McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his vice-president is an insult to all American voters, regardless of gender. It also raises the disturbing prospect– in the event she becomes President– that the country would once again, as through much of the past eight years, be effectively ruled not by the elected president but by a group of unaccountable people who operate in the shadows around the White House.
The depth of the insult that McCain’s choice of Palin represents to the American people was revealed even more clearly yesterday in the clips that ABC News aired of the interview that Charlie Gibson conducted with her earlier in the day. (Partial transcript here. You can also see the video on that ABC News site.)
The interview showed a tightly scripted, generally extremely controlled woman who was nonetheless quite unable to answer a question about one of the principal strategic issues our country faces– whether in fact the President should continue to claim, as President Bush did in his National Security Strategy of 2002, that the US has the right to engage in “preventive” military action whenever it perceives a threat might arise. Asked about this by Gibson, Palin blustered and shifted uneasily in her seat as she tried to avoid revealing her ignorance of what the ‘Bush Doctrine’ actually is. The incident is recorded on page 4 of the transcript.
In the interview, Palin also said some extremely hawkish things. On whether the US should urge Israel to exercise restraint against Iran, she said clearly (p.3), “We cannot second guess the steps that Israel has to take to defend itself.” What, Sarah, we can’t say anything even if Israel’s actions threaten–as indeed they would– to bring strong Iranian retribution back against all the US forces deployed in Iraq and the Gulf?
And in response to a clear question as to whether the US has the right to send forces from Afghanistan into Pakistan, even without the approval of the Pakistani government, to “go after” suspected terrorists located there, she said (p.4):
- I believe that America has to exercise all options in order to stop the terrorists who are hell bent on destroying America and our allies. We have got to have all options out there on the table.
First of all, her handlers should tell her that “all options” is a generally recognized shorthand for saying “all options including the use of nuclear weapons.” There would be ways of saying that the US should have the right to do whatever it needs to inside Pakistan– a policy, that, as it happens, I heartily disagree with– without using the code-word for use of nuclear weapons.
Also, it appears that in the heat of the interview she had a hard time recalling some of the “detail” that her handlers had evidently been pumping into her over the past week. “All options” and “on the table” are the twinned sets of codewords that represent the hawkish US stance in the force-backed US diplomacy over Iran, not the policy toward Pakistan.
What I find particularly insulting, as a person who has studied and written about national security and foreign policy issues for more than 20 years now, is the assumption of Palin’s political handlers that if they take this self-proclaimed “hockey mom” from a small town in Alaska and coach her intensively on foreign policy issues for just one week, then they somehow they can persuade American voters that she is “Ready on Day One” to be president, in the sorry event that McCain should become incapacitated.
Palin’s handlers– who are all high-level McCain political operatives, working under, presumably, his command– must have a very low view of the intelligence and integrity of the American people if they think we will be deceived by her Pygmalion-ish performance, which was the result of their own, still continuing Henry Higgins-like machinations and manipulations..
Her performance insulted all of us. The performance of her Henry Higgins manipulators was reckless in the extreme. And it raises some very disturbing questions about the degree to which having Sarah Palin in the White House would represent any kind of a “change” from the sorry situation we’ve been in with George W. Bush.
George W. Bush was also extremely Unready on Day One to be the president of even a small-size private company– let alone the United States of America. Because of his unreadiness, manifested in both his ignorance of huge areas of economic and international affairs and his active disinterest in learning the details about these matters, vital aspects of the country’s foreign policy were left in the shadowy and nearly completely unaccountable hands of others, primarily Dick Cheney.
So for me, Palin’s performance last night was not primarily a gender thing. It was a matter of experience, and equally, a matter of the integrity and accountability at the highest levels of our government.
If McCain were younger or in better health, I would say that he could much more easily take a chance on choosing a running mate who could expect to have a number of years of “on the job training” before being called on to be President. But he is not. It is quite legitimate for all of us to expect that he pick as running mate someone who’s ready to take over, if necessary, “on Day One.”
In yesterday’s interview, Charlie Gibson asked Sarah Palin, outright, if she felt confident about doing that, and she answered with a forceful and unqualified ‘Yes.’
But as revealed by the whole of the interview that was aired last night, she is quite clearly not ready. If she does take over on Day One, or Day A Hundred and One, the country will once again be ruled by a shadowy and unaccountable network of people who stand around and guide the president. We have had that situation for the past eight years. Look where it has brought our country, and the depths of infamy into which it has dragged our Constitution.
