James Fallows focuses on the most important problem: she doesn't care to know.
What Sarah Palin revealed is that she has not been interested enough in world affairs to become minimally conversant with the issues.
Read the whole thing, but I can't resist revealing the end:
A further point. The truly toxic combination of traits GW Bush brought to decision making was:
1) Ignorance
2) Lack of curiosity
3) "Decisiveness"
That is, he was not broadly informed to begin with (point 1). He did not seek out new information (#2); but he nonetheless prided himself (#3) on making broad, bold decisions quickly, and then sticking to them to show resoluteness.
We don't know for sure about #2 for Palin yet -- she could be a sponge-like absorber of information. But we know about #1 and we can guess, from her demeanor about #3. Most of all we know something about the person who put her in this untenable role.
More of the same.
1 comment:
To be fair, she (or, at least, someone who's close enough to her to whisper in her ear) is clearly sponge-like enough to succeed in politics. It took her all of, what, two weeks to go from "VP? What's that?" to full-on lie-about-your-accomplishments, slander-your-opponents Bush rhetoric. Sure, that kind of self-interested learning curve won't do you or me much good, but until someone finds a way to parry it, it'll keep her in office for as long as she wants to be there.
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