Vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin likes to portray herself as an average American working mother. But how many typical moms get $150,000 worth of merchandise from stylish stores and have strangers pay for it? Of course, now that the truth is out, the Republigandists say that all the clothes were always going to be donated to charity. Yeah, right!
And Palin, campaigning with another mind zombie zero, the wonderful extreme right wing stooge, Talkin Point Harpy Elizabeth Hasselbeck of View infamy, (when is Barbara Walters going to can Her Barbie Dollness?)continued the seemingly fabricated defense. Palin now says she shops only at a consignment store in Alaska for her own clothes. Really? Not even Costco or Walmart or Kmart?
Well, then, why are you wearing $150,000 of Neiman Marcus, Sister Sarah? What is real and what is false in your campaign? Oh, yes, the campaign is mostly false, but you are Joe Six-pack, Joe the Plumber, real America. Right!
Which led me reflect back on the last week, especially back to last weekend. To be fair, Sarah Palin did okay on Saturday Night Live, just as John McCain did fine on David Letterman, but if we were electing a “comedian in chief” I would be for Leno or Letterman, or maybe Steve Martin. I mean, Obama is by far the best speaker in American politics, but it is his great mind and calm demeanor, and the compassionate policies he backs, that make him ready to be president, not his performing abilities on television.
I still say that Palin is not ready to be a heartbeat away from the presidency, and some very good people agree with me. General Colin Powell, in his powerful, thoughtful endorsement of Senator Barack Obama, said, “Now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president. And so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Senator McCain made..."
Powell is one of America’s most respected public figures. He is a highly decorated military man. He has served in a distinguished manner in several Republican administrations — as a national security adviser in the Reagan White House, as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the first President Bush during the Gulf War. After leaving government in 2004, Powell and his wife, Alma, formed America's Promise, an organization dedicated to helping children from all socioeconomic groups. So his opinion is an one of the most informed opinions you will find.
Some of the most stinging comments about Palin came from well-known columnist and former Ronald Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan, who wrote in The Wall Street Journal that Joe the Plumber was more thoughtful and persuasive than Palin."No news conferences? Interviews now only with friendly journalists? You can't be president or vice-president and govern in that style, as a sequestered figure," Noonan wrote of Palin."In the end the Palin candidacy is a symptom and expression of a new vulgarization in American politics. It's no good, not for conservatism and not for the country. And yes, it is a mark against John McCain, against his judgment and idealism."
In a tough interview on the Fox News Channel last weekend, (yes, Faux News does have one real journalist) Chris Wallace allowed McCain to say Palin did "a great job" on SNL, but then challenged him on his choice of her as running mate. "As a cold political calculation, hasn't Governor Palin become a drag on your ticket?" Wallace asked.
"As a cold political calculation, I could not be more pleased," McCain said. Which again makes me question the judgment of John McCain. It seems, on the basis of judgment, he is not ready to be president.
Let me leave you with one more thing Colin Powell agrees with me on – the lies and despicable tactics of the Republican campaign that John McCain approves are out of line.
Powell said, according to the L. A. Times,: “I'm also troubled by, not what Sen. McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said, such things as, 'Well, you that know Mr. Obama is a Muslim.' Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is: What if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, 'He's a Muslim and he might be associated with terrorists.' This is not the way we should be doing it in America.”
Amen, brother Powell, Amen!
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