Sarah Palin, The Embarrassing GOP Cheerleader

So, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is looking forward to her debate with Sen. Joe Biden on Thursday? Really? If I were her, I'd be wishing for a major storm surge in Alaska. Perhaps the latest hurricane could slip past the Gulf of Mexico and sneak up on Anchorage unannounced, giving her unassailable reason to head home. Instead, she's keeping her pompoms and pleated skirts in tow and telling reporters she's looking forward to her confab with Senator Biden.

From the New York Times:

COLUMBUS, Ohio--"So I guess it's my turn now," Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska told a rally here Monday, saying that she looked forward to her big debate this week. "And I do look forward to Thursday night, and debating Senator Joe Biden," said Ms. Palin, whose uneven performance in interviews and unscripted events have sown seeds of doubt in recent days among some conservative commentators who support her.

Poor Governor Palin. Even conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks is calling her interview performance, "embarrassing."

Not former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, however. He said on MSNBC today:

Holding Sarah Palin to just three interviews and microscopically focusing on each interview I think has been a mistake. I think they'd be a lot wiser to let Sarah Palin be Sarah Palin. Let her talk to the media, let her talk to people . . . Look, she wasn't selected by John McCain because she's an expert in foreign policy . . . John McCain's the expert in foreign policy . . . She's a person who identifies with people with homes across America.

OK, but that doesn't mean she won't get asked about foreign policy by reporters or in a debate about foreign policy issues. I personally can't decide whether it would be more damaging to the campaign to let her talk regularly to the media or to shut her down as the GOP campaign has done.Her speech to the GOP convention was beautifully delivered, but every time she opens her mouth unscripted, she comes across like the uninformed cheerleader she truly is. And the more stories leak out about her being blessed against witchcraft and promoting free products given to her while she was serving in public office, the more of an embarrassment for the GOP she becomes.

By Bonnie Erbe