GIven the massive size of the challenges that face Americans today, we cannot risk a repeat of that situation of unaccountable and irresponsible governance.
Are McCain’s advisors any different from Bush’s? Is not Gates now thought to have the upper hand on military policy? Do not most major media, excepting Fox, now think of Iraq as a mistake? Do we believe that a bellicose-sounding new President or VP would have the power to overrule this more cautious new elite consensus?
Helena
Just so we don’t miss the shenigans going on in Latin America
ANDEAN REGION
VENEZUELA-REGION: US foreign policy in focus
Latin American governments are not so naïve that they will expect the incoming
US government to overhaul radically the country’s regional foreign policy or
indeed its foreign-policy priorities, but they will be disturbed by the recent
acceptance speeches of both presidential candidates, Democrat Senator Barack
Obama and Republican John McCain. If Obama’s protectionist rhetoric on trade
provided cause for concern, McCain’s choice of Otto Reich as his Latin American
policy adviser sent a clear message that he favours confrontation over
engagement. Reich, a veteran right-winger, promised “more of the same but
better” before launching into a savage critique of Venezuela’s President Hugo
Chávez…
BOLIVIA: Morales kicks out US ambassador
President Evo Morales expelled US ambassador Philip Goldberg on 10
September following the worst spate of violence Bolivia has seen for months in
the autonomy-seeking Media Luna regions. Morales accused Goldberg of
conspiracy, fomenting violence and promoting divisions within the country. Given
that the allegations are nothing new, the unprecedented step taken by the
government, which signifies the worst crisis in Bolivia-US relations in years,
suggests there may be new substance to the claims…
Looks like those quiet Americans are back.
Yesterday was the 35th anniversary of the death of Salvatore Allende.
Helena
Just so we don’t miss the shenigans going on in Latin America
ANDEAN REGION
VENEZUELA-REGION: US foreign policy in focus
Latin American governments are not so naïve that they will expect the incoming
US government to overhaul radically the country’s regional foreign policy or
indeed its foreign-policy priorities, but they will be disturbed by the recent
acceptance speeches of both presidential candidates, Democrat Senator Barack
Obama and Republican John McCain. If Obama’s protectionist rhetoric on trade
provided cause for concern, McCain’s choice of Otto Reich as his Latin American
policy adviser sent a clear message that he favours confrontation over
engagement. Reich, a veteran right-winger, promised “more of the same but
better” before launching into a savage critique of Venezuela’s President Hugo
Chávez…
BOLIVIA: Morales kicks out US ambassador
President Evo Morales expelled US ambassador Philip Goldberg on 10
September following the worst spate of violence Bolivia has seen for months in
the autonomy-seeking Media Luna regions. Morales accused Goldberg of
conspiracy, fomenting violence and promoting divisions within the country. Given
that the allegations are nothing new, the unprecedented step taken by the
government, which signifies the worst crisis in Bolivia-US relations in years,
suggests there may be new substance to the claims…
Looks like those quiet Americans are back.
Yesterday was the 35th anniversary of the death of Salvatore Allende.
Juan Cole says that the US has been running a dirty war in Iraq.
Lots and lots to debate
Two Russian strategic bombers land in Venezuela
In the interview Thursday, Palin:
Helena, what WE see and what WE understand about Sarah Palin is 100% irrelevant. I am hearing from people – lots of people – who are sophisticated enough to know better, and yet who actually feel better about her after seeing that interview. If those people received even a slightly favorable impression, then I imagine all those low-information voters out there who make up the majority must be really excited about her by now. I expect a big jump in the polls for McCain after what should be seen as an epic fail.
I have said that Sarah Palin is the most dangerous person in this country right now. I was wrong. The most dangerous thing in this country right now is the American electorate.
Let be careful not letting this White Moose lead as a new face of new criminal she started by sending her kids to Iraq (Btw, he will serve in a secured us place inside Iraq) with Iraq war and occupying Iraq as God Plan!! Stupid White Moos
No End In Sight
Iraqi Parliament’s Human Rights Commission has found up to 200 malnourished and disease-stricken Iraqi detainees locked in a secret prison in the southern city of Basra.
This is an interesting read about Ms. Palin
:- http://www.vivelecanada.ca/article/235930327-so-sambo-beat-the-bitch
Shirin
A few days ago you exhorted us (or me?) to not just sit there but to do something.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/13/opinion/13herbert.html?hp
This morning’s op ed piece is similar to comment that is being seen in the Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/12/AR2008091201259.html?hpid=topnews
What I havent seen are the comments in small town newspapers.
