Takes One To Know One

Longtime devious genius Ann Althouse mocks the entire political establishment.

Some stray thoughts on Sarah Palin:

1.  Where is it written that only Democrats can rally behind an underqualified empty vessel and fill it with their hopes and dreams?

2.  Speaking of hope and change, Obama built an entire career working the system; Ms. Palin has been throwing bombs and shaking things up since her days on the Oil Board.

Now we have a President who gives the occasional good speech and conducts brilliant, epic meetings (which end in confusion) but can't actually lead.  Palin would be worse?

3.  Ms. Palin needs to pull up her roots.  Bill and Hillary spent decades as the smartest people in Little Rock and gained the impression that they were the smartest people in Georgetown.  Now she is the smartest person in Wasila.

She needs to be in the physical presence of people who can challenge, expand and inform her views. 

Comments

[bgates]

She needs to be in the physical presence of people who can challenge, expand and inform her views.

Absolutely. The notion of learning anything worth knowing about the world from the newfangled tele-graph &c is simply fantastical.

[bgates]

an underqualified empty vessel

Let's spell out the qualifications for the Presidency so there's no more confusion, ok? I gather the requirements are at least one of the following:
-Governor of New York, California, Georgia, or Massachusetts
-Supreme Commander Allied Forces
-admitted to Ivy League university at age 18 or 22
-interminable service in Congress
-completed term in Vice Presidency

In addition, applicant shall not be George W Bush.

Thus, FDR, Reagan, Carter, Dukakis, Eisenhower, Clinton(s), Obama, Kerry, McCain, Ford, HW Bush, and Nixon were all qualified, and Palin isn't. Is that about right?

[bgates]

Oops - left off Kennedy (JFK qualified under #3, Teddy under 3 and 4), Johnson (4 and 5, with a somewhat flexible definition of 'completed'), and Truman (5, ditto).

[clarice]

The Washington press corps (or corpse, depending on who's speaking) has to know you and have to treat them as though they really knew something worth knowing.

[narciso]

I wish there was a little humility among those
that adopted the 2008 version of the Edsel and sold it to some gullible people. Now Mark
Steyn I'm sure didn't mind the appropriation, but the rhetorical question is apt

[narciso]

I find the further irony, that she actually tried in 2007-2008, to dowhat Obama only pretended to do, run a geniune reformist effort. she was certainly more bipartisan then
the latter. And as we saw, every reform carries it's own pitfalls, intentional or not

[Soylent Red]

She needs to be in the physical presence of people who can challenge, expand and inform her views.

Damn right. And if you think those people reside in Washington D.C. or the halls of academia or Sunday morning news hours, you're part of the problem.

Her greatest appeal and greatest source of strength is that she is not part of the Government-Academia-Media Complex.

[Teddy B]

Rasmussen: Obama -17.

Barry's appearance with Perky Katie, both down to earth folk, just prior to the Superbowl today should get that gap to -20 by tomorrow.

[E. Nigma]

"Washington press corpse"

Dead zombies walking about among us, muttering to themselves "gumby!", reporting on an alternative alleged reality.

What could go wrong?

[pagar]

Would you look at This!

Saran Palin is miles ahead of every other politician in America

Plus the story is in an American newspaper. Has that ever happened before?

[Captain Hate]

Teh Sarah slicing and dicing Chris Wallace on FNS

[peter]

Rasmussen: Obama -17.

Barry's appearance with Perky Katie, both down to earth folk, just prior to the Superbowl today should get that gap to -20 by tomorrow.

Now more than ever, I am convinced that the short upswing into negative single digits was Axelrod's attempt to astroturf the Ras. he couldn't sustain it.

[Danube of Thought]

Overall 44/56 at Ras. Heckuva SOTU, Barry. Way to nail 'em at the GOP retreat.

[Danube of Thought]

I'm happy to see Paul Ryan's "Roadmap" getting some press, this time from George Will.

Up until a year or so ago I'd have dismissed such a thing out of hand as having zero chance. Now straits have got so dire that I'm not so sure.

[rse]

She should start reading Victor Davis Hanson and Thomas Sowell and then go down to CA and talk with them.

That covers History and Eco.

Who would be a good foreign policy mentor?

[not_bubaroooni]

reading Salon this morning, it is clear 'they' all think she is just so dumb unlike 'themselves'.

'they' dismiss here as a simpleton and an anti-intellectual. to me, she is an anti-elitist. that strikes a chord with me and apparently a lot of others.

if she ever utters the phrase 'fission, baby, fission' i'm jumping on the bandwagon.

