn says:

   September 29, 2008 at 5:04 pm

   Gov. Palin might score a victory in the debate with Sen. Biden – which victory might be termed “minor”? What kind of dumbass VP pick is Sen. Biden if he can’t outdebate someone who is completely clueless and batshit insane? You are effectively saying Barack has horrible judgment.

   Palin doesn’t have all the answers, yet Barack doesn’t either. Her generic statement to Couric was no worse than Barack announcing support for a unified Jerusalem. Remember the spring and early summer, when Barack off teleprompter was a gaffe machine? Rick Moran remembers last winter and spring:

   It’s no accident that Presidential candidate Barack Obama held press “avails” on average once every 8 days during the first 9 months of his campaign. Even after that he made himself available to the press only twice a week. (Every other candidate had daily avails – sometimes twice a day). One might recall the famous Obama avail held in early March where, for the first time, Chicago reporters covering the Rezko mess got to ask the messiah some questions. His response? “C’mon guys. I’ve answered like 8 questions already.”

   Never again were the Trib and Sun Times reporters covering the Obama scandals allowed to ask any questions off the cuff. Only Obama “beat” reporters from those publications who were following the campaign were granted access to the candidate. (Obama sat down with editorial staffs of both papers a few weeks later – after massive preparation, of course – and managed to evade the tough questions about Rezko and his real estate dealings with the convicted felon.)

   The stumbling, bumbling manner in which Obama answered those questions at the March avail revealed a candidate not ready for high office – which is the obvious reason Obama was protected and hidden by his campaign from the press during those first months.

   I do agree conservatives are nervous as cats about Palin.

   I am more tranquil, and more patient. Let events play out. If Palin does display the instincts and talent to come through this process, at least she will be fully vetted for future election runs. That’s more than can be said for Obama – though, if he loses, he at least would then have the chance to accomplish something in the Senate before his next electoral run, so as not to again have an empty resume when running for office.

   Reply