I've only watched one Sarah Palin speech -- her acceptance speech at the Republican Convention. Occasionally during the campaign I caught short clips of of her throwing bloody red meat to her followers, but I've never watched another full speech or even close to it.
Unless you count that garbled mess she spewed when she announced her intention to flee resign from the governorship. But that wasn't a policy speech, so I was able to appreciate its entertainment value while avoiding the nausea and stomach-clenching that occur whenever I hear her talk about anything that matters.
When I heard that MSNBC will be covering her address to the 'Baggers live tonight, my first reaction was, "Oh, good. I'll have to try to catch that if I'm not busy."
But then I remembered my reaction to the convention speech, and that was when she was essentially speaking to the whole country, not just to the most rabid of her followers (who have become much more rabid in the 17 months since she was nominated). And I realized: I don't think I'm physically capable of watching her tonight. I'm not that tough.
I feel guilty about my weakness. I think as a good politics junkie, I ought to be able to muster up the fortitude to observe the opposition's actions with my own two eyes and ears, rather than rely on someone else to digest it for me to make it more palatable.
And this is especially the case when it comes to Sarah Palin. Unlike most here, I have believed all along (and continue to believe) that we dismiss Palin at our own risk. Yes, she's a laughingstock among most of the electorate -- right now. No, she can't even get a majority of Republicans to vote "yes" in polls asking whether people want to see her run for President.
But she's young. She has lots of time (and seemingly limitless energy) to try a multitude of possible paths toward political rehabilitation.
They used to laugh at the thought of Ronald Reagan being President too.
So, all things considered, I really feel that I ought to watch her speech. But I just don't think I can stomach it. I trust that some of you are stronger than me and will do a great job of reporting it here. Thanks in advance for your sacrifice.