Whatever the result of the November election, Sarah Palin is the scariest politician to appear

[Douglas Carpenter]

on the national scene in a generation.

It is entirely possible that this whole thing could fizzle out and even implode. I certainly hope so.

Even if Sen. Obama wins the Presidency and the short term goal fails, the extreme right might very well have found their voice.

Like many demagogues she has demonstrated an ability to wrap a right-wing extremist message in the language and imagery of working class populism to Orwellian levels - and she and her handlers are very, very good at it - so far, anyway.

MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT!! This is a VERY dangerous development, whatever the result of the November election!!

As I said, It is entirely possible that this whole thing could fizzle out and even implode. I certainly hope so. But ANYONE who is not at least deeply concerned about this is in denial!!!

Remember, Reagan sought and lost the Republican nomination in both 1968 and 1976. But he became the unifying figure of what emerged as the right-wing coalition which has now dominated the American political scene for a generation.

Before Ronald Reagan they had Barry Goldwater who lost in 1964 in one of the greatest landslides in American history. But he brought together the necessary elements to create this reactionary scourge which has so plagued our country and the world. At the time of 1964 most Americans considered Goldwater an extremist nut. "In your gut you know he's a nut." By the end of the 80's Goldwater was way too moderate and reasonable for the political movement he once led, a movement which came to dominate the American body politic.

I have a nightmare that whatever the result of the election, Sarah could very well emerge as the voice of the movement that Reagan once led and Goldwater was way too liberal to lead.

Again it is entirely possible that the whole thing could fizzle or implode. For the sake of the country and the world and the future of humanity, I certainly hope so. But, Reagan "could" have fizzled or imploded too, way back in the 60's or 70's, but he didn't. Now we are faced with someone who would make Reagan look like a Birkenstock socialist.

[AZSlacker]

1. I share your sentiments. I'm not worried about her effect on this election

Because frankly, I think she will hurt McCain among moderates, undecideds, and independents as much as she will help him among fundies and hard core conservatives. It is shaping up to look like however, that she is being hailed as the 2nd coming of Regan by the Conservatives, and I have little doubt that she will be back running for the top of the ticket the next go round, or the one after that. And she won't have McCrazy weighing her down and the resentment of the Bush years will have faded.

[Douglas Carpenter]

5. I still think that Obama will probably win, I am more concerned about the Palin factor in the future

I am also concerned that just as Reagan was more extreme than Goldwater, and Gingrich was more extreme than Reagan, but he lacked the personality and working class appeal, we now have someone who might possibly have the personality and the working class appeal who could make a plausible case after completing a term or two as governor or perhaps even senator who would be in the position to be a very viable candidate - one who is ready for prime time - while the whole range of discussion and parameters of debate are pushed farther and farther to the right.

[MrMonk]

2. If you're scared by that . . .

consider that her nomination has put her on the national stage, and, as much as she claims contempt for DC, it's not likely that she will go quietly back to Alaska after the election. We may have Sarah Palin around for quite some time, no matter what happens between now and November.

(I realize that Katherine Harris appears to have self-destructed, but no-one seemed to like her much to start with, and I suspect that Palin really might be quite smart, even though not intellectual.)

[kurth_]

7. Palin has a big national following no matter what

Her likeability factor is huge among fundies. She'll be a wealthy and famous woman.

[DangerousRhythm]

3. I agree. I thought Bobby Jindal was bad...

I REALLY didn't want McCain to pick him BUT at least the guy is a Rhodes scholar. That has to count for something, even if he does believe in exorcisms...

She's like a level or two of crazy above him and seems several levels of insincere over him as well. Damn, I never even imagined, y'know?

[PaDem]

4. I'll use my 1,000th post to agree with you.........

If Obama wins, it'll be some form of Palin-Jindal in 2012, and if, God forbid, McCain wins, it'll be Palin-Jindal in 2016. Palin and Jindal are the two "future stars" of the GOP. Palin is an empty skirt with virtually no qualities that would suggest leadership at the presidential level, which is one reason they love her. Jindal is a hardcore right wing idealogue, but he's a sharp guy.

[Douglas Carpenter]

12. thanks I am honored

[nichomachus]

23. I'll disagree just a little

McCain won't run -- even if he's still alive -- in 2012.

In fact, given the situation that Palin was inserted into the process by the scariest group imaginable, the Council for National Policy -- LeHaye, Dobson, Norquist, Oliver North, among others -- which has been salivating over the idea of getting another Margaret Thatcher into the White House, I doubt if McCain would survive very long. These are people who would have no qualms about finding some "lone, crazed gunman" to bring their goal about.

