It is getting to the point where one wonders just who the Republicans can offer up as a candidate in 2012. Bobby Jindal’s disastrous “Kenneth the Page” performance in delivering the GOP rebuttal to President Obama’s “state of the union as I see it” speech shortly after his inauguration was the first domino. Then, in the past few weeks three more potential candidates have seen their political futures self-destruct. Sen. John Ensign (erstwhile “Promise Keeper”) admitted to a sleazy affair. He was followed shortly by Mark Sanford’s rambling, stream-of-consciousness confession to having gotten involved with his Argentinian soul mate. And then, yesterday, Sarah Palin again demonstrated the importance of having a prepared text when making a major announcement.
Commentators on both sides of the aisle weighed in trying to figure out just what Palin had served up with her latest helping of word salad. Was she quitting because she couldn’t take the heat of the national media? Or does she have a more lucrative gig in the works? After all, she already has a book deal. She can command far more money giving speeches or perhaps as a Fox “News” commentator than she can ever make in the notoriously corrupt arena of Alaska politics. And she does reportedly have about half a million dollars in legal bills defending against a plethora of ethics charges. Or was it a clever ploy to begin her presidential campaign? Or was it a matter of “passing the ball” to her Lt. Governor because of a rumored impending criminal investigation? Or is Palin simply representative of a significant segment of the GOP (and perhaps of the population at large) that doesn’t think the rules apply to them? All of that remains to be seen. It certainly wasn’t clear from her “news conference” which was charitably described as being sparsely attended. If she hoped that by making her announcement on the Friday preceding a national holiday weekend, it would be buried as a news story, she clearly blew it. Everyone knows that you make those announcements late in the afternoon, not at 10:00 a.m.
Despite claims to the contrary by her conservative faithful, Palin simply isn’t made of presidential timber. One needs a real resume, and quitting mid-stream during her first term as governor just doesn’t cut it. That leaves her tenure as mayor of tiny Wasilla, Alaska, as her sole claim to fame — that and Tina Fey’s spot-on impression of her performance as John McCain’s running mate. Politics is a full-contact sport. If you don’t believe that, just watch any meeting of Britain’s House of Commons, or the occasional brawl that breaks out during a session of the South Korean parliament. And as Harry Truman so famously observed, “If you can’t stand the heat, well, stay out of the kitchen.” You need a thick skin to be a successful politician, and Sarah Palin’s skin is thinner than most. She is legendary for turning on anyone who criticizes her or who stands in her way.
Her behavior during the fall campaign demonstrated that she can be erratic. That tendency was openly discussed by people inside the McCain campaign both before the election and since — people who would normally be expected to be among her most ardent supporters. And her rallies indicated that she appeals to a minority of Americans who can only be described as racist bigots. There is no room on the national stage for someone whose claim to fame is to appeal to the most despicable elements of American society. If that is the segment of the Republican Party that represents her most avid supporters, then the total demise of the current incarnation of the GOP cannot come quickly enough.
UPDATE 7/6: Anyone who questions whether there is a definite racist element in the Republican Party would do well to read this, only the latest in a series of similar instances going back to the campaign. I wrote about them at the time, but they have continued.
