Is Palin a practical joke?

Could it be that McCain is playing a practical joke on the GOP? On the country?

1. The Jed Report writes that "Del Ali, president of the nonpartisan research firm Research 2000," has written a post on Political Wire "arguing that Sarah Palin may prove to be the worst pick ever in modern presidential politics."

He may be right. Read on:

"In fact, as Palin's cultural views become better known -- she opposes abortion in all cases and opposes the use of birth control pills and condom even among married couples -- she will undoubtedly scare the hell out of the soccer moms and 98% of Hillary voters."

I can't confirm that, but click here for more.


2. According to the Associated Press, scientists are warning of a global "tipping point" currently underway. "Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is at its second lowest level in about 30 years."

Mark Serreze, senior scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, says that we're likely to be sliding downward "in terms of passing a tipping point." NASA ice scientist, Jay Zwally warns that in "five to less than 10 years," the Arctic could be ice-free during the summer.

Sea ice is the primary habitat for threaten polar bears.

Sarah Palin argues that "Climate models that predict loss of sea ice ... are unreliable." Sure they are. And Palin, the consumate scientist, would know that!

But then, she doesn't care much for polar bears anyway.


3. In her acceptance speech as McCain's running mate, Ms. Palin noted her opposition to the multi-million dollar bridge from Ketchikan to Gravina, the so-called "bridge to nowhere." Actually, that wasn't quite true.

When she campaigned in Ketchikan in 2006, she promised Ketchikan residents she would deliver on the bridge.

On October 22, 2006, during her race for governor, she responded to a question by the Anchorage Daily as to whether she would continue state funding for the Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges this way: "Yes, I would like to see Alaska's infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now--while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist."

When the bridge became a national joke, her support evaporated, but she kept the money by directing it back into the state's general fund.

A couple of days ago, Alaska's second-largest newspaper, posted an editorial on its website which stated flat out that Palin was not qualified for the office of vice president, and referenced her claimed opposition to the "bridge to nowhere," but also said she kept the money - in other words, the bridge wasn't built but Alaska still got the pork from Washington.

Already we see that Ms. Palin is somewhat challenged by the truth.


4. I love this one from Crooks and Liars. August 10, Karl Rove went on Face the Nation to argue that Barack Obama should not pick Virginia governor Tim Kaine because he's only been a governor for three years. He was merely mayor of the 105th largest city in America, Richmond, Virginia. "So, if he were to pick Governor Kaine, it would be an intensely political choice where he said, 'You know what? I'm really not, first and foremost, concerned with, is this person capable of being president of the United States.'"

So what is Rove saying now about McCain's choice of a "hockey mom" for his vice presidential running mate?


5. This from Americablog. McCain is really impressed by Palin's taking on special interests when she ran for the PTA. This from People magazine:

People: "Sen. McCain, of all the candidates you considered, what drew you to her?"

McCain: "Obviously, I found her to be very intelligent and very well-versed on the issues. But I think the important thing was that she's a reformer. She's taken on special interests since she ran for the PTA and the city council and mayor. The courage, I guess, is what most impressed me."

Right. It takes a hell of a lot of courage to run against other PTA hockey moms!


6. TPM raises another curious issue. "After the allegedly improper firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan ... Palin appointed former Kenai Police Chief Chuck Kopp to the post.

"Kopp served just two weeks this summer as the head of law enforcement in Alaska, resigning on July 25, after a past complaint of sexual harrassment and a subsequent letter of reprimand surfaced in news reports.

"But Palin made sure he had a soft fall from grace, giving him a $10,000 severance package for just two weeks served.

"While Palin has conceded she was aware of the past complaint against Kopp, she claims that she thought the complaint had been unsubstantiated and was unaware of the letter of reprimand."

All of which might make one question her credentials as an administrator. Would she not thoroughly vet her appointee?


7. TPM Muckraker wonders if Palin's earnest desire to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) will affect McCain's opposition to such drilling. Back in June, Palin told CNBC "that McCain was likely to 'evolve' into supporting drilling.

"Earlier this week, McCain told the Standard that he's considering flip-flopping on his anti-drilling stance, and that he plans to talk to Palin about the issue."

TPM Muckraker then quotes "The Institute for Energy Research, an industry-backed group," which "sent out the following message to reporters: 'FYI: John McCain's selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate naturally places ANWR energy production front and center in the policy debate once again..."


7. The New Yorker magazine has an especially interesting piece. "Before she was running against him, Sarah Palin--the governor of Alaska and now the Republican candidate for Vice-President of the United States--thought it was pretty neat that Barack Obama was edging ahead of John McCain in her usually solid red state. After all, she said, Obama's campaign was using the same sort of language that she had in her gubernatorial race. 'The theme of our campaign was "new energy,' she said recently. 'It was no more status quo, no more politics as usual, it was all about change. So then to see Obama--literally, part of his campaign uses those themes ...

"She also noted, 'Somethings kind of changing here in Alaska, too, for being such a red state on the Presidential level. Obama's doing just fine in the polls up here, which is kind of wigging people out, because they're saying, 'This hasn't happened for decades that in polls the D' -- the Democratic candidate - 'is doing just fine. To me, that's indicative, too. It's the no-more-status-quo, it's change.'"

There's much more and you can access The New Yorker here.


8. Sarah doesn't know what a vice president does, but occasionally a vice president is involved in foreign affairs -- meeting and greasing the palms of important foreign poohbahs. But Palin's experience in foreign affairs is almost nil. In fact, he knowledge of the United States is about nil.

When she and McCain stopped at Tom's Diner in Pittsburgh the other day, Palin told reporters she was having a lot of fun. She said, "It's great to see another part of the country."


Maybe Palin is McCain's practical joke on the GOP -- especially Romney and Pawlenty -- and the country. Maybe he'll soon tell us that he didn't really mean for Palin to be his VP mate, and she'll withdraw and then he'll announce his "real" candidate.

Maybe.