Blaming her is like blaming the passenger in the taxi for it running out of gas.

The shopping spree excuse is especially ridiculous, she didn't have the purse strings. And sure she's stupid, I knew that from day 1. But the talking points they were feeding her were self contradictory and confusing.

Hardly anyone could've taken that job and done what those mayberry machiavellis wanted.

Ooooh - using FOX News to trash Palin is a dangerous thing for FOX. I know a number of Republicans (tough not to here in Ohio), and a good number of them are big fans of the governor - they only grudgingly gave their votes to McCain because he put "Sarah" on the ticket. They don't like all this bad talk about "Sarah" and they're sure that it's the rich elitists in the GOP that are out to get her now (one actually used the word "elitist" - delicious). They're also big FOX News boosters/watchers. Watching FOX News trash their beloved Sarah may just get them angry at those "elitist FOX News reporters".

I'm gonna need to stock up on popcorn, I think. This may get really fun to watch.

Blaming her is like blaming the passenger in the taxi for it running out of gas.

Actually, it's more like blaming Don Rumsfeld for the way the Iraq War went. In this case I think blame is an unlimited and fungible commodity.

While I agree the decision to add Palin to the ticket was ultimately McCain's, his camp would be better served by publicly revealing the right-wing fundie punks who foisted her on him and insisted she be his running mate. Trouble is, no one in the Republican party has the courage to go after the leaders of that wing, for fear of alienatng "the base."

The boys' club strikes again! Today on Joe Scarborough's show, everyone agreed it was ridiculous to blame Palin for the loss. According to them it was some ex Bush staff people who did a lot of the shopping. And as for the fake Sarkozy call, as they pointed out there is no way that was Palin's fault. The campaign staffers set it up, handed her the phone, she just took the call. It was the staffers who had the responsibility to vet it, not her. They said that all the staffers involved should have been fired immediately.

Our country is celebrating the fact that we elected an African American man yet we are still tolerating blatant sexist attacks on female candidates, even from the mainstream media. Given that women make up over half our population, that is a bizarre kind of progress.

The imagination of the press and the media should have had the same summation with all the trimmings about Bush and Company. But they did not. The media is embedded in a war for five years and can not report the truth. Especially MSNBC with CNBC is embedded in the financial chaos with America now. For me, it looks more and more like a huge tax dollar rip off that goes to a select few.

And, while some of the broadcasting is fresh in my mind, for me, Chris Mathews made an extraordinary display of suck up the other day. My God between Chris Mathews and Olbermann one could remember the Democratic Party cracking up fracturing and in high combat between Hillary, Obama and Howard Dean as failed in their attempts to be successful.

Now, Mathews is swooning over Obama in a flawless campaign with puckering and smooching ass kissing ever seen. This Moring Joe is telling America about the bigger plan and what they know exactly what is happening with this chief of staff selection. I love it when they say “this is what it means�.

Especially, having the side kick of Andrea Mitchell tweaking along graciously politely calmly and knowingly hardwired to Allen Greenspan her husband, former Federal Reserve board chairman filling in MSNBC and CNBC with all the trillion dollar tinkering, no more like making a real mystery that even has Monk rotating and framing with ah ha’s. People, who would be better to cover up the money trail then Monty hall Mitchell and Jekyll Island Greenspan. Here, Obama is measuring the curtains and Andrea is using smoke and mirrors to hide trillions in profiteered taxed money.

What baffles me is nothing even mentioned about who was the chief the staff for Bush? Very laughable, Joe says, this looks like how Clinton started… Huh oh are we going there this soon. Poor Emanuel, does he have the right stuff as Joshua Bolton, he graduated from Stanford Law “Screw�. Remember, On June 13, 2007, the House Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena to Bolton for documents related to the dismissal of U.S. attorneys the House Judiciary Committee voted 22-17 to cite Bolton for contempt of Congress for his failure to produce the documents in response to its subpoena. Hey that does not sound too co-operative is it? Didn’t they talk about being bipartisan doesn’t that mean reaching across the and “sharing� the people documents. That stuff belongs to the American electorate and they have spoken?

Heck, reminds me of the story “Joshua obeyed God at Jericho to begin the Israelite conquest of Canaan. God gave the battle plan and the Israelites acted in faith. Archaeologists confirmed the historical accuracy of the Bible in the ruins of ancient Jericho�. So, is Emanuel going to staff an army to build a wall or tear one down? MSNBC knows exactly whats happening. Not! Ask not what your media can do for you; ask how in hell could Joe miss that stuff? Joe was being creative, just beat shit out of Obama’s decisions right now at the get go.

Couldn't agree more Steve. Apart from all his faults, the primary reason to dismiss McCain as a viable presidential candidate was his choice for Palin. He gambled with the future of the United States, and the world for that matter: only enabling the possibility that she would end up being President was enough to delcare McCain unfit to lead. And if you now hear that she thought South Africa was just a part of the country... man o man.

Profiles of McCain describe him as a gambler, casino and otherwise. He couldn't win without covering his right flank, and he knew it from day one, hence the Palin pick.
After denouncing the likes of Falwell in 2000 and flirting with Kerry in 2004 (among other perceived transgressions), McCain had to curry favor among the GOP "base". Even as the country recoiled from 8 years of Bush/Cheney disaster, he gambled that he could court the xtian right with the Palin pick, but still distance himself from Bush.
He lost that bet.

McCain: The people will vet her.
Bush: I looked into his eyes and read his soul.