How does all this play in Peoria?
So one thing we can do is find local news comment from the key states especially and follow their tone and opinion.
By now their editors will have picked up on the implications of Lehman Brothers going down due to aversion to investing in the US and the economy.
U.S. Gives Banks Urgent Warning to Solve Crisis
As Lehman Brothers teetered Friday evening, Federal Reserve officials summoned the heads of major Wall Street firms to a meeting in Lower Manhattan and insisted they rescue the stricken investment bank and develop plans to stabilize the financial markets.
Timothy F. Geithner, the president of the New York Federal Reserve, called a 6 p.m. meeting so that bank officials could review their financial exposures to Lehman Brothers and work out contingency plans over the possibility that the government would need to orchestrate an orderly liquidation of the firm on Monday, according to people briefed on the meeting.
Mr. Geithner told the participants that an industry solution was needed, no matter what, and that it was not about any individual bank, according to two people briefed on the meeting but who did not attend. They said he told them that if the industry failed to solve the problem their individual banks might be next.
A spokesman for the New York Federal Reserve Bank in New York confirmed the meeting but declined to provide details on the discussions. The Wall Street executives included the following chief executives: Lloyd Blankfein of the Goldman Sachs Group, James Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, John Mack of Morgan Stanley, Vikram Pandit of Citigroup and John Thain of Merrill Lynch. Representatives from the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Bank of New York Mellon were also present. Lehman Brothers was noticeably absent from the talks.
Already I am seeing comment that while the separation between Money Market and Investment banks that was introdcued after the Wall St Crash had been abolished but that the regulatory regime had not been amended to cope with this. I don’t know how bad the risk is.
There will be a moment of truth in a couple of weeks where people start to ask just how bad the economic Stalingrad is going to get particularly as the news feeds through to the major industries.
The candidate who deosn’t understand the economy and its inability to afford further war without end loses. Or if he doesn’t the US becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of China Inc.
Lets see if we can spot the editorials showing the tide turning.
Sarah Paline… Connecting the Dots
Sarah Palin’s son is going off to put his Country First, or possibly avoid embarrassing his family with any more drug-fueled vandalism escapades, so Palin went and spoke at Track’s deployment ceremony.
Gov. Sarah Palin linked the war in Iraq with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, telling an Iraq-bound brigade of soldiers that included her son that they would “defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans.”
So Palin’s Son went for Rehab in Iraq
According to the National Enquirer, Sarah and Todd Palin’s oldest son, 19-year-old Track, National Enquirerhas a history of drug use and abuse. “I’ve seen him snort cocaine, snort and smoke OxyContin, drink booze and smoke weed,” their source reports. “He finally did what a lot of troubled kids here do. You join the military.”
And Track’s 17-year-old pregnant sis is no angel either. “Bristol was a huge stoner and drinker,” a friend says. “I’ve seen her smoke pot and get drunk and make out with so many guys. All the guys would brag that they just made out with Bristol.”
http://www.zimbio.com/Bristol+Palin/articles/573/Sarah+Palin+s+Son+A+Drug+User
It’s not Peoria, but the people around me that I hear every day are pleased with McCain/Palin because they give short, decisive answers to questions. They equate this with knowledge, determination and patriotism. Because Obama gives long answers to these same questions, they believe that he is equivocating, is not patriotic and is not to be trusted. It is possible that they are searching for a reason to reject him because of their own racist leanings, but they accept these rationalizations and will carry them into the voting booth.
How widespread is this? I don’t know, but it frightens me.
One would expect to see some comment from the candidates about the bloodbath on Wall Street.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/business/14spiral.html?hp
Wot, No Sniper Fire?
Report: Palin Did Not Visit Iraq
By Anne E. Kornblut
WASILLA, Alaska — Aides to Gov. Sarah Palin are scrambling to explain details of her only trip outside North America — which, according to a new report, did not include Iraq, as the McCain-Palin campaign had initially claimed.
Palin made an official visit to see Alaskan troops in Kuwait in July of 2007. There, she made a stop at a border crossing with Iraq, but did not actually visit the country, according to a new report in the Boston Globe.
Earlier, McCain aides had said that Palin visited Iraq, and expressed indignation at questions about her slim foreign travel.
The campaign also said she had been to Ireland; that turned out to have been a refueling stop.
