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George W. Palin
The Republicans have found their new George W. Bush.
Governor Palin, Governor Bush -- what's the difference? They're almost exactly the same. It's as if the Republicans looked at the real Bush and said, "Aw fiddlesticks. We can top it -- drop the Texas, add Alaska and some non-prescription glasses and ta-daaa!"
Like President Bush, the Republicans can feed this vessel -- like a Dutch Harbor crab boat -- with every lie and smear they're able to conjure. They're capable of dumping into the Palin Tank their pots full of veiled racism and knee-jerk sloganeering; their disingenuous trickery and divisive ranting. Their fear-mongering.
Last night, Governor Palin proved herself to be comfortable and capable of repeating her marching orders by rote -- after all, it's well-known that her speech was largely written before she was even selected. Only the proper names, personal pronouns and biographical information were crow-barred in and amongst the far-right rage and exclamatory desperation.
Not unlike President Bush who was often controlled by neocon strategists, the far-right can control Palin's foreign policy views. Put it this way: is there anyone on either side of this who believe that just because Alaska borders Russia that Sarah Palin will assert herself against Dick Cheney's successors? As we speak, she's being schooled by the same failures who both crafted and endorsed eight years the Bush-Cheney approach to war.
Like President Bush, it's very possible, based upon the sermons of her pastor, that she believes God mandated the invasion of Iraq.
Like President Bush and his administration, she's comes pre-packaged with her own syllabus of scandals. Do the list and you'll find that it's a healthy start to her very own "Bushed!" feature on Countdown.
Like President Bush, she's a far-right fundamentalist with out-of-touch social views, and the statements from both her and the McCain campaign prove that she's not afraid to flaunt the contradictions and hypocrisies evident in her public remarks. She's anti-choice and anti-privacy as it pertains to the Fourth Amendment and would work to deny our daughters of their right to choose and to keep private their medical decisions, and yet all week we've been hearing about her choices and her right to privacy.
Ties to Big Oil interests? Check.
Ties to corruption? Check.
Denies that global warming is man-made? Check.
Eight years ago, it was the Bush family name that propelled George W. to the White House, and this year it's the Palin family story that's propelling her -- otherwise lacking substance beyond her familial narrative.
Drop the plainspoken Texas drawl and "armadilla'" pronunciations and replace them with an Edie McClurg-meets-Fargo accent and phrases like "first dude."
Of course, both President Bush and Governor Palin say "nookyooler," and as such, last night's speech required the phonetic spelling "new-clear" on the TelePrompter. And if this video is any indication, so did George W. Bush's 2000 acceptance speech (see timecode 5:02).
I understand that short attention spans and even shorter memories are relatively well-known American character flaws. But, seriously, this is ridiculous. The dark, twisted madness of the last eight years is being entirely ignored in the face of the exact same bogus Republican packaging -- the exact same script. Only this time it's louder, more obnoxious and loaded with the kind of mockery that's more appropriate coming from Malkin's blog commenters than public officials who are seeking to represent our interests and safety on the world stage. I mean, hasn't our national dignity and our moral authority not been damaged enough?
This time, however, I'd like to think that the gimmicks and hackery have become too obvious to suffice as a distraction from the realities of what's really happening. Or perhaps the failures and incompetence of eight years of Republican domination have blunted the agitprop and fist pounding -- revealing the truth beneath the bumper stickers.
Yet based upon the cable news coverage I'm seeing so far today, the usual suspects are falling for it. Again. Collapsing like fainting sheep under the coercion and rage of Republican attacks -- backpedaling as they did for four years until Katrina smacked them out of their collective stupor (more or less).
So the sooner Americans realize that Governor Palin is just the latest floor model representing everything loathsome and menacing about Reaganomics and the failed policies of the Bush administration, the sooner voters will be equipped with the proper evidence to prevent the same disasters from happening all over again.
What's the difference between Sarah L. Palin and George W. Bush?
Lipstick.