The people to the republicans: Take your fucking crap tables out of the white house. We have had enough of "governing" from the gut and your visceral impressions.

it is hard to feel very sorry for Palin given how she seemed to relish making the most scurrilous and vile attacks, but against my better judgment I really am having trouble not feeling twinges of sympathy.

whose fault is it she wasn't vetted?

more important, it is just extraordinary historical revisionism to blame Palin for the loss. the "loss" caused by Palin's many faults and screw-ups is only a loss as measured against the initial heights of Palin-mania. apparently the McCain campaign has forgotten where things stood the day before Palin was named: McCain was drawing crowds in the hundreds and was having trouble raising any money; Obama was drawing tens of thousands and raising tens of millions. Obama was well ahead in the polls and just getting the bounce from a great convention speech. Without a major change in the landscape, McCain was headed to certain and substantial defeat.

In other words, Palin didn't put them in any place that was worse than where they were pre-Palin. Arguably, because there was an initial burst of money and because she drew huge crowds, they were better off with her than they had been before her.

So while it is true that in the end people didn't like her or find her qualified, all that did was undo the positives she had brought initially. It is disingenuous to blame Palin for losing the race when McCain was losing before Palin was ever mentioned.

The GOVERNOR of a state bordering Canada and she know nothing about NAFTA.

That's breathtaking.

Our country is celebrating the fact that we elected an African American man yet we are still tolerating blatant sexist attacks on female candidates, even from the mainstream media. Given that women make up over half our population, that is a bizarre kind of progress.

Using Palin's ineptitude as a candidate and comparing it to the successful and historic one waged by a black (or, more accurately, mixed-race) man is an absurd analogy.

There were more than a few Republican women out there who would have been perceived as competent running mates, even though one may have disagreed with their stands and policies -- Kay Bailey Hutchison, Christine Todd Whitman, and even some who only go by two names.

Palin isn't being attacked in retrospect because she's a woman -- she's being attacked because she never should have been on the ticket in the first place, and would not even have been considered had it not been for a few wealthy social conservatives who exert undue pressure on the GOP hierarchy.

The entire Republican Party bears responsibility. McCain allowed himself to be talked into the choice of runningmate, whoever was ulitmately behind the decision, the Republican Party enthusiastically supported the choice. All wrapped up, its the Republican Party's responsibility. It goes beyond funny. They profoundly placed thsi nation in grave danger by putting Palin on the ticket. They need to answer for that.

My understanding is that the shopping spree went beyond the $150,000. It sounds like her own staff charged tens of thousands of dollars on their personal charge cards at her direction and now want to be reimbursed. I've also heard many of the clothes are missing. I don't feel an ounce of pity for Sarah palin. She's a parasite, an opportunist. She peddled in hate and division. Thankfully her claim to fame will be as a momentary national joke. Politically, she's finished.

The GOVERNOR of a state bordering Canada and she know nothing about NAFTA.~ That's breathtaking.
Posted by: Virginia

In fairness to Governor Palin, there are three whole countries in NAFTA. Also.

ENOUGH...I wanted to never here her name again when this election was decided. Don't care who blames her or what she did...put it into a file and stick it away somewhere if she surfaces politically to threaten us again. Do I delight in thinking these stories are true (now that we are SAFE)? Of course...but it's enough. Interesting listening to irate callers on WJ (why do I do it?) this morning blaming DEMOCRATS for heaping on Scarah...guess she notice that it was FAUX NEWS that was shoveling the shite! HA...

It's hard not to watch this trainwreck play out -- in fact, I suspect it'll get worse -- but to reemphasize a point from a week ago, there's a limit to how much McCain's team can blame Palin. No matter how successful they are in trashing Palin, it's still McCain who ends up holding the bag -- he picked the "whack job" to be one 72-year-old heartbeat from the presidency, without any serious vetting. Even if all of the dirt we're hearing now is true, and I suspect it is, it doesn't explain why McCain thought it was twise to put someone some obviously unqualified on the ticket.

To blame Palin is to blame McCain. If the campaign was her fault, then the campaign was his fault.

This is all ultimately meaningless. It is hard to decide whether I am more bored by the dreary predictibility of it all or delighted by the sense of justice as we see the Republican habits of character assassination turned on each other.

"Will someone tell me just what exactly it is that a VP does.?"

Seems it wasn't just Sarah who didn't know the answer.

By picking Sarah, John made it clear that he was clueless about the role of a qualified VP.

If he never talked to her, never vetted her, how on earth was she ever a "good" choice?

George had the good fortune of having the head of his VP search committee deciding that he would be the best VP (Cheyney).

The flaw is in the process, the inability to even comprehend the role of a VP, hence the derailment.

Yeah, Sarah drew crowds, but she never was John's running mate, just eye-candy.

I gotta give the Fox host credit here: he corrects the reporter's/McCain campaign's mistaken interpretation that it was Lehman's collapse that pushed Obama into the lead, when in fact McCain's post-convention lead started melting almost immediately and Obama permanently took the lead around the time of the Couric interview.

McCain's national political career is finished. If he wants to bring Palin -- who has been touted by various crazy people as a possible 2012 pick -- down with her, I'm delighted.

Decent, loyal Americans were horrified at the notion of this winking twit a feeble heartbeat from the Presidency. Now, on top of that, she has the stigma of being a loser, which is intolerable to Republicans.

P.S. I fully expect Palin's supporters within and without the McCain campaign to turn around and say even nastier things about McCain and/or his closest advisors. Just how long it will continue going back and forth is anyone's guess.

Man I am loving this!!!!!!!

A lot of us on this forum, in discussing the possible VP selection of Palin, cogently argued that she would be a fool's paradise. Her ongoing investigations were well known. Her lack of experience was easily surmised. I called her Sarah the Unready from day one. We all placed bets that she would be off the ticket by Labor Day. And yet, there is still a collective shrug of the shoulders when assessing her candidacy? "No one could have forseen." "The briefings warning about Palin were historical and not contemporary."

