McCain's Palin Performance Anxiety

Syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker, who went from being a fierce defender of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin to suggesting that the Alaska governor should for the sake of her party and the republic quit the ticket, has certainly caused a commotion.

"I've gotten about 8,000 e-mails," she told the Christian Science Monitor. "They range from angry to vicious to appreciative to ‘Thank God somebody spoke up'."

Clearly, Parker hit a nerve.

That nerve runs right through the middle of John McCain's campaign.

But don't expect the Republican presidential nominee to acknowledge that fact.

McCain may, in fact, be reconsidering the choice of Palin as his running mate. But he won't talk about the nasty thoughts that are running around a brain that knows nasty. And he certainly won't act upon them -- before or after Thursday night's debate.

If there is one ironclad rule in the PE (post-Eagleton) era of modern American politics, it is this.

Presidential nominees don't dump their running mates.

When George McGovern stood "1,000-percent" behind his 1972 partner on the Democratic line, Missouri Senator Tom Eagleton, and then decidedly shortly thereafter to ask Eagleton to quit the ticket, that was the end of it for McGovern's already slim presidential prospects.

Similarly, when President George H. W. Bush let the conversation go on for a little too long about dropping Vice President Dan Quayle from the 1992 Republican ticket, it definitely hurt Bush.

In American politics, there are no rewards for veep switching -- or even the consideration of veep switching.

So McCain has a problem.

He and his aides had, of course, been hoping that Palin would turn in an "exceeds-expectations" performance in Thursday night's debate.

But with the cable television networks entertaining semi-serious nightly discussions about the reconsideration of the Palin pick, McCain needs his running mate to do well enough to shut down the discussion of dumping her.

Because that discussion is really a conversation about McCain's ability to govern. As former Bush administration aide David Frum explains: "Mr. McCain's supporters argue that he is more serious about national security than Barack Obama. But the selection of Sarah Palin invites the question: How serious can he be if he would place such a neophyte second in line to the presidency? Barack Obama at least balanced his inexperience with Mr. Biden's experience. What is Mr. McCain doing?"

It is true that the bar has been lowered for Palin.

But as the debate approaches, it is being raised for McCain. He needs a running mate who won't cause him any more embarrassment.

And, be assured, there is no greater embarrassment for a presidential candidate than constant speculation about whether he is going to have to clean up the mess he made of the one really important pick he had to make as his party's nominee.

Comments (67)

1. That was George H.W. Bush and Quayle, but I knew what you meant.

   It's a shame W didn't have Quayle. Surely those two legacy morons couldn't have done 1/100th the damage to the country that the one we have has with Darth Vader in the wings running the show.

   Posted by stubearto at 10/01/2008 @ 02:14am

2. mr. mccain has become a POP

   prisoner of palin.....

   Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 02:17am

3. Obama 83%. McCain 17%.

   Those are the current chances for either nominee's victory.

   It's over.

   Sarah, be it on Thur or anytime, just doesn't matter.

   Pass the popcorn.

   Posted by sloper at 10/01/2008 @ 02:32am

4. mr. mccain has become a POP

   prisoner of palin.....

   Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 02:17am

   or a BOP

   beneficiary of palin..

   Anyway that's how Fred sees it but more as A-BOP:

   http://tinyurl.com/4lrpmm

   Posted by lrjones4 at 10/01/2008 @ 02:37am

5. phred?

   nixon called him dumb....

   Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 03:18am

6. "If I were Dictator, which I always aspire to be"

   John McCain – about 36 seconds into the following video entitled "Economic Bill Failure":

   http://tinyurl.com/47q938

   See, he really is the embodiment of a third Bush term!

   http://tinyurl.com/2v4zse

   "Calling Dr. Freud to the Emergency Room, STAT!"

   Posted by plunger at 10/01/2008 @ 06:15am

7. so much for this gimmick. she had better kick ass in this debate because she is really really really loking weak and unprepared for the job.

   Posted by dexter666 at 10/01/2008 @ 06:24am

8. the problem with low expectations for palin is that the expectations are so low...

   the country has had 8 years of talking point gobbledygook and incompetance. the gimmick is no longer working because the gimmick is an ignorant incompetant just like our current president.

   Posted by dexter666 at 10/01/2008 @ 06:31am

9. The problem with the low expectations about Palin is not really about Palin at all - it's about us, the American voter. Our expectations of our elected officials is extremely low - makes the stock market tanking look like dollars soaring. We want a politician who relates to Joe Sixpack - so we end up with a politician who can't relate to anything or anyone beyond that. Or we end up with someone who can easily manipulate us simply because we "relate" to them. Either way we lose - and not just as a nation, but we denigrate our American ideologies in exchange for someone we can relate to - which leads me to ask - do we want a national leader or a neighbor?