[psota]

Palin may be inexperienced and suffering from, ah, some gaps in her knowledge; but she has intangibles that someone like Mitt Romney would kill for. She has a real knack for capturing the political zeitgeist. Her 5-paragraph "death panels" post crystallized the opposition to Obamacare, all without the aid of the Heritage Foundation or Bill Kristol; an impressive achievement for anyone. Politics is as much about the grand gesture, as it is about gathering a coalition, and Palin has demonstrated impeccable instincts on that score. Of course, this is undercut by her lack of what can only be called "book larnin'." She has a lot of native wit, and is obviously very intelligent, but any interview seems to turn into a high wire act that can be nerve-wracking for her fans. Yes, it's hard to imagine her as president; but she doesn't have to be president to have influence.

[Cecil Turner]

She was a perfect fit for VP, where the relevant experience would've made her a perfect fit for the Oval Office. Even without that experience she would've been far better as President than the current ideologue-sans-commonsense, but somehow the Democrat smear propaganda made her look unqualified for the #2 post (whilst simultaneously pretending the far less qualified Obama was prime-time material . . . go figure . . . what can I say, they're good).

It's very similar to the hatchet job they did on Quayle, emphasizing the same sort of target (relatively unknown up-and-comer) and using the same flaw (relative uncomfort with limelight) to make them look stupid.

Even after the election, the stupidity persists that Palin, rather than the economic meltdown, cost the GOP the election. Something tells me the DNC is scared of Palin, and that's part of what empowers her . . . she's vamping out and turning it into a mind scramble on 'em.

[narciso]

You look at the contrast with Paulson and Brennan, the supposed 'two grownups,' that
they presented on MTP. It takes skill to present false assets as real, it gets you 5-10 at Rikers, likewise to effectively eviscerate the entire national security
infrastructure, that's genius right there

[Danube of Thought]

I'm with Psota. Those high-wire acts can be excruciating, but on the other hand I'll bet she can say "corpsman."

[teapartyatperrysburg]

I am SO sick of the elitist rambling that goes on about Palin. Look at that idiot John "Reporting for duty" Kerry. He was an absolute idiot. Patrick Kennedy. Nancy Pelosi. Chris Dodd. Barbara Boxer. JOE BIDEN. The BRILLIANT Barack "The One" Obama who canNOT seem to resist referencing all things through the prism of his glorious self.

These people are the standards by which we measure? THESE PEOPLE??

And SHE is stupid, speaking all the things that we out here in non-D.C. are worried about?

While I'm not convinced she's the candidate in 2012, I am convinced that she speaks from the heart and a native intelligence and a desire to right the ship, particularly monetarily. I am also convinced that she has the presence to focus the message, unlike Newt, who seems increasingly out of touch with the American people, I am sad to say.

She is focused on the goal, she knows how to win, now she has to learn how to play the game. She's workin' on that.

[narciso]

Now, in retrospect I realize that SChmidt would have found a way to lock her in the Naval Observatory, had McCain been elected.
She would have found an open door otherwise. From the perusal of the SarahPac filings we
see Schueneman, on retainer, as well as Daniels, and two members of the C4P brain trust under consulting

[Rob Crawford]

On Palin's "lack of knowledge" -- we don't elect an encyclopedia to the Presidency. We elect someone to make decisions. I've never understood the belief that a "Jeopardy" championship is a requirement for the office.

Of course, the whole basis for this "requirement" comes from the same people who demand the authority to decide what knowledge is critical. So we get the supposed elites going into fainting spells over Obama's supposed "brilliance" -- a "brilliance" I suspect is grounded more in his ability to flatter them than in his actual command of any facts or ability to reason.

[clarice]

David Freddoso in the Washington Examiner reminds us that it was just 15 months ago that Robert F Kennedy Jr told us that because of global warming the DC area had anemic winters with no snow or cold.
You can bet that this idiot still gets the attention of the political and press establishment no matter how stupid and corrupt he is.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/RFK-79834057.html

[Rick Ballard]

I'll go with Clarice's comments concerning the observations made by those with whom she negotiated the gas pipeline contract. She was sharp enough to impress them with real money on the table - exposure to the credentialed moron class in DC or NY would only dull the blade.

She has Team BOzo and the Dems gobbling Immodium like M&Ms from a distance of 3,000 miles. If she moves any closer, Congress will have to fund an expansion of the sewer system.

[boris]

"Congress will have to fund an expansion of the sewer system"

Depends.

[Porchlight]

Even after the election, the stupidity persists that Palin, rather than the economic meltdown, cost the GOP the election.

