My boss and I meet weekly and we rarely talk politics. Whether we're slipping away for a bite to eat (which usually involves a lot of personal talk) or meeting in our regular meetings which usually wrap up with personal, non-business related stuff, politics often give way to sports or family chat. Lately, he's been interested in discussing the Presidential race with me.
His wife is one of my favorite Democrats, but a Democrat none-the-less. He's a very intelligent, pragmatic and even keeled guy, and this personality tends to steer him right-of-center on politics, meaning when we DO discuss politics, 99% of the time he finds himself agreeing with me. When his wife sent him a YouTube of the Palin/Couric interview, he expressed some concern.
"You have to admit, Palin looks pretty bad," was his Blackberry to me on the trainride home.
I labored with my thumbs to type the response that basically said, "yeah? So what? I'm impressed with her accomplishments in office."
I stand by that. I got into a pissing match with guy on the American Thinker blogsite. He thought that the interview was proof of Palin's idiocy and unfitness for the office. I countered with the same answer - so what? So what if she doesn't sound "polished" in an interview?
Style and flash make for wonderful, inspiring memories and uplifting moments. Style and flash, however, at the end of the day, are nothing but talk. Its the action that one can point to while in office - substance - that will make a reliable measure of a persons governing worth. Palin has substance, Obama has style and talk. Obama has commanding stage presence, and a shocking lack of credible experience in governing and decision making. Obama's commanding stage presence is an attempt to veil his nauseating allegiances to unrepentant terrorists like Bill Ayers and hateful creeps like Jeremiah Wright, who are close to Obama and have more influence in his life that anyone in the media cares to look into. How did Obama vote while he was in the Senate, both the IL and US Senates? Radically Liberal. How much dirty money is on Obama's hands? Plenty. How many crooks has he associated with in his strange rise to power? At least one felon that we know of, possibly many more. BUT - he's so well spoken, articulate. Sends tingles up my legs with his powerful words.
This is what I was trying to get across to the smug poster at AT (who said that I was full of fear and loathing, two things that are rampant on the left). He countered that there was no substance to Palin's responses. My counter was, talk is cheap, look at her record as governor. THAT is substance. Not powerful speeches and comfortable, softball interviews that serve as a smokescreen to a dangerous radical with questionable commitment to this country's best interest.
So, lo and behold, my proteges today at IBD Editorials posted this fantastic piece today. Enjoy, give it a hearty amen.
*****Update
Bill Dyer at Hugh Hewitt's Website has this.... good follow up to my point above.
