Palin is an experience

I'm not sure if it is better when the Republicans keep Sarah Palin out of the public spotlight for fear of having her embarrass them yet further with her ignorance or when they release her into it with mouthfuls of memorised gibberish.
She is obviously a quick swat - and seemed pretty adept with her cue cards. She had learned Ahmadinejad's name and said it over and over and over just to show us.
And she sure out-winked her hapless opponent, doggone it.

Reading and watching the fallout, I was surprised at how few commentators were prepared to give her the benefit of the low expectations. Only Fox, really. And Fox has made itself a farcical institution of flared nostril right wing excitement. Truly, it gets embarrassing watching the raw arousal of the anchors and commentators as they get on their Republican high horses. Move over Equus!

Elsewhere, however, there are responses of high anxiety at the cynical placement of Palin in this pivotal position. This good looking "down home" mom taps right into the comfort zone of the lowbrows. She ain't gonna answer nasty old questions from debate moderators. She's gonna talk right to the American people in her own special way.

I loved the way Fox defended her lack of experience by saying that she had had experiences. Sure. She has had experiences - shooting things, giving birth, entering beauty quests...

What a mockery this all makes of the very serious, nay dire, state of the world.
One can only be profoundly disappointed that America, once a loved and respected superpower, is taking its common denominators so very dangerously low.

Worth reading is Michelle Goldberg of the Guardian. The photo illustration - the Palin wink - is really telling.