It’s time that normal Joe Six-pack American is finally represented in the position of vice presidency (sic).
This was Gov. Sarah Palin’s folksy attempt to justify her inability to speak intelligently in recent interviews about anything except hunting moose and drilling oil pits.
But this populist spin is patent nonsense. Because any normal Joe Six-pack would readily admit that he (or she) has neither the education nor the experience to serve as vice president of the United States.
The irony of course is that, when he picked her as his running mate a few weeks ago, John McCain touted Palin as not only qualified to be vice president but even more qualified than Barack Obama to be president. This was an obvious stretch, but Palin is no dummy.
Therefore, her unwitting admission that she’s really no more qualified than a “normal Joe Six-pack American” indicates how truly out of her depth Palin must feel. And her poor performance in interviews suggests that she’s slowly drowning under the pressure of this suffocating realization….
Then there’s the added pressure now being placed on her by a growing number of principled Republicans, including revered ABC commentator George Will, who have declared Palin hopelessly unfit to serve as VP. And by others like nationally syndicated conservative columnist Kathleen Parker who has called on her to resign, advising Palin to use her newborn Down-syndrome baby as an excuse and that she should “Do it for your country.”
That said, I believe it’s important to separate Palin’s ability to perform in a debate from her qualifications to serve as VP. Because, despite the interviews, I remain convinced that she is quite capable of debating, if only her handlers would stop trying to turn her into a Manchurian Candidate. After all, it seems they’ve stuffed her head with so many talking points that, when asked questions, she looks dazed and confused trying to recall their scripted answers.
She is [or at least was] a remarkably articulate and compelling politician who I suspect will prove a surprisingly worthy adversary in debates with Barack Obama’s purportedly more-qualified VP running mate, Joe Biden. And this will be especially evident in exchanges on one of the most pressing issues in this year’s presidential campaign, namely, energy independence – on which she is extraordinarily well-versed.
[John McCain’s VP running mate: Sarah Palin, The iPINIONS Journal, August 30, 2008]
Nevertheless, I remain equally convinced that she does not have the education, grasp of issues beyond Alaska’s borders or the self-confidence to serve as VP.
Meanwhile, it is regrettable that Palin’s supporters are blaming her serial gaffes on a vast left-wing conspiracy to embarrass her. Especially since this is every bit as absurd as Clinton’s Democratic supporters blaming his serial infidelities on a vast right-wing conspiracy to impeach him.
Frankly, it does the country a gross disservice for Palin’s supporters to turn her into a shrinking violet being preyed upon by phantom sexists and media elites. If she became vice president (or, God forbid, president), what are they going to do when Iranian President Mahmood Ahmadinejad or Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez starts ridiculing her…?
Not to mention how insulting this strategy is to Hillary’s female supporters; i.e., the proud feminists McCain picked her to attract.
Yet Palin’s supporters are so determined to rationalize her poor performances that they are already accusing PBS journalist Gwen Ifill, the moderator of tonight’s debate, of bias against Palin. This fatuous accusation stems from the fact that Ifill is currently writing a book entitled The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.
Unfortunately, it only fuels their contrived conspiracy that her book is scheduled to be published on January 20, 2009, which, no doubt for purely marketing reasons, just happens to be the day Obama supporters expect him to be inaugurated as the first black president of the United States.
But no matter how unfair, unfounded and even racist this accusation is, it behooves Ifill to do all she can to inoculate herself from becoming the scapegoat for what Palin’s supporters clearly fear will be her poor performance against Joe Biden tonight. And it does not matter that they are making this accusation in a brazen attempt to force Ifill to go easy on Palin.
Accordingly, I urge PBS and the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) to secure a written stipulation from McCain and Palin, acknowledging Ifill’s journalistic integrity and re-affirming their consent for her to serve as moderator. And I urge Ifill to begin tonight’s debate by informing the audience about it.
However, if they refuse to give this stipulation, PBS and the CPD should have Jim Lehrer, who moderated the McCain-Obama debate, do this one as well.
With that, let’s enjoy the show….
NOTE: If I’m wrong and Palin performs as poorly in tonight’s debate as she has in recent interviews, then I will publish a simple “I eat my words” post tomorrow. But if I’m right, I hope you’ll forgive me for publishing a simple “I told you so.”
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