Rav Casley Gera

This starts well:

The election’s over.

Sure, the votes still need to be counted.

And yes, things could radically change over the next two weeks.

But let’s be realistic: Republicans are in a bad spot.

And it’s never too early to start planning for 2012…

So far, so sane. Just the kind of thing the soul-searching the GOP needs to do.

…and a ticket that actually inspires the conservative base.

Uh-oh.

And that ticket is Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber.

Pfffbwahahahaah!

Sure, laugh now. But the main reason the Republican base hasn’t completely ditched McCain is because of Palin and her Jane C-Cup appeal.

Joe the Plumber, meanwhile, has about as much political experience as Palin did four years ago and has immense Joe Six-Pack appeal.

For God’s sake– his name’s Joe! It works perfectly!

It goes on. Once the election’s out of the way, this is going to be one highly entertaining GOP civil war.

Biden wasn’t as loveable as Palin, but he didn’t need to be; Palin wasn’t as competent as Biden, but she didn’t have to be.

"Hey, can I call ya Joe?"

Who won Thursday’s vice-presidential debate? It depends on who you ask. The initial poll, from CNN’s panel of undecided Ohio voters, saw the Democrat Sen. Joe Biden rated as the winner 51-36. But conservatives have been crowing all weekend about the performance of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska. “She was polished, direct, folksy and on message,” said one Republican strategist. Right-wing blogger Michelle Malkin put it more succinctly with a post titled simply, “Sarah Rocks!”

“I would like to see all the Sarah doubters and detractors in the Beltway/Manhattan corridor eat their words,” Malkin wrote. “Sarah Palin is the real deal. Five weeks on the campaign trail, thrust onto the national stage, she rocked tonight’s debate.”

Certainly, Palin’s confidence took the audience by surprise. The internet messaging service Twitter offers a live stream of users’ election-related updates. Before the debate, it was, well, a-twitter with messages gleefully anticipating the meltdown of Palin in the face of Joe Biden’s experience and grasp of the issues. As the debate wore on, they grew increasingly quiet, to be replaced by crowing republicans exulting at Palin’s performance.

So who won? Perhaps the real question is: what does it mean to ‘win’ an electoral debate? [Read more →]

A small boy asleep on his right side, the right arm stuck out, the right hand hanging limp over the edge of the bed. Through a round grating in the side of a box a voice speaks softly.

“The Nile is the longest river in Africa and the second in length of all the rivers of the globe. Although falling short of the length of the Mississippi-Missouri, the Nile is at the head of all rivers as regards the length of its basin, which extends through 35 degrees of latitude …”

At breakfast the next morning, “Tommy,” some one says, “do you know which is the longest river in Africa?” A shaking of the head. “But don’t you remember something that begins: The Nile is the …”

“The - Nile - is - the - longest - river - in - Africa - and - the - second - in - length - of - all - the - rivers - of - the - globe …” The words come rushing out. “Although - falling - short - of …”

“Well now, which is the longest river in Africa?”

The eyes are blank. “I don’t know.”

“But the Nile, Tommy.”

“The - Nile - is - the - longest - river - in - Africa - and - second …”

“Then which river is the longest, Tommy?”

Tommy burst into tears. “I don’t know,” he howls.

-Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

How is it possible to go in one month from this:

To this?

This woman - clearly not entirely stupid - has been destroyed, flattened by a crushing collapse in confidence. This insightful post argues that the McCain campaign’s determination to keep her away from the media has done more harm than good.

She has six days to bounce back and, frankly, I don’t see how she can. All the evidence suggests that those who said after the convention that a winning speech to a friendly crowd does not a capable politican make were dead right.

CNN: On the topic of never letting this [9/11] happen again, do you agree with the way the Bush administration has handled the war on terrorism, is there anything you would do differently?

A: I agree with the Bush administration that we take the fight to them. We never again let them come onto our soil and try to destroy not only our democracy, but communities like the community of New York. Never again. So yes, I do agree with taking the fight to the terrorists and stopping them over there.

POLITICO: Do you think our presence in Iraq and afghan and our continued presence there is inflaming islamic extremists?

A: I think our presence in Iraq and Afghanistan will lead to further security of our nation, again, because the mission is to take the fight over there. do not let them come over here and attempt again what they accomplished here, and that was some destruction. terrible destruction on that day. but since September 11, Americans uniting and rebuilding and committing to never letting that happen again.

- CNN.com - Sarah Palin’s first press meet

Now, look, who Americans elect is none of my business, and I understand that it’s possible to be intelligent without being articulate. But… really.