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electoral-vote.com:
OBAMA: 301
Mc: 224
that's all we need folks - 270 to win!!
fivethirtyeight.com
OBAMA: 303.1
MC: 234.9
I couldn't have said it better myself. Once again, great post and spot-on commentary!
What are u people so afraid of. Can it be this race is over and your guy lost. What a joke Obama is with his change theme. He's for change and yet he picks that old relic as his running mate. Why hasn't Bidden solved any of our country's problems. Heck he's only had 30 years to do something.
Hey Sherpa -- This race is far from over. America wants to clean up Washington, not add more pollutants.
here is what ii saw on Palin night, community organizers ( MLK was one eg Montgomery) demonized and the Constitution mocked. Yeah USA USA USA my butt!!!!!
According to Nicole Wallace of the McCain campaign, the American people don't care whether Sarah Palin can answer specific questions about foreign and domestic policy. According to Wallace -- in an appearance on Joe Scarborough's show -- the American people will learn all they need to know (and all they deserve to know) from Palin's scripted speeches and choreographed appearances on the campaign trail and in campaign ads.
Wallace's bash-the-media exercise has its merits as a campaign tactic. It rallies the base. But the base won't lift McCain to 50% in November. More importantly, in her smug dismissal of the media's role in asking questions of the candidates, Wallace was really showing contempt not for reporters, but for voters. I bet there are a lot of undecided voters out there who were intrigued by Sarah Palin last night, but who don't yet know enough about her -- what she believes, what she knows -- to be comfortable with the idea of her as vice president of the United States. It's important to them to know if Palin can handle herself in an environment that isn't controlled and sanitized by campaign image makers and message mavens. Maybe she can, maybe she can't. As far as Wallace is concerned, it's none of their -- or your -- business.
This even shocks me and I am as cynical about politicians as one can be. I'd prefer a ticket of Foghorn Leghorn & Daffy Duck. They also exclusively use scripted speeches and are much
My thoughts exactly as I began my own vetting of Sarah Palin. Just another George Bush. How do people not see this. It's a good for a great Parody on SNL or Daily show. Of course, that's what the 20% of the "base" wants.
L!ncoln, T. R00sevelt ( maybe Eisenh0wer)would never have accepted Pal!n as Repub
You caught that too, huh? If they get in, more of the "bunker mentality", secret, disclose nothing White House. McCain will rule with his "gut", sound like W. Bush? Palin will do all the dirty work, plenty of it, sound like Cheney?
Americans choose in November.
Palin is even worse than W. because she comes under the guise of feminist mantle.
From your lips to God's ears!
Oh come on, she's gotta be smart. She went to five colleges, right?
This is Palin's moment, but this too shall pass.
What's the difference between Sarah Palin and George W. Bush?
Lipstick.
best one tonight.
what's the difference between Sarah Palin and a pibull? A pitbull has more class,
A new Geo. W or another tricky Dick Cheney? The big jaw and the smirk/sneer and the "so what" attitude heavily peppered with d-e-e-p
down hostility and rage is so Cheney-like.
Either way, its just an awful--"more of the SAME."
We must keep stressing that this is the republican party...the 8 is enough party...no more FOOLS R US, thank you very much.
As a fan of Michael Palin and Monty Python, I'd prefer that we call her Sarah Bush rather than George W. Palin so as not to ruin the Palin name. The Bush family name has already been ruined many times over.
as all this unfolds and i see how the republicans are able to manipulate the media so well, and seeing how well the public (specifically women) are responding to sarah palin's speech last night, i am now totally convinced without a shadow of a doubt that this country, in all its greatness, is home to the dumbest people on the face of the earth. i only pray, with all my heart, that by some miracle there will be enough people that see through this ridiculous soap opera of a convention and presidential ticket and vote barack obama into the office of president of the united states. can you imagine sarah palin as president? jesus god help us all. if that happens i am moving my family out of the country to someplace safe... like iran.
peace
mostly by the same s h rub
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