Sarah Who?

Friday, 11:33 pm

Aug

29

2008

After nearly a week of listening to the various speeches (each one better than the last) at the Democratic National Convention on the radio, I plopped myself in front of a television last night to watch the finale—Barack Obama’s speech. To put it mildly, I was manifestly impressed. Thrilled even. About the best I’ve felt in eight years. In fact, the speech was so good that even Pat Buchanan and Bill Kristol raved about it. My jaw just about hit the floor.

It was a lovely evening and the glow carried over into today.

And then…

McCain announced his VP pick. Sarah Palin. Said I to myself, “Who?”

Ah yes, the Governor of Alaska who is, apparently, a true Republican. She’s mired in a scandal up to her eyebrows. Something about firing the state Public Safety Commissioner for refusing to fire her sister’s ex-husband, a state trooper. Palin is currently under investigation for abuse of power. Inasmuch as IOKIYAR, she’d fit right in with the west wing crowd.

Sarah Palin, who served 4 years as the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska (population 9,000) and 1.5 years as governor, is an anti-choice ‘feminist’, a pro-oil/anti-polar bear ‘conservationist’, and a fundie who doesn’t see any oxymoron in creationist science.

When I first heard the news, I was baffled. The last I’d heard, the media had the scoop that Pawlenty was McCain’s VP pick. Maybe that was last night before the results of the Democratic Convention started to sink in.

Obama got a respectable bump in the polls.

I wonder if Sarah Palin was an 11th hour pick. Many Republicans appeared to be rather stunned. Karl Rove must be apoplectic. (I’d love to have been a fly on his wall...) Sarah certainly gave the media something to buzz about today.

McCain needed to do something Amazing to distract the media from Obama. Sarah is certainly amazing. With a fraction of the experience that Obama has, she has turned Republican talking points about Lack Of Experience all topsy turvy. Although, as one Fox News pundit pointed out today, she has foreign policy experience because she lives right next door to Russia! Be that as it may, dear Fox Pundit, she readily admitted before cameras that she doesn’t even know what a Vice President does. I suppose some might think that’s being refreshingly candid. Not I, but maybe some.

I think McCain is short a coupla marbles.