In contrast, his potential 2012 opponent chose this moment to deliver an incredibly self-serving, self-pitying and offensive address. That she chose to do so the same day that Obama was to speak is also quite telling.
Ideology aside, can anyone honestly say they would feel more comfortable with Ms. Palin at the helm during a national crisis after yesterday's performance? When the country needed comfort and reassurance, all she could muster was spite and political posturing.
It's okay for the media and the public to share their anger and frustration at they ways they believe our current system may have contributed to this tragedy. But for one who aspires to the top elected position in the land? You need to be bigger than that. You need to seize the moment and make the country feel confident that there are better days ahead.
Obama did that last night. Palin? She blew it. And quite possibly (fingers crossed), may have blown her chances at the presidency as well.
I think what's more important than defining what presidential mean is determining what it means to be a nation. When one party comes out and claims that they're agenda is ensuring the other party doesn't get a second term, who are they serving? They're not — they're self serving.
ReplyDeletePresident Obama's speech was at turns moving, political, and optimistic. It was a good speech delivered by an accomplished orator.
ReplyDeleteThat it buries Palin. Hardly.
Palin's supporters feel she got dragged into this thing. They feel their champion has been unfairly associated with something hideous and that she is the target (pun intended) of a media driven attack. Her choice of words was unwise. But the entire situation in Arizona has been bizarre. Since Saturday, the media circus around the assassination attempt is dizzying.
I fear that, if anything, this has only steeled the resolve of those for her and those against her.
Palin may very well implode or she may fade away. I don't feel this recent epsiode however is her equivalant of the McCarthy Welch exchange that spelled the helped speed the end of the esteemed senator from Wisconsin. Modern American memories are just too short...
good comments. i agree that what it means to be a nation is a big part of it. at some point, the right needs to stop and realize that their actions actually have an impact on people's lives.
ReplyDeleteand AS, i do worry that you may be right, but i am holding out hope that it could be the beginning of the end for palin. her unfavorable ratings are already through the roof and she certainly didn't help her case yesterday.