Conservative columnist and Sarah Palin fan Kathleen Parker has reluctantly concluded that Palin is “clearly out of her league” and should step down. “As we’ve seen and heard more from John McCain’s running mate, it is increasingly clear that Palin is a problem,” Parker wrote on today’s Opinion page. “Quick study or not, she doesn’t know enough about economics and foreign policy to make Americans comfortable with a President Palin should conditions warrant her promotion.”
Parker added: “No one hates saying that more than I do. Like so many women, I’ve been pulling for Palin, wishing her the best, hoping she will perform brilliantly. I’ve also noticed that I watch her interviews with the held breath of an anxious parent, my finger poised over the mute button in case it gets too painful. Unfortunately, it often does.”
Parker’s conclusion: “Only Palin can save McCain, her party and the country she loves. She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first. Do it for your country.”
Thomas Friedman has a simple test for choosing the next president: Which guy can tell people what they don’t want to hear — especially his own base?
Here is what he would like to hear McCain say: “My fellow Americans, I’ve decided for now not to continue the Bush tax cuts, because the most important thing for our country today is to get the government’s balance sheet in order. We can’t go on cutting taxes and not cutting spending. For too long, my party has indulged that nonsense. Second, I intend to have most U.S. troops out of Iraq in 24 months. We have done all we can to midwife democracy there. Iraqis need to take it from here. We need every dollar now for nation-building in America.”
Here is what he would like Obama to say: “The Big Three automakers and the United Auto Workers union want a Washington bailout. The only way they will get a dime out of my administration is if the automakers and unions come up with a joint plan to retool their fleets to get an average of 40 miles per gallon by 2015 — instead of the 35 mpg by 2020 that they’ve reluctantly accepted. I am not going to bail out Detroit with taxpayer money, but I will invest in Detroit’s transformation with taxpayer money, provided the management and unions agree to radical change.”
Conservative columnist and Sarah Palin fan Kathleen Parker has reluctantly concluded that Palin is “clearly out of her league” and should step down. “As we’ve seen and heard more from John McCain’s running mate, it is increasingly clear that Palin is a problem,” Parker wrote on today’s Opinion page. “Quick study or not, she doesn’t know enough about economics and foreign policy to make Americans comfortable with a President Palin should conditions warrant her promotion.”