   Posted by Greytdog at 10/01/2008 @ 06:45am

10. Posted by stubearto at 10/01/2008 @ 02:14am

    Sorry to get geeky on you but your analogy is inaccurate. Cheney as the real power behind the throne would be the Emperor. Bush would be Darth Vader. Check out some of Steve Bell's cartoons

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/cartoons/stevebell/0,7371,1105536,00.html

    Posted by audacity at 10/01/2008 @ 06:52am

11. Anybody rootin' for Obama/Biden needs to be almost as worried about Biden as the cons are about Palin. All she has to do is show up and get in a quip or two. He has to appear "presidential, experienced", tough but not mean and he has to not say something stupid and quotable. That last one has been an Achilles heel for him for a long time.

    Obama should dump Biden, and go with Richardson. Gramps should dump Palin and go with Hutchinson or Snow. Then we can all relax and start over.

    ---

    LR, are you quoting a celebrity? A guy that polled in the single digits in primaries? A skirt chaser?

    Posted by crabwalk at 10/01/2008 @ 07:23am

12. If the McCain campaign were wise, they would just get Tina Fey to do the debate.

    Posted by crabwalk at 10/01/2008 @ 07:25am

13. Posted by Darin_the_Troll at 10/01/2008 @ 08:26am | ignore this person | warn this person

    you may be right. before her last week's PR disaster i was a tad conerned. i guess anything is possible and tightly scripted she's not bad.

    she COULD do fine i guess, but geez she's looking so bad right now, so rattled and nervous and uninformed.

    she is looking very much out of her element, dazed and confused, and in no way qualified to be president...therefore not qualified to be veep.

    rove better work some magic because this shoot from the hip decision from the war hero is looking...not so good...

    Posted by dexter666 at 10/01/2008 @ 08:52am

14. What most people don't know is that Palin is pretty good in this type of debate. She will give a lot of non-answers and make general points on her beliefs and ideas.

    She did well in the debates for the Alaskan gubernatorial race.

    If performs as she did in them, she will tie or maybe win depending on Biden's performance. Which in case people have not been paying attention has been awful.

    Posted by jeffe at 10/01/2008 @ 08:55am

15. Posted by jeffe at 10/01/2008 @ 08:55am

    Yeah, as long as they don't ask her anything about: SCOTUS decisions, foreign policy, economics, the duties of the VP, education, Ted Stevens, earmarks, or dinosaurs - then she'll do just fine.

    But what does that leave? Oh, that's right; drilling for oil in AK, snow machines and moose hunting!

    Sarah Palin: a talking "bridge to nowhere"

    Posted by leftofcenter at 10/01/2008 @ 09:08am

16. Posted by Darin_the_Troll at 10/01/2008 @ 08:26am | ignore this person | warn this person

    not to give her too much credit, but i cant help but feel what there is to her has been shrink wrapped into suffocation by the flippy mac handler brigade. they may be calming and polishing and coaching her into a trainwreck.

    all in all, looking like a terrible decision by flippy mac...the negs are far outshadowing the positives right now...

    Posted by dexter666 at 10/01/2008 @ 09:14am

17. Posted by dexter666 at 10/01/2008 @ 09:14am | ignore this person | warn this person

    actually that was fer jeffe...but you too troll...

    Posted by dexter666 at 10/01/2008 @ 09:15am

18. an ignorant incompetant just like our current president.

    Posted by dexter666 at 10/01/2008 @ 06:31am

    orthographic karma strikes again!

    •_•

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 09:24am

19. I have a prediction about the Conservative movement

    Posted by Darin_the_Troll at 10/01/2008

    i'm still waiting for it to start.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 09:27am

20. Posted by dexter666 at 10/01/2008 @ 09:14am

    a few talking pointy lines well flung will do it.

    no substance necessary.

    she just has to appear READY TO CLEAN UP D.C.

    i'd be laughing if it weren't so dangerous.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 09:30am

21. I have a prediction about the Conservative movement

    Posted by Darin_the_Troll at 10/01/2008

    If the last 8 years (and especially this trailing end recently) are an indicator it appears to have been more of a political bowel movement.