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

35. There is no way that Thatcher would have allied herself with Armageddonists

Thatcher was a right wing asshole of unimpeachable credentials, but she would never have signed on to nuclear war to speed the return of Rambo Jeebus and his dictatorship. She was and is a mean spirited POS, but she is not clinically crazy.

[davidpdx]

6. Kicked and recommended

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

8. Possibly, but I have a sneaking suspicion that she doesn't "wear well". nt.

[Douglas Carpenter]

9. if the media does its job and refuses to be intimidated, there is a fair chance this will fizzle or

even implode. But, I would never trust the media to do its job, much less refuse to be intimidated.

[BeyondGeography]

10. Reagan was a titan compared with this dimwit

Seriously. He governed the state of California, actually governed it. Sat up all night going through budgets line by line with Democrats to strike a balance between his ideology and the need to avoid civil and political war. His folksy exterior actually did hide some real intelligence, hard as it is for some of us to still admit (including me, by the way).

Reagan was also a decent father, judging by the way his two kids with Nancy turned out. We don't like how he thought, but he was thinking about things larger than himself. She has displayed more ego in one week than I saw from Reagan in a lifetime.

[Douglas Carpenter]

11. you might very well be right. I don't know how much of a dimwit Palin is.

Remember Reagan didn't seem to know very much about things one would expect an educated person to know either. And the impression I am getting is that she is an extremely combative character and hopefully she will self-destruct. I just would not count on it.

After another four years as Governor and a bit of finishing school, Sarah Palin might appear a lot more viable. Just in the few days between her first national appearance last Friday and her speech Wednesday night, she was prepped up quite well.

[BeyondGeography]

14. Prepped up to read a teleprompter?

She has had ZERO unscripted interaction with the press, and now she's in hiding for six days. I encourage you to watch this interview with Charlie Rose, where she shares the table with Janet Napolitano. She is nowhere close to being ready for primetime:

http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2007/10/12/2/a-conversation-with-governors-janet-napolitano-sarah-palin

That said, she does go to the head of the line in four years for the Republicans, unless she royally screws up between now and Nov. 4. There are plenty of men in her own mysoginistic party who are waiting for that to happen so they can be #1 in 2012. I'd watch my back if I were her.

[Douglas Carpenter]

16. reading a teleprompter is all she has to do. That's all Reagan did most of the time

[BeyondGeography]

17. There you go again

Watch the clip. She'll be cannon fodder for Biden.

[Douglas Carpenter]

19. Biden will have to avoid looking like a bully. And I wouldn't put all my cards on one single event

The question to me is will the media allow the campaign to keep Palin away from having to answer unscripted questions and how well will she perform if she does?

I know Rove trained Bush Jr. to answer questions using a formula and sticking to memorized talking points. It did seem to work for him, most of the time until recently.

Can they do this with Palin and will it work? I don't know.

Again I am not as concerned about Palin in regards to this election. I'm thinking more about the Palin of the future.

[Doremus]

22. I think she is in so far over her head she will crash and burn.

This husband of hers plays a bigger role in her career and professional decision-making than we are being told. Will the McCain campaign tolerate his constant presence and interference? If they ship him home with the kids, will the pistol packin' mama turn into a bowl of jelly?

She looks exceedingly uncomfortable in the spotlight. Not during controlled, scripted speeches, but in impromptu moments. Last night she was constantly fidgeting with her jacket and looking down at her shirt. When Cindy McCain spoke of her and the camera panned over, she nervously whispered to her husband and finally stood, timidly, and unsure when to sit, stayed standing longer than appropriate. A few moments later Cindy again referred to her as a gun-toting mother of 5 and, rather than smile or laugh and maybe give a few waves, she again glanced at her husband then looked around and mouthed "thank you." Odd responses that I believe reveal not only her inexperience, but a total fish out of water unease with the scrutiny.

I don't think she has the mental stamina to perform solo with credibility, but we shall see.

[DeeDeeNY]

13. If McCain wins, he'd better hire a food taster

If you noticed her body language and how she forced a half-smile as she hugged him after her speech, you'd know what I mean. I'm just sayin.

:shrug:

[truthisfreedom]

15. In your gut, you know she's a nut. In your brain, you're sure she's insane!

Whack-job Palin.

[Mimosa]

18. C'mon, give Jindal a break

Bobby Jindal is a remarkably intelligent man, and being Catholic is not the same as being fundamentalist. I can almost guarantee he has nothing in common with Palin, nor would he even like her type. We Louisianians are rather sophisticated, believe it or not.

[theothersnippywshrub]

20. I agree. She's Cujo with lipstick.

[Blue_Roses]

21. But, one thing to consider

the crowd she is appealing to is extreme hard fundies. No woman who is pro-choice would vote for her. Also, the younger generation is not so much pulled in by the fundie crap as the older crowd.