P.S.: And it is not sexist blasting her. She is an equal opportunity tyrant. She deserves derision. It was earned though her years of apathy in school and in government.

Fox News trashing Palin reminds one of the Cold War Soviet Union when there would be an announcement that a member of the Politbureau had been transferred to a low ranking post in Siberia.

Don't forget though that if a republican tells another republican something, they must take it at face value. So, if a republican blames Palin for John McCain's downfall, then all other republicans must believe it. Or at least say they do. We can point out the folly of picking her in the first place, but the rank and vile of the republican party will blame her and her alone.

I believe this will be used as a way to minimize the rightwing nutjobs in the party and get them to fall back in line. Remember, the GOP is about money first. And they'll gladly use God to get it. But, those in real power will never let the God people take over. Palin's flameout is the corporatist GOP's insurance policy against ever having to bend so far toward the religious right again.

I think that many young and eager Republicans perceive post-ticket Palin as possible pre-ticket Palin and therefore want to get rid of a competitor.

Framing her as slightly stoopid will work perfectly for this purpose. I don't think there was anything to the republican "gotcha" accusations during the campaign. But I would predict that - should the stupid-label stick - there will be plenty of gotcha next time she enters a national stage.

Therefore these few post campaign days decide her future.

Saint Zak is right. McCain is done, Palin still wants to be president. She was obviously looking out for herself from day one, so why shouldn't she bear the "blame" for her share of the Republican meltdown? McCain was a fool to pick her, but it's her judgement that will be at issue in the future, not his. Don't buy into her storyline that McCain's aides are bringing her down - she did that herself, and hopefully most of the country will still remember in four or eight years

Forgive me, but I LOVE to read about Sarah Palin. It provides all the guilty pleasure of reading People magazine, but with a sheen of legitimacy because, after all, she was running for public office and was not a hollywood star...yet.

I can't wait for the comments about how stunningly boring and stupid Todd is. Reporters need to go on vacation with this one and abandon any pretense of maintaining journalistic standards.

Really, it'll be fun.

"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely"

Don't feel sorry for either of them. They both sold their souls for a shot at power. Reasonable people saw the mistake immediately, others needed to hear her talk her way into oblivion. Palinaroundwithterrorits reaped what she sowed. McAce too. The GOP also deserves a lot of the discredit for this fiasco having lemminged themselves for eight years as their chosen demigod destroyed the wealth, resources, and good will of this Republic for all the world to see.

Morning Joe is culpable as is Fox Noise and the rest of the pseudo journalists that bent over backwards to convince America what a wonderful pick she was. It wasn't until she opened her mouth that the real truth was made audible. The train wreck known as Mccain/Palin should send a very clear signal to the Joe Scarburos that their party is like skunk perfume
and each of it's membership should be given a hand mirror to illuminate the culprits.

The mean-spiritness shown by these bozos is just beginning. First they'll skin Palin and then move on to Barrack. It won't be fun to witness but it will be interesting to see how Obama handles it. Hang onto your collective hats. I'm betting on Obama to return the favor threefold...

Spending a few moments behind enemy lines, I noticed O'Arrogantone hyped this story, then tried to dismiss Cameron's report. "Buying spree, oh, Tut Tut, much about nothing" and such.

However, will FAUX cover the Grand Opening of the new thrift store in Wasila, that being the Nieman-Marcus Thrift Outlet? Photo op for Sarah cutting the ribbon before cleaning out the safe.

McCain has already "gotten his reward" by having his head handed to him on an electoral-vote platter; I imagine it'll now be the republicans screaming for the abolition of the Electoral College (getting whacked by 147 Electoral votes---with Missouri, North Carolina, and a portion of Nebraska still uncalled---isn't what anyone would call a "nail-biter").

And yes---it "is" McCain's fault. He picked her; he blew off the concerns about adequate vetting; he went for Palin for one reason, and one reason only---to try and lock in the disgruntled Hillary vote. I've even heard that a lot of the money that went into the post-primary sites such as Hillary44-dot-com came from GOP donors; maybe even from the RNC and the McCain campaign themselves.

But---there's something else here that I don't see too many picking up on, and it's that the GOP "old guard" is just now waking up to the Pandora's Box that is Sarah Palin. They've handed the theo-xenophobes (the theocratic rendition of the neoconservatives) their focal point, and the religious wingnuts are now recognized as a threat to the Party's continued existence. That comes with a good point and a bad point---the good being that the GOP might have crippled itself for the next quarter century; the bad being that the GOP might become America's version of the Taliban.

Consider, for a moment or three, what Palin could very well represent: A coalition of hate-the-Staters (the AIP being just one small example), the extremist militia organizations and white-supremacist groups, and the hardcore-Right religionists. You put these all together under one tent, and you've got several million very angry, gun-toters with a road-rage mentality. They're a great big puddle of gasoline---and they only need a match to go boom.

I've got a sneaking suspicion that the McCain people have figured out---and isn't it just like the cavalry to show up too late---that Palin is that match....

Interesting times - As an African-American begins his trip to 1600 Penn, Sarah thinks Africa is a country.

Actually, it's more like blaming Don Rumsfeld for the way the Iraq War went. In this case I think blame is an unlimited and fungible commodity.

Perfectly put.

I'm also 100% with Saint Zak. It's imperative that Palin's political reputation is incinerated to the point that the thought of putting her in the White House is a source of shame and ridicule.

There may be a day where she takes a seat in the House next to Michelle Bachmann (another fascist whack job), but at least there she can be contained.

The thought of her in the oval office sends shivers down my spine.

I swear, someday history will look back at the last eight years and this election and realize how close this country came to falling into the Abyss.

You're missing the point. The corporate cons are desperately trying to drive a stake through the heart of the Sarahccuda to prevent Huckabee/Palin 2012. Dr. Frankenstein, meet your monster. The idiots still think they can control this thing. They should just give up and become Democrats, as most of the corporatists are there already.

