For a number of years I was a coach of a highly competitive intercollegiate debate program. My goal as a teacher was always to prepare my students so that they would never, never, never ever end up sounding like Sarah Palin in that interview. One of my routine obligations when I attended intercollegiate tournaments with my students was to judge rounds of debate between students from universities other than my own. Sometimes I would have to judge as many as ten or more 2-hour debates in the duration of a 3-day weekend.

There were occasions when I would hear students struggling–struggling to find words, struggling to get on to the next thought, struggling to hide their ignorance. As long as they were civil in their demeanor and had, at least, some sense of shame, I always felt bad for them.

I felt like interrupting them to help them out, or tell them that, over time, they would indeed improve, or to gently plead with them to just…stop. I couldn’t, of course–such interventions are not allowed during competition. But my heart went out to them. My students were not perfect, but they were taught never to begin sentences they couldn’t finish, and to concede points that they could not win.

Sarah does not know these things. It is unlikely that debate prep will help in this regard because it does not seem to be a matter either of her intellectual background or her discursive nature to ascertain the difference between reasoned argument and wingnut horseshit. What you are hearing is all she really knows about non-Alaskan, non-Christianist, non-moosehunting matters. The Republicans have nervously had their fingers crossed for several weeks. Upon seeing a sassy young politician deliver a scripted speech full of barbs and insults, they thought they had a bona fide Eliza Doolittle in their midst. Some briefing books, a little neocon philosophy, and voila, the rain in Spain would fall mainly on the plain.

But this is what they’ve got instead.

Unlike those poor students I had to listen to years ago, I do not feel sorry for her. It is not a debate tournament trophy that she seeks as the grail for her struggle, it is my aching country. The audacious entertainment of her juvenile delusions of grandeur. The unmitigated gall. The aggressive stupidity.

Had she never been tapped for the vice-presidency, it is likely her Governorship would be tainted or perhaps curtailed by the full investigation and prosecution of the troopergate scandal. She promised full participation in a bipartisan investigation probably because she does not understand–does not grasp–that she did anything wrong! She loves her sister, so going after her former brother-in-law must certainly have felt like the right thing to do. Monegan, who did not understand how important this was to her (and probably did not see the need to sack a satisfactory cop for being a bad husband and father), got in the way and needed to be shown the door. Given what the subpoenaed testimony would likely have revealed (from all of the reports now trickling out of Alaska), she would have most likely been censured, perhaps impeached–or at least embarrassed enough to have ended her career as Governor with one term.

Yet, despite her limited education, her highly limited curiosities, and her parochial, backwoods political experience, she still manages to see herself as annointed and entitled. To hell with her. No amount of lipstick can dress this up.

Katie looked alternately like she was conducting an interview with a big, steaming turd; and like a cat licking it’s chops while watching a broken-winged bird flop around in front of it. She’ll ‘find one and bring it to ya’ huh? Good luck on that, Sarah.

BTW, good makeup person. It’s hard as hell to hide the flop sweat…

Transcendently embarrassing.

I’m saying the whole “Obama says um a lot” talking point just fell off the table and rolled under the breakfront.

“And then a jumbo jet crashed into the flaming wreckage.”

Cue the “he’s making fun of 9/11!” wingnut outrage in 5… 4… 3…

But how much will it matter? I remember after the first Reagan-Carter debate thinking, “Well, that settles that. Now everyone’s seen he’s a doddering old fool.”

I ran into a friend I haven’t seen in several months. I don’t think she’d mind that I describe her as a hippie earth mama Deadhead gentle soul kinda chick. Thinks Bush ruined us. And she told me she’ll probably vote for McCain. Stunned, I was. She’s a disappointed Clinton fan, thinks Obama is a lot of hype and too inexperienced, buys some of the Maverick bullshit. But here’s the part that really killed me: she concedes that Palin is woefully inexperienced and on the wrong side of every single thing, but there’s something about her she kind of likes. And she feels Palin is being “picked on” so she feels compelled to defend her. As far as Palin being a heartbeat away, she said she tries not to think about that.

My friend is college-educated, and not dumb, but she does not go out of her way to be informed. There are some pretty big gaps in her understanding of how government works (she wasn’t sure how one got on the Supreme Court). A single mother with her own business in a crappy economy, she told me she gets her news from CNN and our shitty local Gannett paper. She thinks all media is biased and everybody lies.

As bad as this is, I wonder how many people are going to see it and think, “Well, I couldn’t have done any better. And Katie was sure pushy.”

Look for the McCain camp to next propose a “Dancing With the Candidates” show as a worthy substitute for debating.

Palin’s performance was frightening of course, but what really fascinated me was Couric. Over the course of the interview you could almost hear Katie thinking “Wow, I’m speaking to a child”, and she proceeds to change her tone and cadence to adapt to that revelation. What’s next for the Republican party, Hilton-Lohan ‘12?

Weird. My partner is in most respects similar to your friend (Especially the “media is biased and all politicians are the same” thing.), but won’t vote for McCain because “Being funny on the Daily Show is probably not enough”, and doesn’t want Palin as VP because “I like a lot of people, that doesn’t mean they should be president. It’s not a gold star for effort.”

