The Idiocy Over Sarah Palin

"It made my ovaries hurt," said Sharon Anderson.
That was her assessment of the much-anticipated debate between Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen. Joe. Biden.
"If she's elected, I will pray for the health of John McCain every day."
For my part, as a man, I am all for Sarah Palin finding her way to the White House -- as long as she's part of the tour of visitors, and there in no way in an official capacity. Here it it is, Thursday night, an hour or or two following the much-anticipated debate with Sen. Joe Biden and I'm still a bit stunned. Did I hear and see the same event as the "mainstream media" witnessed? That was one of Gov. Palin's gleeful digs she got in as art of her script. Palin thanked the moderator for the chance to talk to the American people, “without filter of mainstream media, telling the people what they just heard.“ The mainstream media -- and that included the savvy Mark Shields and David Brooks on PBS -- told us what we just heard. They quickly praised her colloquialisms, and just about everything else about her. I'm surprised they didn't produce a corsage for her prom dress.
I thought of Ed Asner on "The Mary Tyler Moore Shore" as the curmudgeonly news director Lou Grant: "I hate cute."
I gotta tell ya.
The words "folksy" and "colloquial" sputtered out of the mouths of the usually judicious commentators. They rolled over for Palin like schoolboys. I couldn't believe it. The English language took a helluva beating Thursday night at the hands of Palin. Never mind that she perpetuates the term "NOOK-yoo-ler." She could be in charge of them.
By the way, who are the "Talibani"?
Amid her "Palin stands tall" crap in the NY Post, there were few to question what her messages are all about. How about this one? "We're not killing civilians, we're killing terrorists, and we're spreading democracy."
It was all a matter of how Gov. Palin would perform under scrutiny after her debacle with Katie Couric and getting a drubbing from TV satirists. You'd think that in the middle of this crisis that people would take this encounter a little more seriously than "Dancing with the Stars" but apparently not. Biden got little respect in the post-debate reviews. I thought he came off as sincere. But he was widely characterized as an elitist, out of touch. His self-restraint was admirable as Palin jumped from one topic to another, ignoring the questions, loooking for a window where she could emulate Ronald Reagan. She finally got that inevitable line in: "There you go again."
Are they really going to let her get away with something that cheap? I guess so.
Apparently many Americans admire this slap-down style but it makes little sense. Gwen Ifill deserves praise for her good questions, and keeping her poise. Earlier in the day, Ifill was ambushed by the right-wing "mainstream" Drudge Report by repeating a false report from the NY Post about Ifill not disclosing her book-in-progress about Barack Obama to the producers of the debate. They knew about it months ago. Ah, but that's show business. I had no idea that Americans hated smart people so much.
I thought Palin's performance was so ridiculous, so low-brow, so sloppy, so embarrassing, I figured the GOP operatives were discussing how to drop her from the ticket after the first ten minutes.
Boy, was I wrong.
I am sorry about that.
I am sorry for the country, too. I wanted to call 911. Sarah Palin is a clear and present danger. But I am the one who is out of touch -- but that's of small importance. I am sorry for all the smart women in the country, such as Sharon Anderson. I gotta tell ya. Even my ovaries hurt.


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