Right wing death wish?
Frank Rich has an interesting column today that touches on something that has been percolating in the back of my mind about Palin and her fan club.
I've had the same sense. Palin's fans are voting for her, not McCain, without any apparent acknowledgment that she is only running for VP, not President and as such wouldn't have the power on her own to change anything. It's also felt to me that her fans are subliminally assuming that McCain wouldn't live out the term of office and they don't mind a bit. As for Palin, her ambition is palpable and her icy certainty about McCain's mortality is all too apparent behind her smug smile. I get the feeling her greatest struggle is to avoid slipping up and saying, "When I'm president" during one of her stump speeches.
[cross-posted to The Reaction]
[More posts daily at The Newshoggers and The Detroit News.]
It’s against this backdrop that Palin’s public pronouncements, culminating with her debate performance, have been so striking. The standard take has it that she’s either speaking utter ignorant gibberish (as to Couric) or reciting highly polished, campaign-written sound bites that she’s memorized (as at the convention and the debate). But there’s a steady unnerving undertone to Palin’s utterances, a consistent message of hubristic self-confidence and hyper-ambition. She wants to be president, she thinks she can be president, she thinks she will be president. And perhaps soon. She often sounds like someone who sees herself as half-a-heartbeat away from the presidency. Or who is seen that way by her own camp, the hard-right G.O.P. base that never liked McCain anyway and views him as, at best, a White House place holder.
This was first apparent when Palin extolled a “small town” vice president as a hero in her convention speech — and cited not one of the many Republican vice presidents who fit that bill but, bizarrely, Harry Truman, a Democrat who succeeded a president who died in office. A few weeks later came Charlie Gibson’s question about whether she thought she was “experienced enough” and “ready” when McCain invited her to join his ticket. Palin replied that she didn’t “hesitate” and didn’t “even blink” — a response that seemed jarring for its lack of any human modesty, even false modesty.
I've had the same sense. Palin's fans are voting for her, not McCain, without any apparent acknowledgment that she is only running for VP, not President and as such wouldn't have the power on her own to change anything. It's also felt to me that her fans are subliminally assuming that McCain wouldn't live out the term of office and they don't mind a bit. As for Palin, her ambition is palpable and her icy certainty about McCain's mortality is all too apparent behind her smug smile. I get the feeling her greatest struggle is to avoid slipping up and saying, "When I'm president" during one of her stump speeches.
[cross-posted to The Reaction]
[More posts daily at The Newshoggers and The Detroit News.]
Labels: Election 08, McCain, Sarah Palin, Wingnuts
posted by Libby Spencer at 10:25 AM
8 Comments:
You are quite correct with htis post. I too noticed Palin almost slipping into presidential terms and inferences. She does think she is the major draw on this ticket and, in fact, she is. But as her facade continues to slip, exposing the poser beneath, I don't believe there will be enough support to push to the White House -- we can only hope and pray....
Funny thing. I've been praying a lot lately, to every God and Goddess I can think of, that the GOP doesn't succeed in stealing this one again.
I'm just catching up with the news and see where Palin has invoked the "friends with terrorists" smoke and mirror trick again. Let's see, how old was Obama in 1969? And, gee, I believe the Weathermen were more like anarchists - not terrorists. They targeted governemnt buildings, particularly those tied to war activities. Actually, I'm glad she's bringing it up; it will probably stir up a large dose of nostalgia for the old days. We all know that people usually remember the past with fuzzy, rosy edges.
I'm not saying they were right to resort to violence but that was over 40 years ago and Ayers is a well respected community scion. He paid his due and moved on -- Palin could take a lesson from his play book.
They're desperate Rocky but they already shot that ammo off too early. Won't hit any targets I don't think.
Yes, he was a boy of 8 and living in Hawaii I believe. But Ayers lives in Chicago, Obama lives in Chicago and they both were on the board of a charitable fund - proof positive of terrorist affiliations to those who fill my mailbox.
You know, I met Bernardine Dohrn in 1968 - I wonder what lists I'm on.
Funny how they get furious when I mention that the articles they quote don't say what they claim and that nearly every news source in the world has debunked all these stories. "answer the questions - answer the questions!!"
Is what I get. I think I've used the word douchebag more in the last 24 hours than I've used it in the last 24 years.
That's the thing, isn't it Fogg? We who grew up in that era crossed paths with all sorts of people. I had an Indian friend who was involved in the formation of AIM and was involved in the occupation of Wounded Knee in 1973.
I daresay you probably met others who were involved in anti war activities as well as Bernadine. There was a lot happening all the time.
I mentioned the Weathermen to my older son who is a pretty informed guy working on his PhD in physics and he looked at me and said,"Who?" And as I tried to trigger a memory by explaining who they were and what they did, he just shook his head and said,"Never heard of them."
My guess is before the primaries, Obama probably never heard of them either.
If this is a harbinger of what the next debate is going to focus on, I'd say that McCain will fail miserably. Like Libby said, they've already shot off this little piece ordinance at it was a dud.
Enough duds still can make a thud.
I believe that more and more people aren't buying it. I really had my doubts Obama could win this but the polls keep creeping up and, although I don't hold much stock in polls, you know the old saw, "Where there's smoke, there's fire." I am encouraged, though.
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