Democracy Has Prevailed.

September 30, 2008

Governor Palin, You're No Dan Quayle

Another Conservative non-Fan of Governor Palin:
“I think she has pretty thoroughly — and probably irretrievably — proven that she is not up to the job of being president of the United States,” David Frum, a former speechwriter for President Bush who is now a conservative columnist, said in an interview.
Uh-oh.  But wait, there's MORE:
Polling suggests that the number of Americans who think she is not fit to be president has increased since her introduction to the country last month. A number of conservative columnists and thinkers have publicly turned against her, or criticized Mr. McCain for choosing her, including George Will, David Brooks and Kathleen Parker, who wrote a column entitled “She’s Out of Her League” for the National Review Online.
But this last part should send a chill down everyone's spine:
Mr. Frum noted the difficulty that Dan Quayle, who was elected vice president in 1988, had in recovering from an early set of mistakes that led him to be ridiculed as an intellectual lightweight. “The story of Dan Quayle is he did probably 1,000 smart things as vice president, but his image was locked in and it was very difficult to turn around,” he said. “And Dan Quayle never in his life has performed as badly as Sarah Palin in the last month.” [Emphasis added.]
Some reminders.

Vice-President Potatoe on the environment:
It’s not pollution that is hurting the environment, it’s the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.
On 9/11:
There were no Palestinians riding on planes on September 9th.
And then the classic:
What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is.
THAT Dan Quayle.  According to David Frum, he never (NEVER) performed as badly as Sarah Palin.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

They've obviously been "Manchurianed" by the Chicoms and the Russians. That's the only explanation.

John K. said...

John K: It should be pointed out that conservatives are viewed by some folks in this fashion simply because some people think having a pointy head, as they are wont to have, if a sign of intellegence. Quayle wasn't a light weight in light of left wing gaffes. FDR on TV in 1929? Quayle was ridiculed simply because he was a conservative. Remember left wing kooks, you also said Reagan was an intellectual lighweight. So these criticisms are simply the result of not enough blood flowing to the head of some pointy headed elites.

John K. said...

John K: There is also another factor at work here. Some people who like to claim they are conservatives, ie Brooks and Buchanon, enjoy having the praise of liberals. To do this it is often necessary for them to acquire pointy heads and go about criticising the very people who expouse a conservative platform. Liberals love these people. Makes them all feel good when they get together and rub their pointy heads against each other. LOL LOL LOL Palin is a pro life feminist. And that, more than anything, is what drives these folks crazy.

billrott said...

This week will be the high water mark for Palin. I feel she will do well within the debate format. The current format shortens answer times and provides no back and forth between the nominees. In this type of format, Palin will be able to provide generalities and platitudes with no substance. She should make it through the debate unharmed.

What will happen next week will be the issue though. By next week, the press will push for and get a press conference format with Palin. It is clear she can barely handle a one-on-one interview. It will be a nightmare watching her field questions at a press conference.

In the end, Palin's candidacy is doomed. I imagine that she will eventually pull and Eagleton. Even though people worry that such a move will alienate conservatives, I think McCain is not a rationale individual when it comes to these things.

EdHeath said...

Just using the phrase "pointy head" is a sign of contempt for intelligence, not to say competence. That said, Sarah Palin’s ability to simply talk without any real substance has played pretty well so far. Sure, people who have any sort of familiarity with politics frequently cringe when she gives an answer to an interviewer. But most people don’t have that much familiarity with politics, so they see her as someone like them, who happens to be successful in politics.

Still, it is worth pointing out that McCain has slipped some more in the polls. His message pre-debate was resonating with voters, but in the direct comparison with Obama McCain didn’t seem credible when he said Obama doesn’t understand. Obama came across as a guy who might you might disagree with, but not as someone who doesn’t understand stuff. I think the reason McCain is slipping a bit further in the polls is that people decided maybe the debate was not so much of tie after all.

Assuming he has the chance, Biden will need to be careful not to make the same mistake. Instead of just saying she is not experienced, he will need to carefully ask questions about how a McCain/Palin administration will help the average American (stay away from gas prices). The first time she is honest and says that she doesn’t know details about something (like the Ledbetter act), that is the time to point out about the Vice-President being the one heart beat away, and how you can’t say “I’ll have to get back to on that, Mr. Putin”. Biden, in other words, will have to be patient before being ruthless. If the format permits.

Infinonymous said...

I had discounted the prospect that Sen. McCain would dump Gov. Palin until I read one or two of the comments in this thread. It certainly would alienate some righteous Republicans, violate conventional political wisdom and smack of desperation -- but when Sen. McCain is desperate, he is inclined to abandon convention and caution and go all-in. (Which, in a military context, isn't necessarily a bad instinct. Not the guy you want atop the decision-making period, however.)

If Sen. McCain is down eight with two weeks to go, and the electoral map is swinging hard toward Sen. Obama, Sen. McCain might go for another "game-changer." I can't imagine he would feel bad about cutting Gov. Palin loose -- she has turned out to deserve the boot -- and it might feel good to stiff the party handlers who have been riding him for months. Sen. McCain strikes me as the kind of guy who would pull his goalie with four minutes left (not caring about the difference between a four-goal loss or a nine-goal loss) or try an onside kick in a "hopeless" game. Again, this is not necessarily a bad instinct -- in some ways, a never-say-die approach is admirable. But it could be bad news for Gov. Palin.

On the bright side, I am relatively sure she won't suffer, because she would never see it coming.