Steve W. -

I hear ya, Bro. (shiver)

Palin was picked for only one reason - Her Pro-Life stand - The stupidity by McCain's staff was in believing they could slip a Pro-Lifer past the women supporters of Clinton, simply because she was a female.

The other stupidity of the McCain staff was relying on vetting by the NRO - Palin became the darling of the NRO when she accompanied many of their staff on an Inland Passage cruise to Alaska, a couple of years ago. They became mesmorized by her and they were the ones who pushed her into the national scene.

McCain's homework concentration was no better than one attending 6 schools. Put this into a aviating analogy and McCain learned just enough about her to take off, but, he never learned how to land, especially, when she kept trying to hijack the plane.

There's plenty of blame to spread, but the buck's gotta stop somewhere. McCain's mentor Saint Ronnie once said "Trust, but verify," yet McCain blindly accepted his handlers' insistence that Palin was a good pick. Didn't take the time to investigate her qualities himself (excrpt of course for that lecherous stare at her "qualities" AFTER she got the gig), couldn't use the Google to find news reports on her ethical problems, the rape-kits, the lies, the per diem etc. And after doing his homework, he had to continue to insist this decision was sound, that Sarah was, like, the best Veep candidate evah. It all speaks to his (lack of) judgment. It all speaks to his intellectual ambivalence. Shooting from the hip is rarely a good idea; you better be a hawk-eye, and McMaverickety is no hawk-eye. Palin's a dullard, but McMaverickety insisted she wasn't. If these Newsweek reports were accurate, that means he lied to us - all of us, whether we were for him or not - again & again & again. So when McMaverickety makes the talk show rounds, trying to salvage his good name, don't forget the lies, the shameless pandering. Those that will interview him will never bring it up, or at least not seriously. There will be a little joke at her expense & McMaverickety will smile & change the subject. Those that want to believe in the Myth of the Maverick will accept his post-election speeches as some sort of mea culpa, and wistfully wax nostalgic, "showing flashes of the maverick America loved" crap. It's up to us to remember & re-tell. McCain lied to America about how qualified Palin was. He lied repeatedly. This monster was probably gonna get a national platform eventually, but McCain catapulted her there. He did it. "THAT one" did it. Let that be his political epitaph.

I'm with Alex Kirby. Let it all hang out. The woman didn't know that Africa is a continent? Matanuska-Susitna Community College should be ashamed.

Trash her. Trash her good.

McCain is a goner. He no longer matters. He is politically dead.

Palin still matters.
Keep this in mind: The Kristol-meth part of the GOP wants to recycle her for 2012.

Anything that helps ruin her is fine with me.
I want to see her bagged, dumped, and buried.
I don't want this fetid creature near the Presidency ever again...

The GOP base lost this election. If the ticket had been Romney / Huckabee, smarter and slicker, they would've lost too because their base demands pandering and their world view is so extreme and dysfunctional. No GOP ticket can satisfy them and at the same time look reasonable to the other nine tenths of humanity. But, Republicans want to spend next 4 years holding everyone in their shrinking world except the real culprits accountable I say let 'em. It will be that much longer before they're relevant again and able to threaten our peace and prosperity.

Of course, every complaint the McCain team has about palin just reveals how reckless and incompetent he was to pick her.

McCain / Palin embodied the modern Republican Party ... and lost.

I guess when you're busy watchin' for Putin to raise his head you can't be readin' all that geeky minutia about whether "Africa" is a continent or a 70's hairdo.

And really, how many "real Americans" know that Africa is a continent? Talk about a gotcha question!!!

SARAH PALIN 2012

hey, BernieO, dishing dirt on palin does not constitute "sexist attack." she is a politician who put herself forward for the second highest (with an obvious eye to the highest) office in the land. people have a right to know who she is, what her actual knowledge is and what her behavior has been. palin being revealed for who and what she is should have been done BEFORE the election. my complaint is we are only finding this out now, after we dodged the bullet.

does anyone believe that had her ignorance with regard to NAFTA and africa come out at the time it was learned by, oh, say, carl cameron that mccain would have done even as well as he ultimately did?

to say that people "don't like" sarah palin because she is a woman is absurd. people don't like sarah palin because she is a grasping political animal who has a desire to achieve dominance for a very narrowly held agenda that is anathema to what this country is about. mccain and his enablers are the ones guilty of sexism, believing that they could shield her from scrutiny by screaming "sexism" if anyone tried to question palin's qualifications or knowledge.

Yep, bottom line is McCain picked her without really knowing her at all. If that's how he makes decisions, we should all be thankful that he isn't going to be president. Very thankful.

As for Palin's future, we can only hope that Republicans nominate her in '12.

If, God forbid, Senator McCain passes on anytime in the next four years, all of the media will be one solid block of "A Nightmare Avoided" stories.

"Anything that helps ruin her is fine with me.
I want to see her bagged, dumped, and buried."

I agree she should be taken out with the trash.

However,why we should be careful what we wish for:
Palin is seen by the base as their savior and at the same time her incompetence and ignorance is staggering. Palin has a snowballs chance of ever rising up GOP ranks now that the party is effectively broken. I for one, hope the base aggressively pushes her onto the GOP. We have little to fear from her now . A real threat would be an intelligent, articulate spokesperson for their cause that could pull both factions together once again. More along the lines of a Huckabee. (Not that I think he's intelligent, just not as brain retarded as Palin).

I hope that fucking ignorant, mean spirited moron is never heard from again.

Here's something I just thought...Remember how people were concerned that Hillary Clinton tarnished her legacy with that whole bizarre descent into populism during the later primaries?

