Maybe the "end-all" article on Palin: Lessons Learned from The Palin Debacle

[hlthe2b]

'Gotta hand it to David Frum. No progressive could have put it more succinctly, accurately, or devastatingly. Worth a full read:

David Frum
Lessons learned from the Palin debacle
How to avoid another disastrous Republican national nomination

... I will predict this: If Palin does enter the race, she won't be any kind of factor.
--snip--
But before Palin vanishes into her hard-earned obscurity, Republicans need an assessment and an accounting. Had John McCain won in 2008, we would have put an incompetent, deceitful, and vengeful person second in line to the presidency.--snip--

But before the episode is consigned to forgetfulness, there are some lessons to be learned of urgent value for 2012 and beyond.
More respect for brains as a qualification for the presidency.
--snip--
Mitt Romney's smarts do him surprisingly little good; Rick Perry's non-smarts do him disturbingly little harm; and Michele Bachmann's out-beyond-the-Orion-belt substitutions for familiarity with life here on Earth only intensify the admiration of her fan base.


Read the full piece including the nice summation of misogyny that explains so much of Republican politics:
http://theweek.com/article/index/218384/lessons-learned-from-the-palin-debacle

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

1. "deceitful, and vengeful person" Could also describe his old boss. nt

[Swede]

2. Wow,some real zingers from frum.

[ingac70]

3. "Here was a woman candidate chosen by men who do not respect women."

Yep. Spot on.

[ThoughtCriminal]

4. Bachmann's Out-beyond-the-Orion-belt substitutions...

Hey - conservatives CAN be funny - at least when it come to insults.

[TwilightGardener]

5. Pretty good until the end: there is NOTHING about Sarah Palin

that makes me feel badly about myself. That quote was insanely sexist, even as Frum tries to decry sexism.

[hlthe2b]

6. I think you misunderstood... Frum was quoting John Ziegler--resident Palin sycophant..

He then ends with the rebuttal to that sexist comment, echoing how most women view Palin.

[Ruby the Liberal]

7. I have to take offense at his close.

I am Sarah Palin's age and I do NOT feel 'threatened' by her in the least. I am disgusted that our society would give this empty-headed grifter 5 minutes of airtime under the guise of potential national leadership.

The Palin clan is Idiocracy in real life.

[hlthe2b]

8. He was quoting John Ziegler to make a point about how many male

Republicans viewed Palin compared to female conservatives. John Ziegler was one of those blatantly sexist drooling Palin sycophants. Note the quotes. This was Ziegler's statement that Frum quoted to illustrate his point. :shrug:

[Ruby the Liberal]

9. My bad.

I took speed reading classes in grad school and have a tendency to not capture all of the minutia when scanning. I read this article this morning when I got an email about it. I should have read it again tonight before commenting.

Thanks for the correction.

[hlthe2b]

10. I do that too...

;) Especially when I'm multi-tasking...LOL

[Kber]

13. I made the exact same mistake

I have to reread it a couple of times because it wasn't 100% clear at first that Frum was disputing the point.

But I agree with the analysis here about Frum's larger point.

She didn't just turn away conservative women, btw. I have male friends who tend to the more conservetive side of independent who absolutely couldn't vote for McCain after he picked her. Her supposed good lucks just didn't do it for them.

KB

[Cleita]

11. The sooner she disappears into the has been's hall

of fame, the happier we all will be.

[Kalidurga]

12. The only reason Palin is a has been is because

they found someone ever dumber and crazier than she is...