So, Sarah Palin is rapidly being reduced to a punch line, the answer to a really corny joke.
Unfortunately, the joke is on us, as one of the most unqualified nominees for the vice presidency continues to be foisted on the country.
While some Republicans openly grouse about having Palin step down, it doesn’t seem like the governor of Alaska is willing to step out of the spotlight, even though she seems blinded by it.
I don’t mean to tell the Republicans how to run their campaign. John McCain obviously believed that Palin would help him gain some footage with the Republican conservative base and bring some energy into a moribund campaign. But that bump he got in the polls from the hockey mom has now begun to dissipate, as he has had to keep her under wraps, away from prying reporters.
Now, the veil has been lifted on Palin, as she has done three television interviews, with Charles Gibson on ABC-TV, Sean Hannity on Fox and with Katie Couric on CBS. As bad as her interview with Gibson was (we can dismiss the Hannity interview because Fox is the unofficial media organ of the far right wing), the one with Couric is being held up as Palin’s “Quayle” moment, invoking the memory of former President George Herbert Walker Bush’s vice president Dan Quayle.
It caused conservative columnist Kathleen Parker to implore that Palin voluntarily leave the McCain ticket. Parker said though she liked Palin and originally supported her, she wanted Palin to drop out.
The wonder is that Palin has made it this far. Her background may have been enough to get her into the governor’s mansion in Alaska, but it falls way below where the bar should be for vice president of the United States.
Much has been made of the fact that as vice president, Palin would be a heartbeat away from the presidency. That means that her background and experience deserves a special look, especially since her stances on a lot of issues aren’t well known.
What we know is that she is staunchly conservative, pro-life and has backed having creationism taught in schools. She once tried to have some books that she found objectionable removed from the Wasilla public library.
But Palin went through five schools in six years to gain her degree in journalism from Idaho State University, including a stint at Matanuska-Susitna College in Palmer, Alaska.
Such stellar scholarship stands her in good stead with McCain, who finished fourth from the bottom of his class at the United States Naval Academy. But it does not recommend her for a job at the very top of this nation's political totem pole.
Funny, she talks about her experience as a hockey mom, as a small-town mayor and as governor. She doesn’t mention her first career out of college as a television sports reporter. So when she complained to Couric about “reporters,” she seemed to forget that she once was one. Palin’s pride and arrogance caused her to go ahead and accept McCain’s offer to join the ticket, even when she knew she didn't rise to the level of the second-highest office in the land.
It’s that same pride and arrogance that probably will keep her from heeding Parker’s advice, which, to be honest, was not echoed by a lot of other Republicans. Palin must believe her own hype, and she probably believes that McCain’s opinion could not be completely wrong.
Dropping out of the race would not end Palin’s career. Much like Barack Obama’s rapid ascension to the top of the ticket after his speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Palin’s career has been jumpstarted. With Bush mired in disrespect by his own party and McCain spending as much time bashing Republicans as Democrats, Palin becomes one of the bright lights of the Republican Party by default.
She’ll be around in 2012 to harass Obama, and represent that wing of the GOP that froths at the mouth when talk turns to abortion and evangelical religion and smaller government. She’ll forget all about that “maverick” label that she is wearing with McCain because she hardly represents that with her conservative brethren.
Some say that expectations for Palin are so low that just showing up and not tripping over her own name will be considered a good showing in the Oct. 2 vice presidential debate with Joe Biden.
But the expectations are much higher than that. Palin has to show that she is ready to be not only vice-president, but president. She isn’t. She’s a joke. She’s an empty suit. She’s bad for this election and bad for this country.
Lou Ransom is executive editor of the Chicago Defender. He can be reached at lransom@ chicagodefender.com.
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