I think it's safe to say that after the joke that was Palin, Clinton has no need to worry about her legacy as the First Legitimate Female Candidate for The Executive Office.

Former aid to Nixon, Ford and Reagan was on the BBC trashing Palin. He was very eloquent in doing so highlighting her ignorance and blind ambition and the moment after McCain's concession where she started moving towards the mic but stopped short and walked away. He saw this as her ungracious exit from the world stage. The BBC reporter said "but she wants to run in 2012?" He replied along the lines of "Vapid people that can make a speech that excites a crowd generally overvalue their worth. She's finished."

The polls all show what anecdotal evidence tells me. Palin turned off the voters int he middle McCain needed to win. The rightwigers will say it was the economic meltdown that did it. McCain could have survived that if Palin wasn't his VP.

Thank god for Palin!

... yet we are still tolerating blatant sexist attacks on female candidates, ...

This is something I've never, ever understood. How is calling someone stupid, uninformed, overambitious, dishonest, greedy, and scheming "sexist"? Which of these things is alleged to be specific slights against women?

I mean, you may disagree with the criticism, and you may even think it's unfair, "elitist", or whatever else, but how in the world do you get "sexist" out of all that?

Blame Palin? Blame McCain? I think the Republican Party is clearly to blame. They lost their way starting with Newt Gringrich and his contract on America. The Bush administration has been about tearing up the constitution, taking away personal liberties, and trillions in debt. Now they're shooting the messenger.

Thank god for Palin!

And thank god for her cadre of indefatigable supporters. Michelle Malkin, Ace of Spades, and RedState are on a campaign to not only build her up as a candidate for 2012 -- but RedState has even started "Operation Leper" to marginalize anyone in the McCain campaign who says anyone bad about her.

They're making a list and checking it twice!

This should help fracture the Republican Party nicely.

Man am I getting sick of hearing any negative of palin is an anti-woman sexist hit ! Get real .. she deserves all scrutiny anyone runing should get ! She was so dumb the mccain camp had to make sure she never had a legitimate interview ... it showed how lame john mccain was on making decisions and the voters responded ! Believe me I did'nt want obama as president ... but what choice did we have ... his view on wealthy tax breaks and palin sunk that atiquated old man and his run for president ! I'm a pure republican ... but I could NOT vote for them and did'nt !!!!

In fairness to Governor Palin, there are three whole countries in NAFTA. Also.

Yep. If only she were a citizen of a country that bordered both the other countries in NAFTA, she would have been set.

Oh, wait.

Yesterday, Limbaugh referred to fox news as the liberal media. Napalm is in the air over Wingnuttia. How sweet it is.

I don't think there was anything to the republican "gotcha" accusations during the campaign.

This "explanation" only impressed the very gullible, though. Think about it - the only way "what newspapers do you read" is a "gotcha" question is if Palin didn't want people to know that she doesn't read anything, and Couric tricked her into revealing it. Is that seriously what Palin's supporters are suggesting?

Sarah Palin proved herself to be a vicious, malicious, lying thug who was willing to enthusiastically embrace and incite hatred and violence in order to gain power. She demonstrated a shocking, arrogant ignorance. In public office she had a record of incompetence, negligence, fiscal mismanagement, corruption, ideological extremism and vindictive abuse of power.

Sarah Palin is, in fact, evil. She is the poster girl of American fascism. She must never, ever, ever attain to national office.

The propagandists of the fake, phony, trumped-up pseudo-ideology known as "conservatism" in America today raised up this little devil to the threshhold of power for their own self-serving greedy ends. It didn't work. If they now want to discard her to the rubbish heap of political history, then I say let them have at it.

RedState has even started "Operation Leper" to marginalize anyone in the McCain campaign who says anyone bad about her.

EXCELLENT. The more the far right reveals its true Mafia/Stalinist nature, the better for the rest of the country.

Yesterday, Limbaugh referred to fox news as the liberal media.

EXCELLENT. If the wingnuts are all lurching that far into extremism, well, see previous comment. :)

I'm a pure republican ... but I could NOT vote for them and did'nt !!!! ~ Posted by: WES

I've got some bad news for you. In the crucible of this last election cycle, what it means to be a Republican has been distilled down to it's essence. You might think that you're pure, but your words here betray an independence that won't be tolerated in the age of Palinism. Rejected. Also.

Remember who was most responsible for the Palin pick: McCain originally wanted Joe the Traitor, or maybe Tom Ridge, Mitts, etc. But theocrats and neocons shot that down, threatening to withdraw support from such a ticket. They had been grooming and promoting Palin for months. It's hard to say how "impulsive" McCain's own second choice was, versus being lobbied by them, but that's where he went after the rebuff.

Most atrocious, even after such outsider and insider excoriation, the same folks (see trumpeting by wretched Ann Coulter just now) still consider her "The One" and prod her to more action and continued visibility. What that tells us ...

A friend told me that on one of the morning shows (Morning Joe, maybe) the consensus was that Stevens will be forced from his seat in the Senate and Sarah Palin will run for the job and win. She still has very high approval ratings in Alaska.

So, perhaps we haven't seen the last of Sarah. God help us all.

When McCain said that the "failure is mine" in his rather excellent concession speech, he was clearly talking about his pick of Palin. He was right.

Heh, "Kristol-meth part of the GOP" - good wordsmithing, koreyel.

I note this statement with amazement, and it doesn't seem anyone else mentioned in comments:
"It noted that as late as Tuesday night, Palin was pushing to give her own speech before McCain's concession speech."
Holy crap, WFT?

Everybody is blaming McSame for not vetting Failin' Palin.
Has anyone ever thought about the possibility that he actuall *DID* vet her and thought she was perfect for the job?
My point being that McSame actually DID NOT want to become president after the MORON that we have in the WH right now - that he WAS AFRAID but DID NOT DARE to admit that he did not want to run/win the presidency?
Did anyone even consider the possibility that McSame actually *won* what he set out to do - to lose the race?
Just food for thought...

