Eloquence and Tone-Deafness

Eloquence and Tone-Deafness

I can't think of anything to say that remotely approaches the President's eloquence so I'll let him talk.



"Gabby opened her eyes" was a remarkable piece of stagecraft, a Lenny Skutnik moment that permanently raises the bar for speeches like this.

So I feel somewhat small for anything that can be seen as partisan.

But.

Sarah Palin was part of this story whether she wanted to be or not, whether it's fair or not. We all know "targeted districts" does not literally mean "go shoot your congresswoman in the brain." She had a tragic yet real opportunity to, like Obama, elevate the debate, to appear, shall we say, presidential.

Instead, she dropped an egocentric, isolated, tone-deaf, and at times even whiny, vanity video. I mean, good God, even Jan "papers please" Brewer managed to rise to the occasion.

I've been saying "Palin gets nominated, Obama wins 45 2/3 states." I take it back now. She has once and for all proven herself incapable of anything beyond the defensive politics of resentment. She is, in the end, just another "pundint", speaking only to one side of The Great Cultural Divide. Palin is no longer, if she ever was, someone who deserves to be taken seriously, not in the league of a Romney or a Huckabee or even a Pawlenty.

This is the moment that Sarah Palin has, at long last, jumped the shark.