Down the Rabbit Whole

Hope the title is not too obscure, but I think I will use this for periodic posts on this bloody election.

I never read David Brooks ... he's such a little creep. The smug arguments for conservatism that just don't add up. But I had to choke my way through his "Why Experience Matters." He's too much of a weasel to admit that the Palin pick was sheer cynicism by a desperate spent man who considers that his own ambition trumps, or at best equates with, his nation's interests. It has been fun to watch the Palin candidacy unravel, notwithstanding how much the media props her up and how much American idiocy cannot see what a danger she represents. But for Brooks to face th obvious ...that his candidate is dessicated ... well, he can't do it. We get this:

Sarah Palin has many virtues. If you wanted someone to destroy a corrupt establishment, she’d be your woman. But the constructive act of governance is another matter. She has not been engaged in national issues, does not have a repertoire of historic patterns and, like President Bush, she seems to compensate for her lack of experience with brashness and excessive decisiveness.

The idea that “the people” will take on and destroy “the establishment” is a utopian fantasy that corrupted the left before it corrupted the right. Surely the response to the current crisis of authority is not to throw away standards of experience and prudence, but to select leaders who have those qualities but not the smug condescension that has so marked the reaction to the Palin nomination in the first place.

I don't see the virtues, but I do see the conservative rejection of someone as callow as this twit. But creepy little Brooks cannot save himself from the gratuitous dump of talking points on those who saw through this choice. The Times should look for someone with a little more integrity. And legitimate conservatives need to figure out some defensible reason why their candidate would actually improve America.

Polls and more polls: It feels like Obama has weathered the Palin storm and he is back up by a couple points in most polls today. My main source of election info is Talking Points Memo, and their Poll Tracker. There's even a poll that puts Obama up by 3 points in Indiana ... and if that holds, it is game over for the former POW. Even better is the 5 point lead Obama has in the CBS/NYT poll.

Long way to go yet, but it may well turn out that Palin was the worst decision of McCain's life, and that the bump in the poll s was more a pimple than a blip.

Project Runway: I don't know why I love this program, but I set aside an hour every Wednesday to watch it. There is no really charismatic character this year, and the two hot gay guys left early. Tonight, the straight guy, Joe, got booted. I admit I was happy. He made a tacky close to anti-gay comment earlier. Like a lot of fags these days, I never forget a gay bait. But at this point, e are down to the strongest candidates. I predict that Suede is the next one to go.