Palm Reading

Some call it her telepalmer. Others call it her palm pilot. I call Sarah Palin's reliance on tiny talking points scrawled on the palm of her hand simply pathetic.

I know she has trouble keeping facts straight, and I was not surprised that she literally depended on the "first dude" for governing Alaska, but cheat sheets are for dumb high school kids! Did Palin really think she was going to get away with this? That nobody would notice this?


Oddly, her crib notes consisted of her core beliefs -- the revealed phrases were "Energy," "Tax," and "Lift American Spirits" -- but why would she even need these reminders for a fluffy Q&A session at the tea baggers' convention?

Actually, I don't care what her excuse is, because her interview on Fox News Sunday was even more disturbing. Chris Wallace, winner of The Dorkmonger's prestigious Porkpuller Prize for weakest effort in journalism, asked Palin "How hard do you think President Obama would be to defeat in 2012?"

PALIN: It depends on a few things, say he played — I got this from Buchanan — say he played the war card. Say he decided to declare war on Iran or decide to really come out and do whatever he could to support Israel–which I would like him to do. That changes the dynamics of what we can assume will happen between now and three years. Because I think if the election were today, Obama would not be elected.

WALLACE: You’re not suggesting that Obama would cynically play the war card?

PALIN: I’m not suggesting that, I’m saying if he did, things would dramatically change if he decided to toughen up and do all that he can to secure our nation and secure our allies. I think people would shift their thinking a bit.

So Sarah Palin, the loser and the quitter, who is not in the military nor holds any public office, gets Fox air-time to openly discuss which country we should bomb next for political gain?

I get a sick feeling in my gut. As the NIAC blog put it, this is deja-vu all over again. We're hearing a warmonger ratcheting up the rhetoric to attack a country that has not attacked us. Such an attack would actually stir up Iranian nationalism and benefit their hard-line government.

Also, it would kill lots of innocent people including children. Is this the kind of divine intervention you're seeking, Mrs. Mooseburger?

Sarah Palin thinks she's earning her foreign policy cred. Never mind the mere detail that the president cannot declare war -- this is not good policy. This is Bush's old doctrine of preventive war. It will not help us. It will not make us more secure physically or financially. This is the sickest, most morally corrupt form of politics.

I wish I could blow this all off and truly believe that this dangerous dingbat will not be elected president one day. I wish I could believe that the American public is not thirsty for more war. However, a recent poll by the Daily Kos is not reassuring: 53% of self-identified Republicans think Sarah Palin is more qualified than President Obama.

There is, though, one sure-fire way that Obama could lose all my support: he could start taking advice from Sarah Palin.

Working for Change

If you want to work in the Barack Obama administration, you'll have to answer a few questions. The 63 item questionnaire includes the typical inquiries about employment history, lobbying history, and financial and tax information.

But you will also have to disclose your online aliases and all your writings including diaries, blogs and comments on blogs.

Also, you must explain "any association with any person, group or business venture that could be used -- even unfairly -- to impugn or attack your character or qualifications for government service." Neocons are predictably screaming "hypocrisy" over that question, but I yawn. I think the transition team simply wanted a quick way to weed out Todd Palin's application.

And then, of course, list three professional references just like every boring job you've ever applied for.

Obama's transition team has about 7000 positions to fill according to the 2008 Plum Book, the quadrennial list of positions subject to presidential appointment. Well maybe one less position now, but you didn't want to be Secretary of State anyway, right? And you weren't hoping for this job either:

The Vice Presidency is a unique office that is neither a part of the executive branch nor a part of the legislative branch, but is attached by the Constitution to the latter. The Vice Presidency performs functions in both the legislative branch (see article I, section 3 of the Constitution) and in the executive branch (see article II, and amendments XII and XXV, of the Constitution, and section 106 of title 3 of the United States Code).

Dick Cheney and his lawyers must have written that ridiculous job description. No wonder Sarah Palin was so confused.

Anyway, if you're ready to work for change, the Washington Post has tips on how to actually apply.

I am an American

"We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation. This is where we find the kindness and the goodness and the courage of everyday Americans. Those who are running our factories and teaching our kids and growing our food and are fighting our wars for us. Those who are protecting us in uniform. Those who are protecting the virtues of freedom." — Sarah Palin, October 16, 2008

So Sarah Palin loves to visit the "pro-America areas" of this country. She hasn't mentioned specific areas that she finds unpatriotic, but as I remember her RNC speech, the snide twang she put on the words "San Francisco" still screeches in my mind.

But this latest speech -- implying those people are un-American -- is disturbing and offensive. These words don't bring people together. Joe Biden responded today and put it simply, "it doesn't matter where you live, we all love this country."

But the video that Sarah Palin really needs to watch is an ad created after September 11, 2001 celebrating the diversity that keeps this country strong:



Now that I think about it, Todd Palin should also watch this ad.