Let them keep thinking that - it'll ensure they continue to underestimate both her appeal and voter dissatisfaction with Obama's policies, especially his fiscal policies.

[clarice]

They can't stand it that with her their influence means nothing.

[DebinNC]

I like that George Will showcased Paul Ryan's econ recovery plan...and that he offhandedly mentioned Pres. Mitch Daniels. I hope a cult of personality, comparable to Obama's, doesn't surround Palin, because I think voters in 2012 will long for someone non-polarizing with an unambiguous record of promoting and accomplishing fiscal sanity.

[centralcal]

Earlier this morning, Jamie Colby spoke to Chris Wallace about his interview of Sarah Palin. During the course of this, he remarked that she has surrounded herself with advisors, with a focus on policy(ies).

Sounded to me like she is fully aware of areas where she needs to "beef up" her knowledge.

[ROA]

She is smart enough to know the system didn't work on Christmas day. We still don't know if she is smart enough to immediately fire someone who was dumb enough to say that it did.

[Captain Hate]

I hope a cult of personality, comparable to Obama's, doesn't surround Palin

I think a more accurate comparison would be to Reagan. Just because somebody has an engaging personality shouldn't disqualify them from voters' consideration. At least Palin knows how to support other candidates by making the focus on them and staying away from Massachusetts when her presence could be a distraction, unlike Toonces who has to make everything about himself.

Thank God we missed out on that cold fish Adlai Stevenson because voters correctly perceived what he was all about unlike the "educated class".

[BobS]

I believe that it's time we started to put an end to the idea that Palin is inexperienced.

Closer to the truth is the idea that she was more experienced than was McCain, Obama and Biden. She was the only one who had executive experience as govenor of a state. She'd run a large state agency. She'd been a successful local public servant as a school board member and mayor. An unlike any of the others she really does know what it's like to run a small business - the family fishing business.

Much was made of the Obama judgement. Bill Bradley ran that up the flag pole when he endorsed him. Clearly his judgement is faulty unless it's taking actions that have anything to do with his own dangerous ideologies. Judgement - which comes after wisdom - is gained through experience. This our president had very, very little.

Aside that is from associations with anti-American leftists, stuffy Harvard faculty types and organizing a corrupt agency. No, Obama has lived a life - as Krauthammer insightfully pointed out - a life of simple adulation.

Not only is his ideology a danger to America, but so is his lack of experience in making decisions. It should be of greatest concern to the nation that he surrounds himself with sycophants in the inner circle.

[pagar]

Great Post, BobS! One suggestion-- I'd change the last paragraph to include the fact that he has always surrounded himself only with those who believe like he does, starting with Frank Marshall Davis in Hawaii. I can find no record of any close relationship with anyone that is not as far left as he is.

[BobS]

Ah, yes. The communist, Davis. What a sordid character on multiple levels was he.

[narciso]

This is parody, right from the illustrious
Althouse

[Jim Ryan]

A cult of personality can occur only amongst the statists, the descendants of Rousseau who prefer a General Will to their own.

This is why there was no cult around Ronnie and after 1.5 years there still isn't a cult around Palin and never will be one. Groups of people who loathe and fear a General Will don't do cults of personality. People just adore Reagan and Palin, that's all.

[boris]

Those who view Sarah Palin support as some kind of cult have it wrong. People are rooting for her as the Rocky Balboa of politics.

It seems to me those who don't get her are possibly unfamiliar with the type of American she represents, or maybe they consider the type anachronistic, part of an America that no longer exists.

But that America does still exist. It just isn't as apparent in good times as it is during bad times. Bad times is where we are headed.

[Neo]

"If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine."
The Democratic minions in Alaska must be kicking themselves.

Definitely falls into the "be careful what you wish for category"

[Sue]

Put me in the category of wait and see. I am anxious to see how she does on her own. And by that I mean not worrying she goes off McCain's message, which I think was a big problem with her campaigning style in 08. I like her. I think she is more qualified than Obama to be president. I'm not sure yet if I'm ready to commit to a Palin presidency, but I am open to allowing her to convince me. And, again, I like her.

[bgates]

any interview seems to turn into a high wire act

For very small values of "any". She can't afford a repeat of the Couric or Gibson experience, but look at the Charlie Rose interview from before word got out that she had to be destroyed.

It used to be conventional wisdom that there was no point in complaining about the double standard for Republican candidates and "neutral" interviewers (Gibson to Obama: 'How happy are your wife and kids?'; Gibson to Palin: 'How dare you run for this office?'). I'm bringing it up now because I wonder whether the gatekeepers will still have that level of influence by 2012.