    Posted by leftofcenter at 10/01/2008 @ 09:42am

22. 3) Friday morning there will be a few posts here, actually accusing Gwen Ifil of giving Palin too easy questions. To suggest that Gwen is a supporter is too outlandish even for the conspiracy minded here, so it will be because she was bending over backwards to seem fair.------Posted by Darin_the_Troll at 10/01/2008 @ 08:26am

    Darin, that one is an ODD prediction, given I expect the exact OPPOSITE to occur.

    I think we'd get TONS of posts (from you, LVLIB, PONTI, HAPP, etc. on the Right) accusing Gwen Ifil of being too HARD on Palin....and numerous links to what's up on Drudge right now about Ifil's book on Obama.

    I doubt ANYBODY is going to post that "Ifil was too easy on her", since it's not likely that Ifil is going to be any softer than Couric and Couric was accused of "gotcha journalism" by asking Palin how she had foreign policy experience living "near" Russia.

    BTW, I will agree you might be right on an earlier theory....Palin MIGHT have been "playing dumb" to Couric to lower expectations for the debate....to enjoy a "triumphant beating of the odds" Thursday night.

    Might.

    Posted by Maskdelta at 10/01/2008 @ 09:42am

23. Mask .. I used to live in Texas, AND I ate at more than a few Mexican restaurants. Plus I've been to France by way of the Netherlands and Luxembourg. I've also talked to people from England and have flown over Scotland.

    By damn, I may actually have more foreign policy experience than Palin. I could be McSame's new running mate!

    Posted by leftofcenter at 10/01/2008 @ 09:46am

24. Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 09:30am | ignore this person | warn this person

    one on one she looks like she's constantly on the verge of a panic attack...

    i'll offer no more advice to the enemy (though if she's as vacuous as she appears no amount of advice will help)...

    gonna be a good debate, methinks...

    Posted by dexter666 at 10/01/2008 @ 09:46am

25. PALIN: That's why I say I, like every American I'm speaking with, were ill about this position that we have been put in where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health-care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy, helping the--it's got to be all about job creation, too, shoring up our economy and putting it back on the right track. So health-care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans. And trade, we've got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, scary thing. But one in five jobs being created in the trade sector today, we've got to look at that as more opportunity. All those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that.

    picture this along with much gesturing putting thumb on tongue etc...

    compare to last year beauty contestant speech which was on youtube....also totally incoherent...remember palin was a beauty contestant too...now it all makes sense....

    Posted by jrs112 at 10/01/2008 @ 09:48am

26. "oh lord! whats that talking point my talking point coach...coached me too...uh...supreme court case? wha...? i don't have a pre-approved canned talking point for that!!! uh...spit out another and string a second and third on to make it confusingly intelligent sounding...oh poopie!!!! i want to get out of here!!!!"

    poor mrs. mooseburger...

    maybe its them satan's witches casting hexes on her...if only life were simple like in cave man times when a whole tribe of israelite cavemen could feast off of a brontosaurus for a week...right after the fall from grace when giants walked the earth...

    Posted by dexter666 at 10/01/2008 @ 09:52am

27. "If I were Dictator, which I always aspire to be"

    John McCain – about 36 seconds into the following video entitled "Economic Bill Failure":

    http://tinyurl.com/47q938

    Posted by plunger at 10/01/2008 @ 06:15am

    OMG! This should be brought up to FRON AND CENTER! Very desturbing quote right out of his mouth!

    Posted by throwin at 10/01/2008 @ 09:54am

28. Posted by throwin at 10/01/2008 @ 09:54am | ignore this person | warn this person

    CtS

    consider the source...lol...

    Posted by dexter666 at 10/01/2008 @ 09:56am

29. I think we'd get TONS of posts (from you, LVLIB, PONTI, HAPP, etc. on the Right)

    Posted by Maskdelta at 10/01/2008 @ 09:42am

    i wonder if JOHN MAASCH is being given the IBBLBLBLELBLBLLBLE/MARYBRETBRAD treatment.

    JOHN, if you're out there, knock twice.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 09:59am

30. True

    Posted by throwin at 10/01/2008 @ 10:00am

31. gonna be a good debate, methinks...

    Posted by dexter666 at 10/01/2008 @ 09:46am

    yeah,

    and our prime ministerial debate is on at the same time!

    i think mr. harper's office may just have wanted it that way...

    millions of canadians will watch the palinshow instead of paying attention to home.

    i'll watch both on the internets.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 10:02am

32. Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 09:59am | ignore this person | warn this person

    yeah...methinks the commisariat nkvd wing of the socialist communist "the nation" web section of central planning has struck the controlls and sent them to an asylum for the politically insane...

    goddamned fascists!!! hang 'em high!!!

    or are they just feelin' a little low? i think they got sent to the gulag archipeligo...mumbling to themselves in bardo...