I don’t quite see the problem with Sarah, if she gets to the President position she’ll have the handlers around her. If you postulate handlers behind her now, you have to grant handlers then and everything is fine.
As for Shirin’s lamenting the US electorate, well, I guess democracy is when the electorate picks a President for them. If Shirin wants rather to pick an electorate for her, that is called emigration and I solemnly swear to fund her emigration expenses. If I never see her back in the US that would be too soon.
Lee are you perhaps missing the point? The “handlers” to whom you refer are unknown to the electorate. They are unaccountable, their characters could be extraordinarily bad, they might never have been to church, they could very well be black magicians or secret devil worshippers, their children might be regular customers at abortion clinics, they might abhor hunting and jeer at fishermen.
Nor is it beyond the realm of possibility that they read Proust in the original French, dislike black people (in sharp contradistinction) are in the employ of the Queen of England and subscribe to Hustler magazine.
It is surprising that you feel happy about entrusting such untested and secretive people with the executive powers of the US Presidency. This was not what the immortal framers of the Constitution (all bow) are thought to have had in mind.
Lee, if you liked George W. Bush, you are going to LOVE Sarah Palin.
In democracies people get the government they deserve.
You can fool enough of the people every 4 years.
Will Palin’s advisors include dominionist pastors, given that she was apparently selected by Dobson ?
This from Chicago
http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/1161077,CST-EDT-edit14.article
The Brits don’t want to buy dodgy American debt. either.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7615712.stm
I think it is very interesting that, on Morning Edition on NPR, they talk about Sarah Palin more than any other candidate. They are very respectful (which is fine), but kind of gaga over ‘her’ promoted ‘uniqueness’. Personally, she seems like a pretty dreary choice, but she’s a type that often is promoted as ‘excellence’ in this country with a specially forceful combination of self absorption and aggressive tendencies. I sure that their are analysts out there that would summarize this point as “Americans like winners”. It’s all well and good to be competitive, but President of the US is not a beauty contest, a sport or a piano recital. The skills necessary to ‘compete’ are not necessarily those that will create a competent player once on the team.
Palin’s performance: Insulting and very scary
There are already Nazism acts on the land of Iraq Helena this leaded by your troops in Iraq and your “Nazi” U.S. Army Lt. Gen. David Petraeus.
Your Defense Secretary Robert Gates telling the ‘end game’ in Iraq, yes its a game caused distractions of nation not Nation Building took six bloody years killed almost million of Iraqi cause ten million refuges inside and out side, caused 50% of Iraqi under the poverty lines and more and more is there more scary that this Helena and all Americans who done nothing that putting their words and analyses of lies and war of on distractions of humans.
Read this may open the eyes what your Nazi commander did in Iraq and he is in pride of his crimes after divided Iraq in a piles of concrete walls not just district is more than that reach to some few streets and areas and the resident need VISA to pass US installed Concrete Walls other wise they will shoot and bee dead.
رسالة من جورج واشنطن إلى رمز الاحتلال النازي الأمريكي الجنرال ديفيد باترايوس قبل خروجه من العراق
لا أريد التطرق في هذا المقال إلى تصريحاتك الفارغة التي أطلقتها مؤخرآ فأنها تثير لدى القارئ الكريم السخرية وتصيبه بالغيثان لكثرة الكذب والنفاق والدجل الإعلامي التي احتوته تصريحاتكم الساذجة , عليكم أن تستحوا من أنفسكم على الأقل وأمام شعوبكم لمثل تلك التصريحات الجوفاء . عندما تنهض صباحآ وترى وجهك بالمرآة هل تعرف كم مواطن عراقي مدني أعزل تم قتله في هذا اليوم برصاص جنودكم الوحوش النازيون وعمليات مليشياتكم الإرهابية في العراق وصراعكم الدموي بين جارة الشر والسؤ إيران على أرض العراق لمحاولة تقاسم الغنيمة العراقية الدسمة .
اللفتنانت جنرال ديفيد هاول بترايوس أحدى أهم رموز الصهاينة الجدد , والذي يتخفى خلف قناع صنعه لكي يوهم به نفسه بأن يكون له حضور ( مشرف ) ومقبول على أقل تقدير بين أطياف الشعب العراقي , ولكن مع الأسف سوف يتذكرك هذا الشعب بأنك رمز للإحتلال البغيض لا أكثر ولا أقل , وعلى عهدك جرت كل الفضائح والجرائم بحق الشعب العراقي المسالم .
