I want to draw you a picture. The President of the United States is sitting across the table from the leader of the second most powerful country in the world. An agreement of historic proportions is about to be made – or unmade. The tension in the room is palpable, billions around the world hang on every nuance. The future of the species hangs in the balance.
Then the President glances down. He frowns, trying to focus on…
…the scribbled and sweat-smeared notes scrawled on the palm of his hand.
The world cringes as nuclear missiles fly.
When I first saw this last night, I assumed there was a good chance of this being a spoof. Someone with enough time and a copy of Photoshop. It was only this afternoon when I realized it was all over the net, and that AP and all sorts of trusted outlets were carrying the story.
Pardon my colloquialeze – but Oh My Freaking God.
New York Magazine’s Adam Raymond sums it up:
But then at the Q&A session after her speech, the weird arrived. Palin glanced down at her hand during an answer and it became clear that she had notes written on it (the words “energy”, “budget cuts”, “tax” and “lift American spirits”). Oh brother.
OK, Ms. United States Presidential Hopeful, you want us to trust you when you cannot get through a sixty-minute podium talk in front of a hyper-friendly audience without writing the four most basic topics on your hand? Are you completely insane?
Can we finally put this sad era in American politics behind us? Is there anyone out there willing to defend the idea that this lightweight neophyte hairdo is qualified to occupy the Oval Office?
Someone find Sarah and tell her the bad news. But use small words.
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