Never Forget!

No, I'm not writing about the Holocaust, although it's true that we ought never forget. No -- I'm writing about the disaster that could have been, the nightmare that we could have invited, the political tsunami of horror that we nearly allowed to be unleashed. I refer, of course to my favorite Christianist she-devil, Sarah Palin.

Todd Purdum writes a clear-eyed reflection in Vanity Fair about the woman's political journey and her sociopathic dishonesty as she clawed her way into the Juneau governor's mansion. Sullivan notes:

The narcissism, the pathological and incessant lying, the viciousness, the delusions of grandeur, the vindictiveness, the fathomless and proud ignorance, the opportunism, the vanity, the white trash concupiscence and fraudulence in almost every respect: these are now indisputable. How an advanced democracy came that close to having this farce of a candidate running the most powerful country on earth reveals how deep the corruption of our politics and especially our media are.

Well, there is a minority swath of American voters and media outlets who revere this woman, but her influence among the overall GOP is waning, not growing. She placed tied for second in a recent straw poll (with Texas congressman and fellow whack-job Ron Paul), behind the far more media-savvy (and morally upstanding) Mitt Romney, of who would be the best potential candidate for the party in 2012. If she overcomes that loss, it will be in spite of herself. She is literally and utterly incapable of uttering a coherent sentence (like GW Bush). Referring to the campaign she'd just lost:

You know, it’s pretty brutal, the time consumption there, and the energy that has to be spent in order to get out and about with the message on a national level, a great appreciation for other candidates who have gone through this, but also just a great appreciation for this great country. There are so many good Americans who are just desiring of their government to kind of get out of the way and allow them to grow and progress, and allow our businesses to grow and progress. So, great appreciation for those who share that value.

She also has a disdain for details (like GW Bush), and she thinks that America still wants a president who'd be a good drinking or hunting buddy.

Finally, Purdum's money quote, regarding her desire to address the rabid Republican faithful after it was clear that they had lost the election:

Election Night brought what McCain aides saw as the final indignity. Palin decided she would make her own speech at the ticket’s farewell to the faithful, at the Arizona Biltmore, in Phoenix. When aides went to load McCain’s concession speech into the teleprompter, they found a concession speech for Palin—written by Bush speechwriter Matthew Scully, who had also been the principal drafter of her convention speech—already on the system. Schmidt and Salter told Palin that there was no tradition of Election Night speeches by running mates, and that she wouldn’t be giving one. Palin was insistent. “Are those John’s wishes?” she asked. They were, she was told. But Palin took the issue to McCain himself, raising it on the walk from his suite to the outdoor rally. Again the answer was no.

Sheesh. Shortly after being elected mayor of Wasilla in 1996, Palin was told by her campaign manager that she could be elected governor within 10 years. Her reply: "I want to be president."

Uh, yeah right.