الجنرال باترايوس الذي كان سابقآ قائد الفرقة المجولقة 110 أثناء سير عمليات الغزو وبعد أن ودعا فرقته نهاية عام 2004 ليتم تعينه لاحقآ بمنصب قائد القوات الأمريكية في العراق ـ وهؤلاء أصبحوا يمثلون النازيون الجدد ـ ولكن بوجوه وأقنعة جديدة تتلاءم مع عصر الكابوي الأمريكي الجديد , حيث وصفته أحدى الصحف اليمينية المتطرفة ” بأنه مسيحهم المخلص القادم لإخراج إدارة الرئيس جورج بوش من ورطتها في العراق ” ويأتي مثل هذا التصريح الخطير بعد فشلهم الذريع في تحقيق نصرهم الواهم المزعوم على الإرهاب المفتعل الذي يفتك كل يوم بالمدنيين العراقيين , وليس نصره الزائف الذي يدعيه على مليشيات الأحزاب الحاكمة , ومع كل آلة الدمار والقتل العسكرية التي كانت تحت أمرة الجنرال بترايوس لم يتم تغير أي شيء في العراق , سوى أوامره المباشرة بمزيد من العمليات العسكرية وشن الهجمات الصاروخية الذكية جدآ على بيوت العزل المدنيين العراقيين وهدمها على رؤوسهم بحجة أنها معقل لتنظيمات القاعدة , وتتبين بعد ساعات أنها مجرد بيوت لمدنيين عزل ولا يوجد أي أثر لتنظيم القاعدة الذي سمحتم له بالدخول إلى العراق ووفرتم له كل السبل الكفيلة لغرض استخدامه فيما بعد كورقة مساومة , ولكن السحر أنقلب على الساحر كما يقول المثل .
http://www.kitabat.com/i44053.htm
لا أريد التطرق في هذا المقال إلى تصريحاتك الفارغة التي أطلقتها مؤخرآ فأنها تثير لدى القارئ الكريم السخرية وتصيبه بالغيثان لكثرة الكذب والنفاق والدجل الإعلامي التي احتوته تصريحاتكم الساذجة , عليكم أن تستحوا من أنفسكم على الأقل وأمام شعوبكم لمثل تلك التصريحات الجوفاء . عندما تنهض صباحآ وترى وجهك بالمرآة هل تعرف كم مواطن عراقي مدني أعزل تم قتله في هذا اليوم برصاص جنودكم الوحوش النازيون وعمليات مليشياتكم الإرهابية في العراق وصراعكم الدموي بين جارة الشر والسؤ إيران على أرض العراق لمحاولة تقاسم الغنيمة العراقية الدسمة .
اللفتنانت جنرال ديفيد هاول بترايوس أحدى أهم رموز الصهاينة الجدد , والذي يتخفى خلف قناع صنعه لكي يوهم به نفسه بأن يكون له حضور ( مشرف ) ومقبول على أقل تقدير بين أطياف الشعب العراقي , ولكن مع الأسف سوف يتذكرك هذا الشعب بأنك رمز للإحتلال البغيض لا أكثر ولا أقل , وعلى عهدك جرت كل الفضائح والجرائم بحق الشعب العراقي المسالم .
الجنرال باترايوس الذي كان سابقآ قائد الفرقة المجولقة 110 أثناء سير عمليات الغزو وبعد أن ودعا فرقته نهاية عام 2004 ليتم تعينه لاحقآ بمنصب قائد القوات الأمريكية في العراق ـ وهؤلاء أصبحوا يمثلون النازيون الجدد ـ ولكن بوجوه وأقنعة جديدة تتلاءم مع عصر الكابوي الأمريكي الجديد , حيث وصفته أحدى الصحف اليمينية المتطرفة ” بأنه مسيحهم المخلص القادم لإخراج إدارة الرئيس جورج بوش من ورطتها في العراق ” ويأتي مثل هذا التصريح الخطير بعد فشلهم الذريع في تحقيق نصرهم الواهم المزعوم على الإرهاب المفتعل الذي يفتك كل يوم بالمدنيين العراقيين , وليس نصره الزائف الذي يدعيه على مليشيات الأحزاب الحاكمة , ومع كل آلة الدمار والقتل العسكرية التي كانت تحت أمرة الجنرال بترايوس لم يتم تغير أي شيء في العراق , سوى أوامره المباشرة بمزيد من العمليات العسكرية وشن الهجمات الصاروخية الذكية جدآ على بيوت العزل المدنيين العراقيين وهدمها على رؤوسهم بحجة أنها معقل لتنظيمات القاعدة , وتتبين بعد ساعات أنها مجرد بيوت لمدنيين عزل ولا يوجد أي أثر لتنظيم القاعدة الذي سمحتم له بالدخول إلى العراق ووفرتم له كل السبل الكفيلة لغرض استخدامه فيما بعد كورقة مساومة , ولكن السحر أنقلب على الساحر كما يقول المثل .
