I admit, I haven't been paying too much attention to the Palin train wreck up in Alaska...even when I'm not busy I have better things to do than focus on John McCain's trophy running mate. But like any train wreck, the wreckage invites speculation and analysis.
But not from me. I, like I said, have better things to do. Fortunately there are Republicans like Mike Murphy, who thoughtfully tweeted "It's clear the gubernatorial CHEESE has slid off the CRACKER" in response to Palin's disjointed and exclamation-heavy speech, posted online by her office. You'd think someone would have cleaned it up first, but I suppose the idea of editing is the first to fly out the window during train wrecks. *((Gotta put First Things First))* (For moments when exclamations fail you, there are always double parentheses, with a dab of asterisks for emphasis.)
Democrats, like frequent travelers who knew that stretch of track was weak, can only gape, stunned by the sight despite their foreknowledge. But Republicans provide the most interesting commentary. Mike Murphy calls her "the political train wreck that keeps on giving" in an article he originally titled "Sarah Palin and the Madness of Crowds." Ross Douthat seems to think if she'd only said no when McCain came calling, we'd never have noticed her resemblance to Tina Fey, and she'd still have a promising career. Andrew Sullivan, never a Palin fan, thinks she'd be voted off a reality show in the first round. More importantly, though, he wants to see the Republican party reformed. He wants to fix the track that caused the train wreck.
This is where I come in. I do think there's something fundamentally wrong with the party, and not just with a lone Alaskan governor. The Senate is full of wacky Republicans who can't keep their pants on and vote at the same time. Senators like James Inhofe, who thinks sci-fi author Michael Crichton is (was) a credible climate scientist, and John Ensign, who thought if his parents made eight separate $12,000 payoffs to his mistress and her family no one would find out.
Nobel prize winner in economics Paul Krugman once called the Republican party the "party of stupid." And that was before they nominated Sarah Palin, who fancies herself a foreign policy expert because she can see Russia from her front porch, as their vice presidential candidate. (No doubt he's appalled by the Republican governors who reject Economics 101 along with stimulus funds.) The Economist echoes Krugman, claiming the GOP has lost "the battle for brains" at the same time America is becoming smarter.
It's no wonder only 6% of scientists consider themselves Republicans. Unfortunately, 23% of the general public still does. Unless the party takes the advice of its wise men, like Mike Murphy, I suspect that number too will drop.
It was a Grand Old Party while it lasted, wasn't it?