    Posted by dexter666 at 10/01/2008 @ 10:03am

33. Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 10:02am | ignore this person | warn this person

    i think the blue states should secede from the red states and join the english speaking canadian provinces and make quebec independent. and i'll move there probably...to victoria island...

    Posted by dexter666 at 10/01/2008 @ 10:06am

34. I'll bet 700 billion dollars that there is a DNA match between Palin and Bush. Cloning does exist.

    Posted by Freewheelin_Franklin at 10/01/2008 @ 10:13am

35. "i think the blue states should secede from the red states and join the english speaking canadian provinces and make quebec independent."

    Posted by dexter666 at 10/01/2008 @ 10:06am

    You mean the United States of Canada and Jesus Land?

    Posted by Benchrest at 10/01/2008 @ 10:15am

36. You mean the United States of Canada and Jesus Land?

    Posted by Benchrest at 10/01/2008 @ 10:15am | ignore this person | warn this person

    jesus is welcome. united states of north america. the red states can keep calling themselves the USA.

    perhaps the atlantic english speaking provices could consider re-establishing ties with britain...

    Posted by dexter666 at 10/01/2008 @ 10:27am

37. "How serious can he be if he would place such a neophyte second in line to the presidency? Barack Obama at least balanced his inexperience with Mr. Biden's experience."

    How serious can Democrats be if they would place such a neophyte FIRST in line to the presidency? Palin at least balanced her inexperience with Mr. McCain's experience.

    A wash? Ya think?

    Posted by mal at 10/01/2008 @ 11:03am

38. When the media grabs one part of the interview with Couric and ignores the rest it simply says that that "jounalists" are only using material that supports their bias and spin they want on Palin.

    Palin represents the change America really wants, namely a fresh view, and a person not rolled into the same old, same old, like Obama.

    The effort to manufacture Obama into an acceptable candidate has been historic. And the way the media has manipulated and suppressed information is right in step.

    And now we have the DEMS putting in funding for ACORN, a group Obama worked for and provided funding for, into the "bailout bill". And where is the story? Look for it on YouTube or Fox.

    Posted by sailcovershot at 10/01/2008 @ 11:18am

39. Palin might play the "creation science" card during the debate or soon thereafter. Unbelievably, a 2007 Gallup poll (published in USA Today) found that almost 2/3 of registered voters (including Gov. Palin) think that humans and dinosaurs coexisted and that 15% of them would be more likely to vote for a candidate who shared that belief. While 30% of voters would be less likely to vote for such a candidate, it's doubtful that many of them would be voting for the Republicans anyway. While the rest of the world might laugh at a country where the majority of people think that The Flintstones is based on a true story, The McSame/Palin camp is now sufficiently desperate to try almost anything, torture excluded, that will help them win. Swing states like Colorado and North Carolina have large numbers of conservative Christian voters who could make the difference in a close race. I wonder if Gwen Ifill will pose the question directly.... Meanwhile, can someone put together a video for posting on YouTube that shows Miss Wasilla 1984 with her long-lost relatives?

    Posted by bluevoter at 10/01/2008 @ 11:26am

40. Palin represents the change America really wants, namely a fresh view, and a person not rolled into the same old, same old, like Obama.

    Posted by sailcovershot at 10/01/2008 @ 11:18am | ignore this person | warn this person

    I am still not clear on what Sarah's views are. Could you give me nutshell of her fresh views and platform?

    Posted by OneVote at 10/01/2008 @ 11:42am

41. I read no posted comments here about political beliefs..the talk seems to be all inside politics stuff, strategy etc.. Shame on us. You are assuming exactly what the right wants you to assume, that policy is secondary to the fact that Palin is a mother, a populist, a personality. It matters. She's a fascist. This is the pretty face that will bring the newer secrecy government worse than the dual-faced, corporate bed-fellow, law-breaking and corrupt one we have. Just another long step down the road to destruction that is the dream of these people. A hollowed out American middle-class with no political power to impede the destruction of Constitutional principle. Get ready to fight on those principles and for God's sake, recognize what is happening here. If you think I'm just paranoid, just look into the Alaska First people she and her husband are part of.