Good Grief
They are talking about trying to save Merril Lynch.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/bank-of-america-in-talks-to-buy-merrill-lynch/index.html?hp
Guys we need professionals running the worlds financial system.
Would somone tell the electorate please.
Merril Lynch and IAG too
Merril Lynch and AIG too
Never mind, you just need a hockey mom to come and wave her magic wand and it will be all right again.
this important social commnet as just appeared.
The link to the video is good.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2958696/Tina-Fey-lands-the-first-punch-at-Sarah-Palin-in-Saturday-Night-Live-sketch.html
Shirin
Just to cheer you up.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/signs-that-palin-effect-is-wearing-thin-931811.html
enjoy!!
ps
Comment from… Frank al Irlandi, at September 8, 2008 05:13 PM:
Shirin
You can put lipstick on a pig and it remains a pig.
And you can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time, but not all of the people all of the time.
I am not scared out of my wits by this deeply flawed demagogue. Because it is a certainty that the truth will come out in the next month or so.
Frank, I wish I were as confident as you are. A guy started a conversation with me at the gym, and the talk turned to travel. I commented that I knew more about India than Palin knows about Russia, because when I was in Pakistan I stood on the border and could see a lot more of India than Palin has ever seen of Russia. Later he asked me why I don’t like Palin, and I said, for starters I prefer people to tell the truth. His response? “She does tell the truth”! So, after so many of her lies and half-truths have been exposed, there are still people who do not see. And this is not an inexpensive gym, and the people who belong are educated, professional people.
So yes, I am scared. As I said before, you only have to fool just enough people just long enough to get past November 4, and there are plenty of people in this country who want to be fooled.
If I have to eat crow in November, I will do so with relish and gusto. I really hope I am wrong.
David Brooks makes some good points this morning
And there’s a serious argument here. In the current Weekly Standard, Steven Hayward argues that the nation’s founders wanted uncertified citizens to hold the highest offices in the land. They did not believe in a separate class of professional executives. They wanted rough and rooted people like Palin.
I would have more sympathy for this view if I hadn’t just lived through the last eight years. For if the Bush administration was anything, it was the anti-establishment attitude put into executive practice.
And the problem with this attitude is that, especially in his first term, it made Bush inept at governance. It turns out that governance, the creation and execution of policy, is hard. It requires acquired skills. Most of all, it requires prudence.
What is prudence? It is the ability to grasp the unique pattern of a specific situation. It is the ability to absorb the vast flow of information and still discern the essential current of events — the things that go together and the things that will never go together. It is the ability to engage in complex deliberations and feel which arguments have the most weight.
How is prudence acquired? Through experience. The prudent leader possesses a repertoire of events, through personal involvement or the study of history, and can apply those models to current circumstances to judge what is important and what is not, who can be persuaded and who can’t, what has worked and what hasn’t.
Experienced leaders can certainly blunder if their minds have rigidified (see: Rumsfeld, Donald), but the records of leaders without long experience and prudence is not good. As George Will pointed out, the founders used the word “experience” 91 times in the Federalist Papers. Democracy is not average people selecting average leaders. It is average people with the wisdom to select the best prepared.
Sarah Palin has many virtues. If you wanted someone to destroy a corrupt establishment, she’d be your woman. But the constructive act of governance is another matter. She has not been engaged in national issues, does not have a repertoire of historic patterns and, like President Bush, she seems to compensate for her lack of experience with brashness and excessive decisiveness.
If I have to eat crow in November, I will do so with relish and gusto. I really hope I am wrong.
Ok Crow Pie Party November 5th. Do you remember a post about a bring your own recipe meal a couple of years ago as the world was falling apart in East Africa?
The Republicans reveal once again how brilliant and cynical they are as campaigners, putting forth Palin as a candidate. They figured that she would be bulletproof from criticism because that would be construed as sexism.
What they didn’t figure was that fair-minded, enagaged Americans would see that tactic for what it is: a cheap and easy road to votes among women and Christian conservatives.