So, perhaps we haven't seen the last of Sarah. God help us all.

The more exposure she gets, the more familiar with her and everything about her the vast majority of Americans become, the more remote her 2012 chances become.

Bring on the harsh light of day, I say.

You can trash Palin all you want, but she has more experience in her little finger than Obama has in his entire body. How are our American troops going to salute a so called Commander in Chief when he has no experience at all about war, military, government and on, and on. He was elected for one reason and one reason only. His color.....

The more exposure she gets, the more familiar with her and everything about her the vast majority of Americans become, the more remote her 2012 chances become.

Bring on the harsh light of day, I say.

I agree, except the people of Alaska love her. She isn't finished. She may never be president, but she'll have a job in the Senate forever.

He was elected for one reason and one reason only. His color.....

So, you can't think of any other reason.

That says everything about how seriously your opinions need to be taken.

I agree, except the people of Alaska love her. She isn't finished. She may never be president, but she'll have a job in the Senate forever.

Well, until she's indicted on corruption and ethics charges, just like her predecessor. Her home-town popularity won't matter then.

I love all of these armchair quarter backs. I forget to say in my last comment, he isn't black, he is milk choclate since he is mixed. I have never seen so many blacks standing in line to vote, so it is obvious it isn't his ability it is his color. They ask one guy standing in line to vote who was obama's opponent. He didn't know. Plain as the nose on all of those political faces out there. God help us.....

How are our American troops going to salute a so called Commander in Chief when he has no experience at all about war, military, government and on, and on.

Because they took an oath to do so, jackass. In this country the military answers to the civilian government, not the other way around.

Um, guys? The election is over. McCain is done.

If they want to focus on trashing Palin, sounds good to me. I dont want her ever to assume an office higher than governor of AK, so I'm perfectly happy to let the McCain camp trash her while we focus the trashing on *her*.

Everything Mr. Benen says is accurate, but given that McCain is now politically impotent (while Palin still has a possibility for future redemption), I want as much focus as possible on why Palin was bad - not why McCain was bad for choosing her.

Remind us again of who Carl Cameron's wife is? I know she worked on the Bush Campaign but I can't recall her name. I just remember Cameron fawning all over Bush the Lesser and mentioning his wife working for the campaign.

I wonder if she's the source or a pipeline from the source in this "scoop."

"...publicly revealing the right-wing fundie punks who foisted her on him ..."

Isn't it clear it was Kristol?

"...we are still tolerating blatant sexist attacks on female candidates..."

Um, no. Not even close.

To call a stupid clueless person a stupid clueless person is NOT sexist merely because that person is a woman.

That's kind of like saying attacking Ann Coulter for being a rabid, hate-spewing mouth breather is sexist.

Here's what's sexist: calling any appropriate criticism of a woman "sexist." It is truely demeaning of women to hold them to absolutely no standard of accountability. That's putting us on a pedestal, not dealing with us on the ground, as equals.

The truly sad thing about those McCain advisors, isn't the lack of help for the run to the VP, but, in blocking her Miss Congeniality of the Election award.

But, the best photo of the day was McCain having to drive one of his vehicles with Lindsay Graham riding shotgun. All Secret Service personnel were pulled.

"The corporate cons are desperately trying to drive a stake through the heart of the Sarahccuda to prevent Huckabee/Palin 2012."

You wish. Huckabee is too smart to put Palin on a ticket with him. He's wrap up the fundies all by himself and he'd put someone from Ohio or Florida on the ticket, I would think. Portman,, maybe, or Crist.

Huckabee, smart, quick, with a great sense of humor, is THE single most dangerous fundie in America.

BernieO: The boys' club strikes again! Today on Joe Scarborough's show, everyone agreed it was ridiculous to blame Palin for the loss. According to them it was some ex Bush staff people who did a lot of the shopping. And as for the fake Sarkozy call, as they pointed out there is no way that was Palin's fault. The campaign staffers set it up, handed her the phone, she just took the call. It was the staffers who had the responsibility to vet it, not her. They said that all the staffers involved should have been fired immediately.

Fine, take all those things off the table. And take the McCain/Palin loss off the table, too (as I agree that she didnt cause the loss. She hurt more than she helped, but they'd have lost either way).

She still did plenty enough things to show that she's horribly unfit for high office. That's not sexism.

I mean, while I'm no Hillary fan, she's clearly WAY WAY WAY more suited to high office than Palin. Hillary would never have created a debacle like the Couric interview, as one small example.

See? If I compare a woman to a woman, it's unquestionably not sexism, right?

Gregory, you will wonder who the jackass is in a few months. You actually made me laugh. Nice going.....

Matters not the lack of military service, our military will salute their new Commander-in-Chief.

However, this may well mark a shift in achieving the White House. Following, the Civil War, military experience was a prerequisite for becoming President. Following WWII, much the same. However, starting in '72, military experience became less of a factor. George McGovern was a decorated military combat pilot, lost, although to a vet. GWHB, the former Navy combat pilot, lost his second bid to a non-military person. Bob Dole, badly wounded in combat, was defeated, by the same non-vet. McCain, well, you know the drill.

Times; they are a changing. Waving the "bloody flag" has passed.

Yeah, Crossfire, fifty six percent of the voting whites looked at him and, collectively, said, "Why, he looks just like us".

Took me a long time to come to the table, but, when I looked and heard our new President-Elect standing tall and speaking with eloquence in Grant Park, I saw an intelligent, decent and compassionate leader, who, just happened, to be a man of color. When, I heard Senator McCain giving his eloquent concession speech, I saw a man whose time has passed him by, and, who, happened to be a Caucasian. Color matters NOT.