The difference, I think, is that I’m able to spend a lot of time educating my partner about the various candidates’ positions on issues. But honestly, if anyone can watch that interview and *not* understand how badly unprepared the woman is for a job that frankly involves being able to speak well to foreign heads of state without a pre-written script on TelePrompter, they’re missing the essential point of the democratic process. As my partner said, it *isn’t* a gold star for effort. The presidency is not a consolation prize because we think someone is being picked on. Your friend isn’t taking seriously enough the damage that kind of voting has done to the country and the world, and that may not mean she’s foolish, but it sure indicates a lack of maturity.

Well, like I said, she says she’s trying not to think of Palin becoming president, which IS foolish. It’s not hard to see why someone would feel like all politicians are the same, given the way the Dems have rolled over for 8 frustrating years. My friend feels that we are in real trouble right now, and we need McCain’s experience and “leadership.” I pointed out that he’s one of the reasons we’re in real trouble. She says she’ll watch the debates with an open mind, and I believe her. Our state is really really blue anyway.

It’s hard to watch Palin and not think everyone is going to see she’s a lightweight, but the idea that she is being unfairly harangued has taken hold.

Bernie Mac? Should I just go ahead and assume I missed the political internet meme on that one?

“Well, I couldn’t have done any better.”

My question would’ve been: Do you think you’re qualified to be Veep?

What is wrong with these people that don’t want someone a lot smarter than themselves a heartbeat away from the preznitcy?

Furthermore, don’t they understand that if the worst happens, and McPalin are elected, and Johnny Mac drops dead, whomever Preznit Caribou Barbie selects as her staff will basically be running the country? Guaran-damn-tee that would be a combination of neocons (Rove) and fundies (Dobson) and general all around rethug scumbags (fill in the blank, there are so many to choose from).

Palin is making me nutz. Damn McCain for being such a stupid “anything to win” jerk. “Country first” my ass.

TBogg can create a new political Internet meme with a throwaway line like “…she saw nothing wrong with Davis accepting money from Bernie Mac.”

That’s why he’s a somewhat popular blogger and we’re not.

Damn… perhaps, then, we can simply merge all of these more-or-less bankrupt and corrupt outfits into one, giant shitpile holding company to be known henceforth as “Big Mac”?

We’ll put Paulson in charge, of course, since he’s got such a firm grip on things, and maybe JeanArf’s concerned-but-evidently-clueless friend can get a job doing PR for them: “sure we screwed up, but we almost tried really hard, and that’s what counts, right? Right?”

Destroying an economy is hard work.

http://mudflats.wordpress.com/…..hapter-ii/

This is even scarier. Palin getting blessed by her pastor while being preached to about God needing to take over the government, education, etc.

Palin is the annointing of the annoying by Jesus and his current incarnation, St. John McCain, flyboy interrupted.

That’s Just What I Said

Damn, I was hoping that Couric would ask Palin if her church intervention and the exorcism of her devils succeeded.

THIS.

Yesterday Garrison Keillor said (among other things):

“First, there was his [McCain’s]exploitation of a symbolic woman, an eager zealot who is so far out of her depth that it isn’t funny anymore. Anyone with a heart has to hurt for how Mr. McCain has made a fool of her.”

http://www.salon.com/opinion/k…..24/mccain/

I really was kind of impressed by this. I didn’t think it was possible for anyone to utter a kind word about Palin that I could even remotely imagine agreeing with.

Couldn’t get past that remote place, tho. Still think she’s a craven scheming slut only half a circle of hell back from McDevil himself. “Eager zealot” — eh, not so much.

yes, that is excellently said.

“First, there was his [McCain’s]exploitation of a symbolic woman, an eager zealot who is so far out of her depth that it isn’t funny anymore. Anyone with a heart has to hurt for how Mr. McCain has made a fool of her.”

Palin is not a victim. She willingly signed on because her combined ignorance and arrogance made it impossible for her to believe that America wouldn’t buy her act. She’s George W. Bush in a Wonderbra, toting a Bible and a 30-06.

Sarah isn’t the sharpest tool in the igloo. I think it’s becoming clear why Todd Palin has always been hanging around; presumably he’s coaching her?

First Dude doesn’t exactly strike me as that tool either — though I guess, as my old boss used to say, in the land of the blind the one-eyed are king.

Which of them runs the home skool? No wonder Bristol flunked Abstinence.

Oh my sweet Jesus. I had just read the transcripts and hadn’t seen the actual interview. Oh my sweet Jesus.

People mistook telegenic, and able to read a teleprompter for intelligence and an agile mind. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is a overly ambitious wannabe that struck gold in Alaska. Think Suzanne Stone(Nicole Kidman) in “To Die For”, same ambition, same adultery, just got sidetracked from her ESPN dreams by blundering into the Governors chair.

If McCain had a shred of decency he’d go on national television and apologize to the American electorate for wasting their time, then he’d resign and take that stupid bitch with him to the political graveyard.

Until she got the call to be VP, Palin was a big insular fish in Small Pond, USA. She assumed – when the call came – that she had all of the qualifications for higher office because a) McCain offered it to her and b) she’s young, arrogant, insular, and ignorant. This comes as no surprise because she came of age during the Bush administration, which has been a role model for incompetence, corruption, and mediocrity. She’s also gotten away with murder in her own state, and like Bush, has had to face no consequences. This has only increased her arrogance and sense of entitlement.

It’s probably beginning to dawn on her that she’s well out of her depth, but because she has “faith”, she thinks God will show her the way. She just needs to pray a little harder and longer.