Sarah Palin: Political Grifter?
A report this evening on Palin’s questionable travel expenses (and other creative accounting) won’t play well in “real America”. Even the hardest of hardcore social conservatives have to be starting to see Sarah Palin as a fortunate huckster; a grifter in a league with the worst of the tongue speaking, collection-plate-passing tent revival preachers.
It’s getting pretty rough out there for Sarah Palin, and by extension, the PALIN / McCain campaign. I’m guessing that right about now, the Senator from Arizona is really, really feeling his age and will be very relieved when he’s finally rid of his running mate.
Her approvals are in the tank, and according to NBC - WSJ polling, she’s become a huge boat anchor on the GOP presidential campaign (and even down-ticket races):
Palin’s qualifications to be president rank as voters’ top concern about McCain’s candidacy - ahead of continuing President Bush’s policies, enacting economic policies that only benefit the rich and keeping too high of a troop presence in Iraq.
…Forty-seven percent view Palin negatively, compared with 38 percent who see her in a positive light.
Fifty-five percent of voters say Palin is not qualified to be president, up from 50 percent two weeks ago.
And now, this evening, there is a stinging investigative report on her creative travel expense accounting as Governor, and other reimbursements received from the State of Alaska (such as $17,000 claimed for staying in her own home rather than the Governor’s Mansion). It would seem that, after the election, Sarah and Todd might have some IRS issues to deal with.
Palin’s religious beliefs may play well with the fundamentalist base to which McCain was so desperately pandering when he chose to add her to the GOP ticket. But even “Real Americans™” understand — nay, it’s an article of faith with them — that few politicians are in the game for reasons other than lining their own pockets with money. Even the hardest of the hardcore social conservatives must be viewing Sarah Palin as a fortunate huckster; a grifter in a league with the worst of the tongue speaking, collection-plate-passing tent revival preachers.
It continues to defy belief how that, in this day and age of instant information availability and focus groups, someone with the baggage that Sarah Palin brought to the GOP ticket wasn’t smoked out long before the VP vetting and selection process was complete. The only answer is: she wasn’t vetted at all.
The post-election story telling about the GOP selection process that chose Sarah Palin is going to be fascinating.
Tent revival preacher indeed. I was watching video of Brother McCain speaking, with Sister Cindy behind his right shoulder and Sister Sarah behind his right shoulder, and it came to me that we have been watching a remake of Elmer Gantry.
The Insiders
How John McCain came to pick Sarah Palin.
here’s my favorite part of the article:
and according to the article I posted above, the likely “vetting” was done by the emotionally damaged, sexually and intellectually retarded “experts” of the “right” … William Kristol, Rich Lowry, Dick Morris, Fred Barnes, and John “The Mustache” Bolton..
she made these retarded, pathetic men hot… and that was apparently all the “vetting” she got…
A series of incompetents did the vetting of Palin? Seems appropriate, or at least what we’ve come to expect of Republicans, incompetence.
It’s now being reported where the McCain/Palin campaign is advising attendees for its rallies not to talk to reporters because “negative things [about the ticket] had been written in the past” and they wanted to avoid that risk @ all costs.
Put more bluntly, “reject all evidence of eyes and ears.”