    Posted by hrayovac at 10/01/2008 @ 11:50am

42. With the exception of France, none of those countries would be considered our enemies, unlike Russia.

    Posted by Darin_the_Troll at 10/01/2008

    Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 12:11pm

43. Of course, nobody worries about France because their military is a fucking joke.

    Posted by Darin_the_Troll at 10/01/2008

    hmmm.

    naw, i'll be nice to you.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 12:12pm

44. No, in G-d's sight, John McCain is a forgiven person. And where G-d forgives He says that He keeps no memory of our past sins.

    It's only haters like yourself Frosty who hold onto these things.

    Posted by lvliberty1 at 10/01/2008 @ 11:05am

    MASK,

    quick to the archives!

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 12:15pm

45. Approximately 60 million years between the last dinosaurs and early Australopithecines. 60 MILLION YEARS! Dear God, please don't let this election become a referendum on paleontological reality. Scientific illiteracy in the U.S. - hardly a third world theocracy - is a national disgrace. We have to do better.

    Posted by Be Good at 10/01/2008 @ 12:25pm

46. FZ ....

    the interesting part is that LL knows what god is thinking! I didn't get the memo...howzabout you?

    Posted by leftofcenter at 10/01/2008 @ 12:26pm

47. Posted by Darin_the_Troll at 10/01/2008 @ 10:47am

    No, Darin, saying "I have foreign policy experience because Russia is near my state"...is a fucking joke.

    BTW, I thought you said she was just ACTING stupid to play down expectations for tomorrow's debate?!?!???

    Posted by Maskdelta at 10/01/2008 @ 12:29pm

48. dexter666

    the source is a reputable news feed....easier to find the copy here though. Note at 1:41

    http://saradevil.blogspot.com/2008/10/john-mccain-if-i-were-dictaor.html

    Darrin McTroll

    I was thinking more like wine imports from France! And the point being that I have about as much international policy experience as does Palin .. maybe more because I was interviewed on French TV for an American perspective on 9/11 as that is when I happened to be in France. Has Palin spoken to any Russians I wonder? (and yelling NW off her porch doesn't count)

    Posted by leftofcenter at 10/01/2008 @ 12:31pm

49. No, in G-d's sight, John McCain is a forgiven person. And where G-d forgives He says that He keeps no memory of our past sins.

    It's only haters like yourself Frosty who hold onto these things.----Posted by lvliberty1 at 10/01/2008 @ 11:05am

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 12:15pm

    Oh, come on, FROSTY, you KNOW how LVLIB will answer this the next time he attacks some Democrat or liberal for something done in the past....

    "I'VE never heard they asked for forgiveness...so that's completely different!"

    BTW, it's interesting that God has a hard drive erasure and can put stuff like "sins" in the Recycle Bin and never recover them.....heheh

    Posted by Maskdelta at 10/01/2008 @ 12:32pm

50. "With the exception of France, none of those countries would be considered our enemies, unlike Russia."

    Okay, I actually WAS in Russia last year, for about a week. Can I be VP?

    Posted by brunowe at 10/01/2008 @ 12:34pm

51. "I predict Palin will do just fine and will debate Biden to a draw."

    and i predict that the fundamentals of our economy will remain strong.

    Posted by darladoon at 10/01/2008 @ 12:42pm

52. Posted by darladoon at 10/01/2008 @ 12:42pm

    Ka-ching.....DD with a funny!

    Posted by Maskdelta at 10/01/2008 @ 1:23pm

53. I get the feeling from MSM that they expect this to be some version of the Jerry Springer show.

    Posted by Freewheelin_Franklin at 10/01/2008 @ 1:33pm

54. John McCain and his Republican bunch remind me of the Borg collective. And now, they elected a queen to assimilate us all !!

    Posted by MickFlynn at 10/01/2008 @ 1:56pm

55. McSame "If I were dictator, which I always aspire to be, I would write it a little bit differently."

    Dubya "If I were a dictator this would be a heckuva lot easier"

    Guess we're up to 91% agreement percent now?

    Posted by leftofcenter at 10/01/2008 @ 1:56pm

56. My little pet theory about voting people who are clearly not qualified into office goes like this: Since America is sort of build on the premise of a class-less society where anyone can achieve greatness when given the chance (aka the American Dream), then by voting somebody we like, somebody we would like to have a beer with, "Joe six-pack", we simply want to vote for somebody ultimately like us. That would serve to keep the dream alive, i.e. that anyone can become President of the U.S. Even someone as unprepared and as qualified as our next door neighbor, or as simple as... ourselves. This will keep the dream that every parent (supposedly) has of their children (and one they don't fail to voice to them repeatedly) that maybe "someday you will be President of the USA". If, instead, we vote for qualified, educated, smart people for President then that dream dies... That, in my mind, is the only explanation why Americans "vote down" (meaning for less than qualified, less than intelligent people) as opposed to Europe, where the hoi polloi do not have aspirations to become Presidents and Prime Ministers one day and, thus, vote for exceptional people, not their friendly neighbors.

