The harshest thing Hillary Clinton could come up with about Sarah Palin at a Sept. 6 campaign event at Wagner College on Staten Island was that there was no evidence at the convention in St. Paul to suggest Republicans would “guarantee equal pay for equal work for women.”
“I heard nothing!” she said.
Reporters tried to get Mrs. Clinton to talk about John McCain’s running mate at a tiny press conference after the event, but she refused even to mention Mrs. Palin’s name, saying only, “I am campaigning for Senator Obama and advocating on behalf of the Democratic Party and our positions.”
Stop the presses.
With the McCain campaign running tactical circles every day around the Obama outfit—which has failed, somewhat unbelievably, to come up with even a semi-compelling response to the Palin selection—one might think Mrs. Clinton, to say nothing of her sidelined husband, would be a useful surrogate on the counterattack right about now. Apparently, the Obama campaign does not agree.
“My concern is that I see them as totally reactive right now as opposed to getting out there on their own and saying what the hell they are about,” said Leon Panetta, a former chief of staff to Bill Clinton who has advised Mr. Obama. “They seem to be intimidated by the Palin pick. They seem to be intimidated by how the Republicans are coming at them on change. And you cannot win if you are constantly on defense.”
Mr. Panetta added, “As president of the United States you are going to have to learn how to deal with people you may not particularly like, because if you are trying to get things done, you have got to use everything and everybody that you can to get it done. I do think that they absolutely in this race have got to make use of the Clintons in every possible way, because they need them. He has clearly got some problems out there.”
But wait, there is more...Now, I give you...Palin Panic. Some real gems in this one:
It’s a fact: you can’t just keep up with the gaffes these days.
Joe Biden intimates that Sarah Palin should be more supportive of stem cell research because of her Down’s Syndrome child. Barack Obama commits a meta-gaffe — “lipstick on a pig” – intentionally or unintentionally suggesting that one of his opponents is the pig and the other the cosmetic accent. The big mistake comes on top of an ongoing problem with his tone regarding the GOP vice-presidential nominee: he continually refers to Palin as a mother, an up-and-coming talent, or any number of variations on the theme, all displaying condescending irritation, particularly from someone of his relatively limited experience.
What’s up? Everyone, including me, has their theories. Resentment, disappointment at the sinking polls, and dashed expectations (no run-away race this year) are a few of the more obvious ones.
What is important is that whatever the reason, the lesson of their response should not be overlooked: the Democrats are panickers. As such, one wonders if they are fit for high office.
Obama and his supporters never tire of telling us that we should assess his ability to govern as president by his performance in the campaign. Fine — let’s do it.
Has he shown grace under pressure? Not exactly. Has he controlled his own message? Nope. Did his own personnel pick (the serially obnoxious Joe Biden) set this slow-motion pile up in motion? Yup.
So here’s the rub: Palin has energized the GOP base, driven women and independent voters into McCain’s camp, and flummoxed the MSM, but her greatest accomplishment has been to unveil the Democrats’ true liability.
That basic liability has nothing to do with the fact that they are ultra-liberals and lack credibility on national security issues. Their biggest problem is that they have never led, never managed, never navigated during a crisis, and as a result never demonstrated calm under fire. It is one thing for the GOP candidates to state that in a speech — as many did at the Republican National Convention — but it is quite another to see it being played out before your very eyes.
Like water dumped on the Wicked Witch of the West, Palin’s popularity has melted the façade of professional competence and personal stability which cloaked her opponents’ weaknesses.
Now we can all see for ourselves their executive prowess. When pressured they whimper, whine, and insult.
And now the entire country in the post-Labor Day run-up to the election is watching. It is not a pretty sight. But it very well may be that we are, finally, seeing the real Barack Obama.
BOOHOO....OUCH.