[Sue]

I was thinking this morning that after what happened to her during the 08 election she won't be hesitant to go after Obama personally. If there is dirt, I bet she exposes it. And if that is all that she accomplishes, then she will have accomplished a lot.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

“From time to time, we have been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. But if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?”

This is the essence of the tea party movement and of Sarah Palin.

Oh and BTW, the quote comes from the Ronald Reagan, 1981 Inaugural Address:

The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades. They will not go away in days, weeks, or months, but they will go away. They will go away because we, as Americans, have the capacity now, as we have had in the past, to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this last and greatest bastion of freedom.

In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem.

From time to time, we have been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. But if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.

We hear much of special interest groups. Our concern must be for a special interest group that has been too long neglected. It knows no sectional boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines. It is made up of men and women who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and our factories, teach our children, keep our homes, and heal us when we are sick—professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truckdrivers. They are, in short, “We the people,” this breed called Americans.

Sarah Palin doesn't need advisors or an Ivy League diploma to understand the basics, she got it in Alaska and she gets it now, just like Reagan did. She gets it because she is one with the people.

[narciso]

Btw, she talked up Paul Ryan, on the Wallace interview, so she must be reading this blog

[Thomas Collins]

TM, did you have anyone in mind when you stated that Palin:

"needs to be in the physical presence of people who can challenge, expand and inform her views."

When I hear critiques of Palin, I have to admit that I feel I am in a different universe from the folks providing the critiques. Palin's level of knowledge seems to me to be on the level of most politicians. For example, some gushed at the fact that Obama read Niebuhr, but what have we seen in Obama's career that would indicate that he is in any way informed about the issues that folks such as Niebuhr, Hans Morgenthau and Walter Lippmann confronted as they developed the poly sci subdiscipline of international relations? Who is more informed on how energy policy works than Palin? Which politician could teach her about dealing with relentless assaults on character?

All aspiring leaders could use to be challenged in private conversations. I see no evidence that Palin needs this any more than other aspirants to POTUS. In fact, I think Romney, Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton, Pawlenty, and whoever else has future POTUS aspirations would benefit from more face time with Palin.

[Patrick R. Sullivan]

Wow, Sarah really dominated Chris Wallace on FNS. She had him repeating himself and stumbling for words.

If he qualifies as major league pitching, she was Ichiro; the fastballs came right back at him, the hanging curves were drilled into the bleachers, and the change-ups slapped to the opposite field.

[Boatbuilder]

Just wait until the MSM discovers that she uses speechwriters.

[MaryD]

TC, what a great post! I could not agree with you more. Obama probably has just enough Cliff notes knowledge about Niebuhr to bamboozle a doofus like David Brooks, and no more. However, one guy I would like to see Palin buddy up to is John Bolton.

[clarice]

Well if Obama is using Cliff notes to talk to Brooks about Niebuhr he's made a smart move. You certainly don't imagine Brooks knows more than that, do you?

[narciso]

Well Schueneman and Biegun, who stayed true during the campaign and most importantly afterward seems be the main advisors, but
Bolton who scouted her out, in the summer of 07, like a rookie pitcher, seems to be on the
same wavelength

[Porchlight]

Obama doesn't seem to have more than a Cliffs Notes-level understanding of ANY issue (let alone writer or important work) as far as I can tell.

In fact if you wanted to create a character who spent his whole life reading Cliffs Notes and BSing his way through school, career, and political office, you couldn't do better than Obama. He epitomizes the college sophomore BS artist.

[MaryD]

Point well taken, Clarice. :-)

[BobS]

patric r sullivan: I throught the same thing in my blog. It looked like Wallace was looking to mock and dismiss her at one point when she stuffed him. Not unlike Gergen getting stuffed by Scott Brown. I wonder if Wallace was looking to gain some street cred among the chattering classes by having his own Katie Couric-Charlie Gibson moment.

[Thomas Collins]

MaryD, I agree that Bolton would be a great advisor for Palin. Clarice, although I feel no ill will towards Brooksie, I have to admit that if you challenged me to point out one area of politics on which I think Brooks is really informed, I'd have to ask for a week to think about it. Narciso, to continue your baseball analogy, Palin is a young pitcher who, due to the necessity of dealing with the relentless assaults against her, already has a 200 inning season behind her. When Obama became Prez, he had a minor league career that involved always being taken out in the fourth inning yet always being given the win.

[BobS]

and for what it's worth...Colts 36 Saints 34...wanna be wrong about the winner though

[MaryD]

Porchlight, what an interesting prism to view the whole revolting Obamapalooza (that's New Hampshire for zeitgeist).