On a previous thread, I wrote that I agreed with another commenter that Palin's "ditziness is pure schtick."

I retract those comments...

Remember Rupert Murdoch's meeting with Hillary Clinton?

We know that Fox News personnel get talkingn points every single day from the top of Fox.

Could it be that Rupert's changing direction? Now that ReThugs are in the wilderness for at least a couple of years, will we see a change in Faux News?

Shepherd Smith has been standing up. Will we see Bill O get the heave-ho? Wouldn't that be fun!

You actually made me laugh.

The fact that you find the quaint notion of civilian control of the military, and the military honoring its collective oath to obey the Commander in Chief, amusing says all that needs to be said about you. We don't need to wait months -- we know who the jackass is right now.

I have never seen so many blacks standing in line to vote, so it is obvious it isn't his ability it is his color.

Right - because if one black person agrees with another black person, it must be because they're both black, and no other reason.

Blacks make up about 12% of the population, and Obama got 56% of the voting electorate. but it was all about color.

Like Gregory said - we hardly need to wait around to see who the jackass here is.

It's over, we won, they lost. As a first step toward the inclusiveness President-elect Obama seems to me entirely sincere about fostering, could we dial back the schadenfreude just a bit?

As a first step toward the inclusiveness President-elect Obama seems to me entirely sincere about fostering

Sorry, Lucia, there's no value in "fostering inclusiveness" towards an unabashedly racist jackass who ponders military insubordination to Obama as Commander in Chief with barely concealed glee.

You would have a point saying "don't feed the trolls," but "crossfire"'s opinions have no place in American society.

Of course, he/she/it knows it -- hence the phony bravado. And yes, it makes me enjoy the schadenfreude all the more.

It's over, we won, they lost. As a first step toward the inclusiveness President-elect Obama seems to me entirely sincere about fostering, could we dial back the schadenfreude just a bit?

Up to a point, of course. I've talked to a lot of McCain folks over the past few days, and they seem to be genuinely interested that things turn out alright. They want Obama to be a good president, one who will be inclusive of their interests as well as those of Democrats, and I think they'll get their wish. The point is that most conservatives I've talked to really are on board with the whole moving-forward-together thing, and I think that's wonderful, and I welcome it.

Unfortunately, not everyone is as decent and mature as this, and we're going to have to deal with sore losers like "Crossfire" for a while. I see that more as their choice than ours.

Hilary would never been asked the same type questions as Palin was asked. Remember the media has always been in the Dem tank

Hilary would never been asked the same type questions as Palin was asked.

Can you imagine anyone in the press corps asking Clinton what newspapers she reads to keep herself informed? Or what she thinks of the Bush Doctrine?

Er, yes. I can, actually.

Remember the media has always been in the Dem tank

Don't say "in the tank" - it's campaign-speak for "I don't think for myself". Unless that's something you want people to know, I mean.

BernieO:

"Our country is celebrating the fact that we elected an African American man yet we are still tolerating blatant sexist attacks on female candidates, even from the mainstream media. Given that women make up over half our population, that is a bizarre kind of progress."

We women are now running for all sorts of political offices, as well as being represented at the highest ranks of power in the corporate world. As such, we can expect to take criticism. To demand immunity from criticism is the worst kind of reverse-sexism.

Consider Palin and H. Clinton. Worlds apart in every way that counts. I supported Obama over Hillary, but had Hillary been the nominee, I would have supported her and worked for her. As a white woman, 62 years old, I preferred Obama because I see him as a transformative person, and Hillary, intelligent and qualified as she is, is not transformative. If Obama governs as he ran his campaign, with civility and inclusiveness toward all, my hope is that he can bring about the beginning of much greater civility worldwide. Imagine a world where leaders sit down and at least listen to each other with civility, rather than being the first to wave weapons around. We may be on the verge of such. Hillary would not accomplish this, nor would any politician besides Obama who is present on the national stage today.

Palin deserved to lose because of who she is, and the attacks upon her are warranted, including those concerning her totally inappropriate wardrobe costs. A man spending that amount of money on wardrobe would also be heavily criticized. Remember Edwards' $400 haircuts.

Bottom line: if we women want to be in Harry Truman's kitchen, we DO have to take the heat!

Remember the media has always been in the Dem tank

Bullshit. How can one "remember" something that isn't true? Would this be the same media that is owned by giant multinational corporations, including GE?

Yes, yes -- you "remember" it because conservatives have made it an article of faith, accepted through endless repetition rather than critical reasoning.

it's campaign-speak for "I don't think for myself".

And so, I might add, is "liberal media."

DH Walker, think what you like, it does not matter to me, but all I was trying to say is wake up America, before it is to late. We already have our economy in the toilet, and so many other issues, not all Bush's fault, but alot of it is. He is arrogant and yaha yada.... The only reason people like you get mad and cuss and call childish names is because you can find some truth in my statements. Have a great day

Shorter crossfire: Your demonstration of the falsity of my statements is a tacit admission that they're true!

Moron.

all I was trying to say is wake up America, before it is to late.

Specifically, you were trying to say that you were looking forward to the military being insubordinate to the civilian Commander in Chief because the fact that he appealed to African-Americans is somehow suspect.

Whatever. The fact is, America did wake up, and overwhelmingly rejected the Republican Party, of which you, sadly, are a perfect representative.

Although Palin was a terrible choice--and how could she not known that Africa is a continent--and McCain picked her, we should remember that McCain had nothing but bad choices. Romney? What a bore that would have been. Kay Bailey Hutchinson? She would have been called Hillary lite from day one. Joe Lieberman? As though anybody would be moved by him. Obama is the greatest candidate since FDR, and by the time it came for McCain to announce his veep Obama had him completely boxed in. It was a hopeless choice, but McCain as a man of action was incapable of walking politely to the guillotine.

