Is that Palin and her handlers keep her away from the press (except from Faux News and right wing radio shows that wouldn't even ask her what time it is). She cannot be trusted to know what is over the top and what isn't. That "pro-American parts of the country" thing is an example of that. I think she would have been better had she had that experience and would have let the less odious parts of herself shine through.

But, she lives her life in an echo chamber, she isn't very bright, and, as somebody pointed out, she hasn't been put through her paces in institutions she cannot control. To be part of the joke and to get satire you have to be smart and capable of self-reflection. Sarah Palin is neither of these. When I was in law school, cold calling was an effective means of teaching people do deal with public humiliation. No matter how ill prepared you were, the professor would not just move on: s/he would put you through the wringer and drag something out of you for about 30 minutes. Prolonged shaming in front of your classmates does a mind good. Sarah Palin's whole life sounds like she has never really had to deal with being taken to task. She sounds like a self-absorbed bully who does not engage in genuine humor, rather mean-spirited lashing out. The lines she gets laughs for are not clever or funny, they are demeaning and not meant to illuminate or expose the absurdity of a situation.

I think Hillary was better at just diving in there on SNL or going on the Daily Show and making fun of herself is because of the endless public humiliation her husband has put her through and the right wing nuts who hate her and have written innumerable books about the "real Hillary." She has been accused of putting a hit out on Vince Foster. If you can stand being cheated on for Monica Lewinsky and being accused of murder, doing SNL is nothing. Going to college and law school prove she is definitely smart enough. Before someone goes off on a "you're elitist" tirade, I am making the point that exposing oneself to the judgment of people who are more learned and intelligent than you are makes you more thick skinned and builds self-esteem when you survive it. Sarah Palin does have a college degree, but it was after bouncing around, failing out, and not taking her education seriously. I doubt she cared.

I still give her some credit for walking onto the set of a show that had devastated her.

One thing about the Republican party is that they maintain party discipline. Democrats need to stop this crap about being nice and forgiving and being gentlemen. That has lost us elections, enfeebled us in Congress, and made us look like chumps. If Obama is elected, he will need a strong Democratic party with the ability to push back the Republicans. Party leaders need to put the fear of God into anyone who considers falling out of line when an important bill hangs in the balance. Democrats bent over backwards to advance Bush's awful agenda, sacrificing our party's values, the values of Democratic voters, and undermining our democracy. Democrats have allowed John Roberts and Samuel Alito through to the Supreme Court, they voted for the Patriot Act, FISA, and continued funding the Iraq fiasco despite promising the base to end it. Enough! If the current Democratic party leadership refuses to whip the Democratic delegation into shape and strip Joe Lieberman of all of his committee assignments, then we as voters need to hold their feet to the fire and nominate (and follow through) candidates who will.

Republicans are fractured and they will do anything to keep their seats, which means they will do anything to undermine an Obama administration. Tip O'Neil held the party together. Newt Gingrich held the Republicans together. Nancy Pelosi is a weak leader and ineffective leader. She showed that when she failed to secure the requisite votes for the bailout plan. Obama wanted to be the party leader. Now he is and it is crazy that he could not lean on the Congressional Black Caucus to get the few votes to pass the bailout plan. They both need to shape up and practice strong arming people. Forget offering people things like pork barrel spending if they go along, threaten to strip them of committee assignments. Regardless of how one feels about that first bailout plan, it was embarrassing that the majority party could not get its members into line.

Allowing Joe Lieberman to keep his committee assignments and to caucus with the Democrats would just add to the perception that our party is weak. He should be publicly and unceremoniously tossed out. It should be a message job. He has publicly defied the Democratic party, betrayed our party out of vindictiveness, spite, and self-pity, and undermined the campaign of the Democratic nominee for president, and spoke about him in an ugly manner. Why on earth should we keep him? Let me revise my statement: it would not look weak, it would look stupid and pathetic.