Okay, One More On Palin. Then That's It.
Justin Gardner at Donklephant thinks some of the hits on Palin are unfair. No doubt. But I think his defense of her intelligence is off-base: Palin really is an ignoramus. And while ignorance is not the same as stupidity, there's a level of ignorance which works as prima facie evidence of stupidity. Set aside the recent leaks and go back to the Couric interview alone. Having been warned off the "I can see Rooshia from here!" justification of her foreign policy savvy she repeated it. That's not just ignorant, that's stupid. In fact it's twice stupid: once for being dumb enough to believe it and then again for being dumb enough not to know that it was dumb the first time.
Justin:
Wingnuts (either end) always double down on stupid. It's what makes them wingnuts. So it's not much of a surprise that the right side of the blogosphere would leap to defend the object of their hot-mom puppy love. But I doubt that will translate into a future for Palin. She's a very tarnished brand.
Palin will be anathema to the Money! and Bombs! wings of the GOP. Both Money! and Bombs! Republicans are literate and able to read (balance sheets and maps respectively.) Palin's only possible constituency is the Jesus! wing of the GOP, the day laborers of the party. If the GOP has gotten its act together in time for the 2012 campaign they'll be lined up behind a Money! or Bombs! Republican.
Or, to put it another way, if Palin is a serious contender for the nomination in 2012 it will only be because the GOP is still deep into its civil war. Which would be lots of fun for me as a Democrat but not a good thing for me as an American.
Justin:
What’s ironic, and what these anonymous aides couldn’t possibly predict, is that these attacks could bolster her credibility as an outsider. Especially since the attacks seem to be so blatantly self-serving for those involved.
Not only that, the right-wing blogosphere is coming out in full force against the attacks and are threatening to try and banish those who are revealed as the leakers. That doesn’t mean it’ll work, but I can’t imagine that the folks who spread these rumors were anticipating such an intense backlash.
Wingnuts (either end) always double down on stupid. It's what makes them wingnuts. So it's not much of a surprise that the right side of the blogosphere would leap to defend the object of their hot-mom puppy love. But I doubt that will translate into a future for Palin. She's a very tarnished brand.
Palin will be anathema to the Money! and Bombs! wings of the GOP. Both Money! and Bombs! Republicans are literate and able to read (balance sheets and maps respectively.) Palin's only possible constituency is the Jesus! wing of the GOP, the day laborers of the party. If the GOP has gotten its act together in time for the 2012 campaign they'll be lined up behind a Money! or Bombs! Republican.
Or, to put it another way, if Palin is a serious contender for the nomination in 2012 it will only be because the GOP is still deep into its civil war. Which would be lots of fun for me as a Democrat but not a good thing for me as an American.
This entry was posted by Michael Reynolds, on
Saturday, November 08, 2008.
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