You know? I just so absolutely disgusted with how the right is trying to spin and massage and validate and obfuscate for Sarah Palin and her absolute lack of any justifiable answers to most of the questions that she was asked by Katie Couric on CBS.
It has absolutely gotten to the ridiculous extremes of asking those of us who acknowledge reality and, at first, politely stated that Palin may want to find other ways to occupy her time back in Alaska as governor of that state rather than attempting to fake it till she makes it as a VP candidate.
With all due respect to those here, it came as an absolute shock to my senses when those on the right not only didn't acknowledge that Palin has a stark lack of ability to speak sensibly on most of the subjects Couric asked her about but then went on to try and proclaim any number of excuses for her blatant lack of ability.
The FACT that she knows less about the major subjects of our time in the nation as a whole totally obliterates the comparison of "experience" between she and Barack Obama as far as a simple resume' is concerned. Yes, her resume' shows she is Governor of a large land mass with less of a population than Chicago and yes, she was a mayor of a small town in Alaska and all that, on its face, does give the appearance that maybe she is qualified to run as a candidate for the VP.
(Aside: Regardless of how the VP candidate is viewed in regards to the campaign of the person running first on the ticket for the presidency, the person running second should also be put through the paces to make sure that person would make a competent president in the event of the loss of the person in the presidency. We can give them a pass on some things but they should have, at the very least, a passing grade for presidency.)
Barack Obama is a Senator from Illinois who, yes, has spent most of his time in that office, effectively running for the presidency. Prior to being a US Senator, he was a state Senator, so his resume' is not so stinky. He's been around. If you, for fun's sake converted their two resume's into weights based on just the two each jobs, I would say they come out VERY close.
But, as any of those of us who have conducted interviews, a candidate for a job might have a resume' that sparkles but when they come before you and you get to meet that person and figuratively kick the tires, that is where the judgment comes in. There are differences that come through after you meet them that you can't detect through their resume'. Often times, that person with the sparkler can turn out to
be a real dumbass not have the full set of tools we're looking for in this position.
The one particularly bad answer that Palin offered to Couric follows. I have included the
question as well.
COURIC: Why isn’t it better, Governor Palin, to spend $700 billion helping middle-class families struggling with health care, housing, gas and groceries? … Instead of helping these big financial institutions that played a role in creating this mess?
PALIN: Ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up the economy– Oh, it’s got to be about job creation too. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions.
Normally, I would try to say something along the lines of "Now, to me, it appears that Palin has missed the mark on this one or got confused or something" but knowing all the other totally blown opportunities that Palin was given in the interview and having heard her unbelievably snarky speech at the convention, I'm not inclined to give the slightest benefit of the doubt.
While checking her notecards a couple of times, the woman gives an answer to what can only be a totally different question. My friends, the bailout has absolutely nothing to do with health care reform. It has nothing to do with reining in spending. It has nothing to to with reducing taxes. The question asked why not bailout Main Street rather than Wall Street.
Baffling with bullshit is a time-honored tradition in Washington. We've all seen. Talk for a minute or two about the subject but never make a statement; but, on the whole, the baffling bullshit should be tied to the subject at hand.
The woman is woefully uninformed. That's all there is to it.
What I have found particularly frightening and stupefying to say the least, is how some of you (some I even respect and a couple I highly respect) have refused to acknowledge this basic
fact. Particularly distressing is how you've literally
embraced her utter ignorance on basic questions. Going so far as to say that she's "like us" or she's "folksy" or "rough around the edges". It is seriously unbelievable to me.
When Bush was running against Gore in 2000, it was often stated that Bush was "like us" by many folk. My reply to those folk was always along the lines of, "When I hear him answer a question, it usually sounds like something
I would say in answer to said question and I had no idea or only a vague understanding of the subject. And I know
I'm not qualified to be president, so I don't want that bastard in there either." Sadly, as most of us now know (but some again won't even acknowledge), Bush was not qualified to be president of these United States.
When I hear Palin answer questions, I have a similar thought run through my head: "I know I'm still not qualified to run for the presidency but I think I know
more than her about these subjects! So, that means I, for damned sure, don't want her in the White House for anything other than taking a guided tour."
Friends, I'm begging you in all seriousness, acknowledge the mistakes that McCain and his campaign have made with this woman and let her go back to Alaska. If you can't vote for Obama, at least stay home or vote for Bob Barr or do as I did in 2004 and write in who you think should be the president.
