Friday, November 07, 2008

And another thing

What about the audacity of the Republican Party to think it can hide all the newly exposed problems it had with the Palin candidacy? How dare they think they can foist such an ignorant, ill-prepared candidate on the American people? And to think it almost came to fruition. We almost got suckered into allowing this attempt at deception to succeed. How close we came to falling for this Trojan Horse of a candidacy.

We haven't seen a candidate this unqualified for the position since Dan Quayle. And at least his problems were more a difficulty with performing on a public stage rather than an a lack of intelligence or understanding. Dan Quayle is a successful and honorable man in the private sector who was unable to survive scrutiny without melting under the glare of an international spotlight. Sarah Palin is an idiot.

Yes, an idiot. And her "handlers" are not exactly living at the top of the intelligence food chain, either. I hope the leaders of the Republican Party can find a way to purge their party of the infighters and manipulators who are so willing to sell us (Americans) out for their own benefit. The strategy was very short-sighted in that, had it succeeded, the gains would have been short-lived. Obviously the involved parties were bursting at the seams to tell their sordid stories about Palin's inadequacies or rogue courage, depending on which side you believe.

The ends in this case do not justify the means. The potential damage that the American people would have suffered had this charade continued is almost beyond imagination. It could have pushed us over the edge at a time when we are teetering on a precipice of crises both foreign and domestic, ideological and economic; it could very well have undermined our faith in ourselves and others' faith in us; it could have led us beyond a tipping point of self destruction.

As a lifelong Democrat and a student of political economy, I understand the nature of politics. I understand the dirty, behind the scenes "strategery" and the absolute focus on getting one's candidate elected, one's agenda passed. What I don't understand is the Republicans' seeming willingness to pass off on the American people a person so lacking in qualifications, so unwilling to compromise and work within the boundaries of the campaign, so completely and utterly at odds with the concepts of reason, loyalty, responsible behavior, and conscientious citizenship as Sarah Palin appears now to be.

Sure, we questioned the choice. We questioned her abilities, her intelligence, her character. And we were denied the truth. And now the truth is being exposed, at the very least to the detriment of the Republican Part but also to the detriment of the American people.

I only hope that now Sarah Palin will return to Alaska and perhaps reconsider her governorship, consider the damage she has done to the Republican Party and to Alaskans' standing in the eyes of their countrymen. Perhaps she can use her VP candidacy as a stepping stone to a career in the private sector where her influence and actions will be limited, where she can no longer impose her narrow-minded policies on the public, where her inability to understand or engage in ethical behavior will not be rewarded. I hope that, as a people, we have heard the last of Sarah Palin and she will become but a footnote in American history, having no real impact on our reputation as a country or damage to our standing in the world-wide community.

Hey Sarah!
See ya. Wouldn't want to BE ya!

What ARE they thinking?

I don’t understand this new Republican strategy. All the new stories coming out about Sarah Palin, her lack of understanding of basic geography, her inability to toe the line, the alleged “disappearance” of thousands of dollars worth of clothing paid for by the RNC…

The people leaking these reports, supposedly high level workers in the McCain/Palin campaign, are being very shortsighted in their bickering, or at least in airing their dirty laundry. It seems the McCain supporters and those from the Palin team are trying to outdo each other by exposing the dirty little secrets and behind-the-scene bickering between the two camps. I shudder to think about how much more divisive the Republican Party can become. It appears to be self destructing before our unbelieving eyes and we, as Americans, may all suffer collateral damage.

It is so tempting to join in, with the easy “Foreign Policy for Dummies” jokes, “How to Lose Friends and Turn Away Voters” lecture series, the limitless opportunities to satirize the implosion of the Grand Old Party. It’s like watching a carefully constructed house of cards come tumbling down at the slightest whisper; the total destruction of an elaborate dominoes landscape, constructed over countless months and days and hours of absolute devotion, strategic planning, single-minded focus, being detonated prematurely by one rogue domino. It is almost unbelievable. Almost, but not quite.

Do these folks really have a clue about the damage they are doing not only to their own candidates, their own party, but to the rest of America as well, as their inane caterwauling is heard around the globe, showing the world that not only are the United States not showing a united front, one party’s incessant squabbling is threatening to tear us apart from the inside out.

The Republican Party is acting like a wild animal intent on self-preservation by eating its own, devouring Sarah Palin piece by piece, limb by limb.

The contest is over, folks. The Republican Party has lost the same as the Democratic Party lost the last two Presidential elections. Heal from it. Together. Grow from it. Together. Take a little time to lick your wounds, but come together as a party and begin the necessary work of restoring the faith of your party members, of developing a strategy to fight for your causes and beliefs rather than against each other. Focus on what we need to do, as Americans, to get through our current economic crisis, to regain the respect and admiration from other nations we once held dearly, to repair the rifts between us and our allies, and get us back on track so we can continue to be the leader of the free world, the role model for democracy and the ability to achieve one’s dreams through hard work, to live free in thought and spirit.

Let the healing begin.