Reply #7: Absolutely. Shine a light and FRAME IT UP! [View All]

[chill_wind]

He boxed himself into a corner. We've got him on the ropes good-- his decision making SUCKS---and we should just let him out without even a bloody nose?

FDL Book Salon Welcomes Sidney Blumenthal: The Strange Death of Republican America: Chronicles of a Collapsing Party
By: Craig Unger Saturday August 30, 2008 2:00 pm

On Sarah Palin:

However impulsive McCain’s choice–and his impulsiveness ought to be a salient issue–she represents a redefinition of conservative Republicanism. She is undeniably attractive personally and clearly a political talent. She is of a younger generation and a woman. She embodies the cultural lifestyle and imperatives in a new way. McCain’s selection shows the need for the Republicans to reinvent themselves: the need for him to unify his party, deal with alienated conservatives and project a new image. This moment is not at all like that of the heyday of Reagan or the first Bush. Whatever the comparisons of Palin and Quayle–and her introduction yesterday was a boffo performance in sharp contrast to his disastrous debut–the Republicans were then on much more solid political ground than they are today. McCain is straining with Palin because of the Republican difficulties. Nonetheless, Democrats really need to learn how to respond adroitly and quickly

On Palin:

My information is that Karl Rove wanted Romney and pushed him. McCain pushed back. He really wanted Lieberman. That was completely out of the question. Palin is the result. One element of the Palin nomination is McCain establishing himself apart from the Bush/Rove political operation, even as his campaign manager, Steve Schmidt, is one of their creatures. From the outside, it’s often hard to figure out how vicious and divided the Republicans can be with each other.

McCain’s impulsiveness in selecting Palin suggests a deeper problem in his decision making process. There’s a pattern. I’d frame it this way: How did McCain get himself into a corner, through a flawed selection process, that he impulsively picked someone about whom he knew very little and who had not been properly vetted? In other words, the question is about McCain’s judgment and temperament.

(bold emphasis mine)


http://firedoglake.com/2008/08/30/fdl-book-salon-welcomes-sidney-blumenthal-the-strange-death-of-republican-america-chronicles-of-a-collapsing-party/