That may be ok, until a harsh reality check arrives from somewhere, and decisive action is called for.

Grant at Vicksburg left his supply line, and struck into the heart of Mississippi to come at Vicksburg from the east. I see Palin abandoning her “supply line”, to strike into the flank of her/our enemy. As long as she was tied to the governorship, she was like Grant tied to the river. It was only by taking the risk, that she like Grant can win a decisive victory.

A politician, tied to elective office cannot understand why someone would discard such a prize. For she, not impressed by the trinkets of authority, can open her hand to escape the monkey paw trap.

This is not the first time she has done something like this. Her resigning from the commission, striking out into “wilderness” to take on the Republican party in Alaska & run for governor was a similar decision.

Raw Materials.

BL

“The problem you have is that your president’s policies are immensely unpopular.”

Your argument depends on a false premise. Obama’s genius so far has been to let congress craft legislation – his policy priorities are broad and enjoy similarly broad support, and by not advancing specific proposals, he makes no untoward commitments. Every one of his broad policy initiatives enjoys support from a majority of Americans – to claim Obama’s “policies are immensely unpopular” is not just overstating the case, it is a counterfactual narrative.

“Your congress already has historically low approval ratings, and in the coming elections you won’t have a situation where 57% of Obama voters think that the Republicans control congress.”

Congress had much worse approval ratings last year. Climbing back from 14% approval just a year ago is not an easy task, but so far the Democrats are doing a pretty good job under the circumstances.

“Again, they key point here is this: you aren’t here to change our minds, because you haven’t given us a substantive argument on any of these questions.”

You didn’t pose any questions. I’ve provided a substantive and well-cited argument that explains why Palin is not viable as a national candidate, and demonstrated that your arguments regarding Obama’s and Congress’ popularity are self-deception at best. I may not change your mind, but there are some here who still have the capacity to open their mind – and even if I reach just one person, that’s progress.

“Instead, you’re here giving us advice out of the goodness of your heart — specifically, that we shouldn’t support Sarah Palin, because? because? it’s for our own good, not yours? … yeah, right. (is there something in your morning talking points instructions that can explain that?.. I suspect not)”

Yes, I really am here sharing my perspective out of the goodness of my heart – hard as that may be for you to believe. You should support Palin if you think that is the right choice for you – but keep in mind that she’s got a pretty solid track record as a quitter. I think this country is at its best when both parties are relatively healthy. Palin’s prominence in the GOP is a very bad sign for the Republican brand, especially given the complete lack of interest in policy shown by the GOP so far this year.

I’m not telling anybody what to do – you can throw your support to whomever you choose – but blindly supporting Palin is flogging a dead horse, and nobody likes that kind of spectacle. Just thought you should know what it looks like to those of us who live outside the red fog.

Peace.

DS

What are the odds of this “breakdown” happening exactly on probably the most useful day of the year? Because obviously, unless she is a very smart operator indeed, that is a pure coincidence.

The problem you have is that your president’s policies are immensely unpopular. It is only a matter of time before those policies are attached to his own personal polls (IMO this is the reason for the rapid change he has proposed, he needs to get things into place before people realize his true ideology and his popularity reflects their opinion of his ideology). Your congress already has historically low approval ratings, and in the coming elections you won’t have a situation where 57% of Obama voters think that the Republicans control congress.

The above poll shows only that the country becomes more conservative AFTER the elections are finished and the liberals stop pretending to be “moderate” (i.e., after they stop lying).

Again, they key point here is this: you aren’t here to change our minds, because you haven’t given us a substantive argument on any of these questions. Instead, you’re here giving us advice out of the goodness of your heart — specifically, that we shouldn’t support Sarah Palin, because? because? it’s for our own good, not yours? … yeah, right. (is there something in your morning talking points instructions that can explain that?.. I suspect not)

The Democratic Party is the one with ideological balance – you can find plenty of conservative, moderate and liberal voices in the big tent. The GOP, on the other hand, has been seeking ideological purity, and has almost completely alienated anyone outside the “conservative” box.

If you think 4 in 10 voters is enough to win elections, more power to you!

Peace.

DS

PS – Looking at longer-term trends will give you a little better perspective.

“So far in 2009, aggregated Gallup Poll data show the divide on leaned party identification is 53% Democratic and 39% Republican — a marked change from 2001, when the parties were evenly matched, according to an average of all of that year’s Gallup Polls. That represents a loss of five points for the Republicans and a gain of eight points for the Democrats.”

July 7, 2009
GALLUP: Nearly 4 in 10 Americans say their views have grown more conservative. “Despite the results of the 2008 presidential election, Americans, by a 2-to-1 margin, say their political views in recent years have become more conservative rather than more liberal, 39% to 18%, with 42% saying they have not changed. While independents and Democrats most often say their views haven’t changed, more members of all three major partisan groups indicate that their views have shifted to the right rather than to the left.” Hmm. Can this be true?
Posted at 3:34 am by Glenn Reynolds

Virtue.

Water.