Crossposted at MyDD and <REDACTED>
Some here are understandibly worried that the media and the Left are lowering expectations for Sarah Palin and thus she'll hurdle that lowered bar. That's a fair concern, and one I actually share. This diary isn't about that.
The Right is treating Sarah Palin as some kind of embodiment of all their values, their hopes, and their dreams. She is galvanizing their activists (check out RedState, they are absolutely in love with her), generating fantastic fundraising, and being treated as the next coming of........what?
Guys, let them build up a little more suspense. It's imperative that she is actually on the ticket. While she may well roll with the punches and show great pluck, I don't think she can meet these hilarious expectations. The Republicans have been drowning, so when John McCain handed them a rope they grabbed it.
They're probably going to hang themselves with it. There's too much smoke here for her to be a net positive with any portion of the electorate other than the Republican base. This does not mean I underestimate the importance of firing up the Evangelicals! The Republicans need them to show up and this will do that. However, the polling that exists shows that she is hurting McCain among women and independents. My own anecdotal experiences back this up.
They're happy because they finally have something to be happy about. A part of me is pleased for them, honestly. I hate voting for a boring ticket. If I'm destined to lose, well, at least give me something for showing up. This eagerness is leading them to defend her without her involvement. Where the hell is Sarah Palin? She's holed up and getting schooled. She's probably a quick study and may well parrot the talking points like a good surrogate or flack.
It won't be enough, it just won't. Her public record, her own words on foreign policy are laughably distant. That's fine for a governor who lacks higher aspirations but it's fatal for a national ticket. Sarah Palin cannot possibly master these issues very quickly (nobody can), and I take no satisfaction by saying that she will have to learn them. Outside of energy and conservation policy I just haven't seen any sophistication out of her.
Again, there's nothing wrong with that in a rookie governor. It becomes a huuuuuuge deal if she becomes president. We've seen what happens when the president needs to have his views furnished by his staff...No, let them have a few days of fun, let them get their hopes up.
Then crush them.