Yin and Yang

I was very impressed by this comparison by Jack Cashill between Sarah Palin and Barry Obama. I guess "impressed" isn't really the best choice of words because what he says isn't a newflash. But what's impressive is how starkly different these two people are when examined closely and objectively. It really stands out when the two are put side to side.

Of course, for those who actually look and listen to what candidates say and how that matches up with what they do, to so compare candidates is natural. Palin stands easily head and shoulders above Obama. Strip away the marketing and Obama fails to elicit the fawning and adoration of honest lefties over claims of brilliance and heightened intellect. Indeed, without a teleprompter he's a stuttering and stammering buffoon. This, I believe, is the result of trying to convince others of brilliance not truly possessed, of not having a legitimate idea, of a failure of conviction in principles he claims to champion.

Palin, however, is not a product of marketing other than a "what you see is what you get" no frills, no bullshit alternative. She has distinct principles by which she has actually lived her life and thus can speak extemporaneously without stumbling. She is what she claims to be and that is hard to deny. Charges leveled against her intelligence show a decided lack of same by the accuser since anyone who could rise through state politics, even fighting against her own party, can hardly be called a moron by objective, rational people of either side of the aisle. Such charges are simply stupid.

So when you put the two side by side, there is little doubt who the truly smarter person is. Barry has done nothing that shows he's deserving of the adulation given his intellect. There is simply nothing special about it. We could say he was smart enough to not immediately withdraw troops from Iraq, or do trash all the surveillance strategies established under Bush, or to drag his feet on closing Gitmo, but all that stuff doesn't require a doctorate to figure out. But things he has done, such as apologizing all over the world, the bailouts and stimulus packages, his health care reform support (he hasn't offered anything of his own), his removing defense weapons from Eastern Europe, his snubs of Israel in favor of the blood thirsty Pallestinians, etc, etc, etc, all demonstrate an incredible stupidity that should not have been a surprise to anyone who actually looked at who this buffoon was before November 2008.

Is Sarah Palin presidential material? Well hey, after Obama the bar is now really low. But even had he failed to convince anyone he was worthy of the time of day, Palin has at least walked her talk. Is she smart enough? Again, check that bar level. It's way down there now. But even had Barry not sent chills up Chris Matthew's leg (can you say, "dipshit"?), Palin showed enough smarts in her Alaskan efforts that I have no doubt she would have surrounded herself with topnotch advisors.

Would I vote for Sarah Palin? I can't think of a Dem who would be better for the United States of America, and there are other McCains out there that would also be a worse choice than her. I don't know who she might run against in the primaries, should she decide to run in '12. But if she got the party nomination, she gets my vote for sure. Because if she's Barry Obumble's opponent then, we have the bottom line comparison in her favor. She would take the country in the direction first begun by our founders, the direction that made us a great nation. And thus we'd be on track to becoming that great nation once again.