    Posted by polydoa at 10/01/2008 @ 2:00pm

57. and i predict that the fundamentals of our economy will remain strong.

    Posted by darladoon at 10/01/2008 @ 12:42pm

    like an ox!

    •_•

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 2:23pm

58. Guess we're up to 91% agreement percent now?

    Posted by leftofcenter at 10/01/2008 @ 1:56pm

    yikes!

    he doesn't sound like he's joking.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 2:27pm

59. right after the fall from grace when giants walked the earth...

    Posted by dexter666 at 10/01/2008 @ 09:52am

    I think that you meant to say "...when giants walked the flat surface of the earth..."

    I got your back, buddy.

    Posted by skeletonman at 10/01/2008 @ 2:45pm

60. I'll bet 700 billion dollars that there is a DNA match between Palin and Bush. Cloning does exist.

    Posted by Freewheelin_Franklin at 10/01/2008 @ 10:13am

    I notice that you did not say that 'human cloning' exists.

    Posted by skeletonman at 10/01/2008 @ 2:49pm

61. Of course, nobody worries about France because their military is a fucking joke.

    Posted by Darin_the_Troll at 10/01/2008 @ 10:47am

    Yeah, who wants a military like that if you are a witless dolt bent on taking over the 3rd largest oil reserve in the world, anyway?

    You sure told 'em, Tiger.

    Posted by skeletonman at 10/01/2008 @ 2:53pm

62. When the media grabs one part of the interview with Couric and ignores the rest it simply says that that "jounalists" are only using material that supports their bias and spin they want on Palin. Posted by sailcovershot at 10/01/2008 @ 11:18am

    OK, while I agree interviews can be and are inaccurately presented, there are times when this defense just not feasible. That atrocious mélange of blather which is being grabbed was spewed in one uninterrupted retch. There was no editing or cutting or taking out of context. I don't care what else she said, nothing could possibly rectify that response. It is what it is. Accept it. Also, 'spin' is something you do, like 'destroy', not something you possess, like 'bias'. (a.k.a. a verb)

    Posted by truthNjoyr at 10/01/2008 @ 3:33pm

63. Check out this homemade video on Youtube with Sarah Palin as Pygmalion. The way they sequestered her and now plan on parading her in the debate tomorrow makes this a must see video. Evertime she opens her mouth I will be thinking of it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kkGnfwzT1g

    Posted by 1workinprogress at 10/01/2008 @ 3:59pm

64. Posted by Darin_the_Troll at 10/01/2008 @ 4:17pm

    Then why are MCCAIN and PALIN both supporting the bail-out....if it's no big deal or not that important?

    (Hint-Here's where you say "it IS a big deal, just not as big a deal, but still a big deal")

    Posted by Maskdelta at 10/01/2008 @ 4:50pm

65. Give me a break....so she was overloaded from cramming and wilted under some questioners third degree so she is all washed up? You wish. She has a record of doing well on debates in alaska (see on C-SPAN archives). Fred Thompsons piece today on her qualifications is excellent. I am disappointed at the cut and run crowd who rush to judgement on her performance. Its obvious she had crammed too much. For me its about political courage, doing the right thing, and taking on the status quo. The world is full of smooth talking con men(women) who cant walk the walk. Look at Harry "the war is lost....we dont know what to do" Reid or that partisan hack called a speaker in the congress. A real genius. Or the Dem candidate and his 57 state tour or his most recent quote today of cutting capital gains taxes on small businesses when they don;t even pay any. No sarah is the right choice and I would dump McCain if he dumped her.

    Posted by bankshot at 10/01/2008 @ 5:09pm

66. As long as one realizes that the logic that dominates the new con far right repubs irrational and unpatriotic need for dic'tatorship; directs them to defend Palin-- and would lead me to believe myself a physician simply because I can see my own body...

    (No new cons, I did not go to med school. Try again.)

    Posted by hsuBfools at 10/01/2008 @ 5:51pm

67. For me its about political courage, doing the right thing, and taking on the status quo.----Posted by bankshot at 10/01/2008 @ 5:09pm

    What's that got to do with McCain/Palin?

    heheh

    Posted by Maskdelta at 10/01/2008 @ 7:53pm