While it was McCain's choice/mistake/curse to pick Palin, it was also her (wrong) decision to accept. They are both to blame. He and his people did not know what a complete moron she was until it was too late because they didn't do their jobs.

But for Palin to have accepted the offer to be his running mate showed her lack of common sense & intelligence as well as her narcissistic, manipulative and mis-placed ambition.

Poor Sarah was too stupid to realize that she was being used and played. It's always fun to watch a manipulative unscrupulous person being manipulated by another unscrupulous person.

There are so many reasons why she was completely unqualified to be V.P. (and none of them are because she is a woman) which makes McCain completely unqualified to be President for choosing her.

And if all this doesn’t make it obvious that voters made the right choice on Tuesday - the re-election of an 84 year old Alaskan convicted of 7 felony charges to the U.S. Senate (which is both alarming and amusing) makes a political parody of Palin for the frequent references to her extreme popularity as Alaska’s Governor. Even Tina Fey could not have done better with this final hurrah.

DH Walker, think what you like ...

I will.

I think you're a moron.

Thanks!

... is because you can find some truth in my statements.

What statements are those, exactly? The ridiculous ones you stated here? Or are you referring to some other, marginally true statements that you never made?

we should remember that McCain had nothing but bad choices.

I can't agree. Being a "maverick" and all, who couldn't he have picked?

Gregory, I am so glad you enlightened me to what the situation is. Now take off your blinders and see what it really is. All of you can call names, swear, act your age or whatever, it is what it is.

McClown could have made a real effort to persuade Condaliar Rice to be his running mate. That woukd have been a game changer.

The problem was that he was in love with Joe Loserman.

Crossfire: Exactly what ARE you saying? What do we need to wake up to? You've made a few completely silly statements about (nonexistent) liberal media bias, but you haven't been the slightest bit specific about all the scary, ominous stuff.

So, out with it. What are your dire warnings about? Or are you afraid to make a prediction that will completely fail to take place?

Crossfire needs to consult with his pharmacist, and I mean now.

Palin was tossed into a losing game way too late, and asked to do way too much. In a few short days she had to:

* introduce herself to America
* get across her very compelling storyline
* energize a conservative base distrustful of McCain
* learn on the fly how to deal with the partisan national media
* raise funds for a lagging campaign
* provide vitality to the campaign
* draw and inspire crowds the Presidential candidate could not
* and act as the traditional attack dog

Way too much to ask anyone to do in such a short period of time.

How different things would have been if this compelling woman would have been introduced to the American public back during the Spring as an energy expert--which she is. If her first introductions would have been low-key. as a surrogate for McCain on TV interviews, etc. talking about ANWAR and energy, people would have been saying, hey, did you catch that engaging, intelligent, attractive woman on Meet the Press Sunday? instead of their first impression being Tina Fey's "comedy".

How different would people have reacted to her nomination if only they would have had a chance to know her first?

Tony, you are right. She was asked to do too much. Though she did some of it well enough, particularly energizing the conservative base, she ultimately wasn't ready for the big tent. and now her prospects for a national career is in jeapardy. if not ruined. Some, in this morass of hate, will be happy if she disappears altogether. I don't know if all the supposed inside dirt on her is true. I'd like to hear her side before judging her. People seem to overlook that she's done a pretty good job as governor of Alaska. She had an 80% approval rating going into the convention. Anyway, not having a worldly education doesn't make you stupid.

John Court - "...not having a worldly education doesn't make you stupid."

Excuse me? Basic geography is taught in most grade schools. Sometimes people actually look at a thing called "globe" that is a representation of the world, the land masses, the oceans, and what they are called. Some books called "atlases" actually have maps and stuff. You can find them in every library. And there is, of course, Google Earth. Lacking all that, they actually show maps in places like the nightly news and USA Today, a newspaper akin to the Weekly Reader we used to have in the Sunday paper aimed towards young children.

When are we going to value smart, engaged people as leaders? Oh, yeah... something happened a couple days ago...

Now that the election is over it'll be interesting to see where things go and how the country recovers. I wonder how much attention will go to Sarah Palin. How much longer do you think she'll be in the spotlight prepping for a run in 2012? People are still doing videos on her. Good or bad, she's become somewhat of a pop icon.

For instance, I found this video on dressing like Palin:

http://www.mindbites.com/lesson/668-how-to-dress-like-sarah-palin

I don't think they're trashing her in order to blame her for the electoral loss. They're doubtlessly realistic that they would have lost without Palin, too. I think it's a "You'll never work in this town again" thing. She went over the line, whatever that was, and they're punishing her.

As a politician, I think she deserves it. She's too inept to be allowed to succeed. She makes Bush look good. For myself as political junkie, this is like the best of both worlds... Obama is president (to be), yet we still get the dirt from the McCain campaign...

They were not really fair to Sarah. She was cold on the job but learning all the way. Damn media and some politicos were really the pit bulls; just tearing her apart. Barack mickeymouse wasn't too smart either a few years ago. I think she would have made a good politician and she had the advantage of not being crooked.

Palin is getting a dose of bad medicine- the same that she has dished out every since she was vetted for McCain's VP. The way I see it, it's just Republicans doing what they do best- pointing fingers and placing blame on anyone when a problem arises. They disowned Bush, who they elected as President, now that his approval ratings are at an all -time low and turned on Palin when they lost the election. Believe me when I tell you Republicans do not have any plans on supporting her run in 2012. On the bright side, she did get $200,000 worth of new designer clothes, she is due to be a grandmother (again) and she can go back to her town where her "Gotcha's" and "okey dokey" vocabulary are much in tone with the "good ole' boys".