I am rather amused by the tag line for this video clip on MSNBC. Their line? "Pawlenty: Palin was a base choice" Why is this amusing? Listen to the first twenty seconds of the video:
"I challenge the premise that this was a base pick." Seems a little counter to what the headline was. Yes, he does, properly, acknowledge that it is a good pick regarding the base. But, much like a lot of Republicans, he then tries to recast Palin as someone who will appeal to masses.
This is what is getting the Republicans in trouble. She isn't a pick that will appeal to the masses. This is exactly why she excites the base. She is an extreme right wing pick. Trying to recast her will damage everyone's credibility. Scratch that, is damaging everyone's credibility.
Republican's are really good at sticking to the talking points. So good, it is starting to scare me. I am now convinced that they will say anything that you put in front of them, over and over and over.
It makes no sense that Tim Pawlenty can defend her as a pick from an intellectually honest point of view. All he is doing is repeating talking points.
Speaking of just blathering the same talking points. Here's Rudy Giuliani on the Today show:
It simply does not get more ideologically different within the Republican party than Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani folks. Nevertheless, here he is defending her as a selection at every turn. Do you, yes YOU, honestly think Rudy Giuliani privately thinks that she has the national security credentials to be President? Now...be honest. Of course not!
Yet, here we are. And every, I mean EVERY, point that Pawlently, Giuliani, Tucker Bounds et al. are defending and/or saying are off limits are EXACTLY what they would be attacking if the roles were reversed.
The idea that 1 year and nine months as Governor of Alaska and six years as mayor of a small city, that has a population of just over half of what any ward in my own small city of 60 odd thousand people has, makes you more experienced than either Barack Obama or Joe Biden, is insulting the intelligence of the American people.
Haven't we let the Republican party and their unprincipled talking points insult our intelligence enough over the last eight years. Do we really need this too?
BTW, Bristol Palin's pregnancy is fair game because of her mother's staunch pro-life position on abortion, abstinence only teaching in school, and general opposition to contraceptives. All of this has some bearing on Bristol's current condition.
Also, and I will revisit this at greater length at some point, but who puts their kid through this? You are really going to blame the media? You have some seriously flawed judgement if you think that the media is to blame here.
- Sarah Palin should have seen this coming from the media. If she didn't, she isn't fit to be running for Vice-President. If she did, what kind of mother is she that she did this knowing full well what her 17 year old would have to go through?
- John McCain should have seen this coming from the media. If he didn't see this coming or if he didn't know about this before asking her to run, he isn't fit to be running for President. If he did, what does it say about him that he would willingly allow a woman to put their child through this by asking her to be his running mate.
I cannot imagine putting my child through this. I would have had to refuse the offer. I would have expected this to happen if I were in Sarah Palin's situation, even being a man. Does that make me more cynical or more realistic? Either way, I think that my decision would have been the mark of a better parent.
Who knows. Maybe I have this all screwed up. I think not though.
Comments welcome,
Pat McGovern Sphere: Related Content