I have a fundie sister and brother-in-law and their rhetoric sounds more bizarre each day.

[Douglas Carpenter]

31. unfortunately I could imagine a lot of ordinary people who have only a cursory interest in politics

being bamboozled by her working class style and "straight talking" imagery. Of course it is complete nonsense. But that does not necessarily stop people from being taken in by this faux populism

[nichomachus]

24. It's distorts the swing of the so-called pendulum

People love to talk about the "pendulum swinging," but don't realize the pendulum has become unhinged. Palin pulls it so far to the wacky, lunatic, off the end of the earth right, that when it swings back to the merely lunatic right, many people will think we're back to "normal." It distorts the process.

In today's political world, Richard Nixon would be a left-of-center Democrat.

[Douglas Carpenter]

28. exactly, As I mentioned before in 1964 most ordinary working class Americans considered Barry

Goldwater an extremist nut. By the 80's poor old Barry was too liberal for the movement which he was once a founding-leader. Barry didn't change, his movement did and along with it the parameter of debate.

The Democrats may have become more socially liberal as society became more socially liberal. But on economics and foreign policy, leading Republicans were in many ways to the left of most "mainstream" Democratic Party politicians of today.

[Triana]

25. Republicans = American Taliban n/t

[sufrommich]

26. She's been on the national scene for less than a week...

the only words we've heard from her have been carefully scripted,she's being "hidden" from the press because the McCain campaign knows she is a paper tiger and a dimwitted one at that.I'm no more worried about her being taken seriously by anyone other than the rabid base of their party than I am about Britney Spears as a political contender,she can't hide forever,I'll worry if she slays Biden in the debates(not going to happen),the hand wringing needs to stop.

[chill_wind]

27. Here's someone with a first-hand account (DUer lives in her town)

recommended reading:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3928946

[unblock]

29. sorry, shrub is still scarier.

palin is at least being introduced as a laughingstock, which means that even if she ever were to become president somehow, her power wouldn't be anything like shrub's has been.

shrub, in many ways, had less experience and fewer credentials than palin, and was no doubt far more defective. palin would at least be competent compared to shrub (though i'm not sure that kind of misdirected competence would be a good thing).

[siligut]

30. Make no mistake, as it would be a disastrous one.

Exactly. Do not underestimate Palin. She in herself is the standard pretty, ambitious, aggressive and spiteful, mediocre mind. This is what makes her so easy to manipulate, She believes her involvement with the cabal advances her goals, unknowing that her goals have been mutated into “their” goals. Palin’s handlers stay in the shadows, they use people like her to pursue their objectives.

We know she wasn’t McCain’s choice. He hardly knew her. Those who worked to place her in position for the VP slot, they are of the most calculating, manipulative, self-serving, malevolent entities. They are the horror behind the Third Reich we saw grow in 1930s Germany and since then they have been recalculating and biding their time.

They work in increments, flying below the awareness radar. Final objective: Utilize all resources toward personal wealth and power. Bring back the priest kings, create an Atlantis of sort. Watch this race with care; there is no realistic way that Palin should be in the running. We know this. Watch as that comprehension appears to be slowly whittled away. She will have not changed; her qualifications will remain dreadfully lacking, but that will be over-ridden. It has already started.

[EstimatedProphet]

32. I really do believe she'll implode

She's way out in the extrems, and the more people get to know who she really is, the more they will run away.

[Douglas Carpenter]

33. That's very possible and I certainly hope so. But this latest from Rasmussen scares the hell out of

me:

Palin Power: Fresh Face Now More Popular Than Obama, McCain

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/palin_power_fresh_face_now_more_popular_than_obama_mccain

"A week ago, most Americans had never heard of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Now, following a Vice Presidential acceptance speech viewed live by more than 40 million people, Palin is viewed favorably by 58% of American voters. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 37% hold an unfavorable view of the self-described hockey mom. "

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

34. Ronald Reagan preached a very generic "civic religion"

As dumb as he was, Reagan was not insane, only deluded, and would never for a minute have considered torching the planet to bring about the second dumbing of Moosey's Rambo Jeebus. The people that surrounded him were mean, tough, greedy, nut cutting thugs in the mold of the likes of Brezhnev, Nixon and even Cheney. That sort is only concerned with money, power. looting, exploitation, and, above all else, self-preservaton.

Moosey is something new on the political scene, at least nationally. She is perfectly capable of blowing up the world to advance her cult's insane religious agenda.

Good gods, how bad is Grampy/Mooseburger? They have this Social Democrat pining for the "good old days" of Reagan.