(Military Times) Op-Ed: Let Palin Be Palin

[unhappycamper]

Let Palin Be Palin
Frank Gaffney | September 29, 2008

At critical moments before and during Ronald Reagan's presidency, his admirers would urge that he be allowed to be himself – rather than the far-less-authentic and less-appealing facsimile served up by his handlers. "Let Reagan be Reagan," they would urge, confident that the man himself would fare well if left to his own talents and judgment. Time and time again, that proved to be the case as his common-man qualities, native intelligence and utter decency allowed him to connect with and secure the support of the American people.

This lesson is worth recalling now, on the eve of a possibly make-or-break vice presidential debate between Republican Sarah Palin and her Democratic rival, Senator Joseph Biden. The outcome – and the fate of the GOP ticket – may turn on whether her handlers "Let Palin be Palin."

To be sure, there are powerful factors arguing for doing otherwise. While the Governor of Alaska has more executive experience than Barack Obama and Joe Biden combined, she is a relative newcomer to many national and certainly international issues. While her state's geography, energy resources and role in the national defense give her a grounding – by osmosis, if nothing else – in some of the most important foreign and security policy issues of the day, she has not been dabbling in and debating them for over three decades, as has the senior Senator from Delaware.

Understandably then, Sen. McCain's campaign has sought to give his running mate a crash course in the sorts of issues likely to feature in the Palin-Biden debate on Thursday night. They have largely kept her away from the press, with the notable exception of interviews with ABC's Charlie Gibson and CBS's Katie Couric which demonstrated the perils of trying to give her an overnight public policy make-over, one that threatens to serve her, her party and the country poorly.

Of particular concern is the prospect that her head is being filled with the nostrums of one inveterate handler, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The risks of channeling the man Ronald Reagan ran against in 1976 as much as he did Gerald Ford was on display during Friday night's presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama.

Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,176337,00.html?wh=news

[WillParkinson]

1. Oh, barf...

More executive experience than Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden combined? And also more graft and corruption as well.