Sarah Palin's Smile Fades

It's becoming painfully clear that Sarah Palin isn't qualified to be Vice President, and John McCain isn't helping matters.

She delivered a well-scripted speech at the Republican National Convention, and was immediately hidden away, giving only a few interviews in the next few weeks. I had hoped McCain's staff was using the time to get her up to speed on important issues facing our nation. Obviously, this was not the case.

After having her sequestered for several weeks, they let her fly solo in an interview with CBS anchor Katie Couric last week, with disastrous results. Struggling to find an example where McCain supported more regulation (other than for Fannie and Freddie), she finally blurted out "I’ll try to find you some, and I’ll bring ‘em to ya." This, of course, would be impossible, since there aren't any. Trick question by the liberal media!

Her answer to Couric on the question of the $700 financial bailout was incomprehensible: "But ultimately what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the healthcare reform that is needed to help shore up our economy." OK, so she confused pages 46 (financial crisis) and 72 (healthcare) of her briefing packet.

And why don't they just abandon the absurd notion that being governor of Alaska counts as foreign policy experience? Are they intentionally trying to feed SNL's Tina Fey material?

All of this makes great comedy, but the nation is facing some very serious issues, and McCain let us know what he thinks of Palin's abilities in a follow-up interview with Couric. Watch as McCain explains why Palin took a position identical to Obama's statement on Pakistan in last week's debate:



The fact that he felt he had to be there in the first place speaks volumes. Does Palin really need to have McCain there to answer questions for her? What does whining about "“gotcha journalism" accomplish, other than making McCain look weak and Palin look incompetent?

Sarah Palin isn't unintelligent: she's simply uninformed and unprepared. Unfortunately, in a Vice President (and successor to the President), the result can be equally disastrous.

She may do well in this week's debate with Joe Biden (he can be his own worst enemy), but she's going to have to do more than smile for the camera to demonstrate she's qualified to lead the country.