David Broder Praises Palin

[Jensen]

I'm sure loads of liberals are more than happy that Palin's become the star and de facto leader of the Republican party.

The old saying, be careful what you wish for...you just might get it seems appropriate here.

I don't think either of us will be jumping on the Palin bandwagon any time soon.

[Jensen]

I'm sure loads of liberals are more than happy that Palin's become the star and de facto leader of the Republican party.

The old saying, be careful what you wish for...you just might get it seems appropriate here.

I don't think either of us will be jumping on the Palin bandwagon any time soon.

Just saying, that she has a decent chance of winning the Republican nomination, and that already puts her too close to the presidency for my liking...even before we consider whether she could beat obama.  It'd take the right set of circumstances, but not implausible, especially considering how things are going now.

I agree and I will oppose her in both the primary and the general if she ever makes it there. I'm far from impressed by Obama but Palin is even more of an embarrassment to this nation than Bush and is someone I consider highly dangerous. I actually question her intelligence. At least with someone like Romney, we know that he is a capable person and knows what he is talking about, Pawlenty as well. Palin is more in the vein of Hitlerian demagoguery and I will not ever sign on to such a movement.

[Jensen]

Moderate,

Judging by her interview with Chris Wallace, her "intelligence" seems fine to me.  Even liberals over at TIME magazine concede that Wallace pushed her hard.  It was the toughest interview I've seen of any politician this year (besides any Chris Matthews interview).  I think a reasonable person would conclude that she came out victorious in her exchange with Wallace.

http://palintv.com/2010/02/07/governor-palin-on-fox-news-sunday-february-07-2010/

She thinks Africa is a country and can't even name a newspaper. She's a loon.

[Jensen]

Then how could she perform as well as she did in the interview that I just linked if that were true?

I'll go with the videotape over a rumor about Africa.  Go ahead and tell me who has had a tougher interview than Palin did with Wallace, except for Chris Matthews interviews.  Not only was it a tough interview but she performed well nonetheless.

That's one interview- it's easy to prepare well for one interview. Palin couldn't even handle the pressure of being Governor of Alaska: how in the world could she lead the greatest nation in the world?

Palin has proven herself, over and over again, to be one big mistake. She represents that which is wrong in the Republican party today. Example: Doug Hoffman endorsement. Rather than help the Republican nominee, she endorsed the theocratic far-right insurgent candidate in an attempt to play herself up with religious fanatics, hurting the Republican in the process and helping the Democrats in the House pass healthcare. So you tell me, now, if you think Palin is good for the nation, good for the party, yet so lacking in necessary qualities such as intelligence, leadership, and patience. There are better Republicans out there, even better conservative Republicans, than Palin.

[Jensen]

How about the 45-minute speech that she did the other day without  a teleprompter?  Notes are dramatically different from a teleprompter, in case you didn't know as a teleprompter feeds you your speech word for word.  You cannot do so with notes unless you keep your head buried in notes for 45-minutes and never look out at the audience.

So pro-life and anti-gay marriage are theocratic positions?  Some polls find a majority of the country as pro-life and as you know, the country still rejects gay marriage by a decent margin.

I don't care about speeches. I don't even find Obama to be a decent speaker, but how well someone speaks is entirely irrelevant to me.

Pro-life and anti-gay marriage are not theocratic positions when taken by themselves, and there are Republicans who are pro-life and anti-gay marriage that are obviously not theocrats. Palin and Huckabee are theocrats by judging their overall ideology and attitude toward religion and its societal role. There is a vital difference.

[Jensen]

So how someone speaks or how someone interviews is irrelevant?  Good to know because Palin is clearly good at the former (RNC convention speech, albeit with a teleprompter, and a 45-minute speech on a variety of topics sans teleprompter) and getting better at the latter (see, e.g., getting the better of a very aggressive Chris Wallace).

I think you misunderstand someone who is very personally religious with whether they would apply religion to the role as commander in chief.

It doesn't cross the line for someone to say they rely on God and put their faith in God.  That's just one's personal faith.   

I don't care how good or bad a candidate is at speaking, talking, giving speeches, interviews, etc. That has nothing to do with it.

Palin couldn't even govern the small state that elected her. How in the world is she supposed to lead an entire nation? Explain away.