[BobS]

Thomas Collins/narisco: love your baseball analogies, but I beg to differ. Obama is the baseball equivelant of Milli Vanilli. Maybe a Sidd Finch sort of figure. LUN

[Captain Hate]

If this is a "live" thread I want to remind daddy about a basketball game today....

[hit and run]

TC:
he had a minor league career that involved always being taken out in the fourth inning yet always being given the win.

That right there is funny. Seeing as how according to the rules,the starter has to complete five innings to get the win.

Obama's already a 300 game winner using the speshul rules (team scores also not taken into account under the Obama Speshul Rules).

[Thomas Collins]

There would also be a new save rule for Obama, H&R. If Obama enters the game in relief with his team no more than three runs up and leaves the game with the score tied, he gets a save. Palin, on the other hand, could pitch a three inning save, and all Huffington Post would talk about is that the Vast Tea Party Conspiracy rigged the radar gun to make it appear that Palin's 99 mile per hour fastball was really a 101 mile per hour fastball.

[Soylent Red]

Obama's already a 300 game winner using the speshul rules

Obama has an asterisk.

OT...Behold my handiwork. Each one of those blocks weighs about 40 lbs.

[Thomas Collins]

Anyone buried inside the fort, Soylent Red? :-))

Seriously, that's a great engineering job. I never got beyond the snowman stage!

[hit and run]

Wow,Soylent. Impressive. What's the breakdown between sober blocks and,er,not-sober blocks?

[clarice]

beautiful, soylent!

[Jane]

Great job Soylent! Someone needs to be peeking out of there.

[Ann]

Great Job Soylent! But I would rather see your muscles. :)

(Where is bad? She would agree.)

[Porchlight]

Wow, Soylent, that's seriously impressive. The crenellation gives it just that right touch. :)

MaryD, I think you're right on with Bolton...

[JM Hanes]

The blithering idiot/devious genius oxymoron is emblematic of liberal cognitive dissonance.

Jim Ryan:

"there was no cult around Ronnie"

You sure could have fooled me. There was a reason McCain made the idiotic assertion that he was "a footsoldier in the Reagan army." The conservative beatification of RR goes way beyond respect for his significant achievements.

As for Palin, I think she's far more effective at shaping actual debate on Facebook than she is on the tube. She charges a lot of people's batteries, but I'm not sure how many converts she makes when she speaks to the roar of choir. Even if she's done nothing to deserve the antagonism directed at her, there's just no getting around the fact that she's a polarizing celebrity figure. Her mirror image strong positives and strong negatives in public polling make that fact crystal clear. The press would just love to crown her Queen of the Tea Party, but if that becomes the narrative, the movement will soon start shedding the Independents and Scott Brown RINOs that have made it such an extraordinarily powerful grass roots coalition.

I hope she hits her stride as her on air exposure increases, because she's an important, refreshing voice in national politics. I don't think she can be elected President, but that could change.

Comparing Palin to Obama is like shooting fish in a barrel.

[JM Hanes]

Soylent: I bet you build a mean sand castle too!

[Janet]

LUN Off Topic...a green super bowl commercial from Audi called the green police.
It actually seems like an anti-green commercial.

[boris]

"You sure could have fooled me"

Okay. I agree with Jim, it was not a personality cult. The retrospective reverence for RR is stronger than it was during his administration and is probably a combination of real historical accomplishments with a better appreciation for his guiding principles.

But Reagan was not elected as some kind of historic or messiah figure. Like you know who.

[clarice]

Janet--cool--Whatever Audi intended seems to have been lost..Are the people who pay for these ads too afraid to tell the agencies,"no." Are they afraid that if they represent their companies they'll appear uncool at the meeting?

[BobS]

My sid finch anaology pales in comparison to true statical geniuous involving the game's success rules.

I suppose that "sort of God" and "leg tingling" is akin to the special Obama rules involving both wins and saves.

[BobS]

Did CBS tape the Who? I heard them in the bac ground when they did their halftime show.

[narciso]

Well right now, it's enough for her just to do what she does, drive them right up the wall. Now I think the logic of her statement
will lead her to the point of running, but
always reluctantly

[MikeS]

I don't think she can be elected President, but that could change.

Well said JMH. You also hit the nail on the head regarding Sarah's main political problem, her strong negatives.

I do think her electability could improve. It seems that most objections to Palin are demonstrably false. An example would be that her detractors don't complain that she's an average intellect, instead they claim she's feeble minded etc.

[Senator Begich]

Soylent Red, That's a Public Nuisance.

Book him boys.