What Didn't Palin Know? More important, what have Americans discovered about Republicans?

The following article from USA Today makes the important point that whether or not the allegations by the McCain camp against Palin are true, something is very wrong with the way Republicans conduct their business. Either Palin is incredibly ignorant, or McCain (who has made no attempt to admonish or pull back his campaign aides in their anonymous sleaze attack against Palin) made a huge mistake in naming her as his running mate. Or both.

Either way, most thinking Americans have lost faith in the Republican party to make decisions for our country. Republicans appear to know only one way to make their case: ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK whomever is perceived as the enemy at any moment in time. In this case, the McCain camp's enemy seems to be Sarah Palin, whose own attack tactics against Obama didn't work.

Whatever the truth is in the McCain/Palin fight now taking place, the Republican party's main members are giving us all a privileged glimpse into the obvious. Even among themselves, they are unable to be civil or learn to compromise. The "blame game" is the only one they know how to play. "Empathy," "understanding," and "mutual concession" are words not included in their operational lexicon. Because of this monumental failing in their philosophy and actions, they will never be the party to bring about global peace and brotherhood. Not unless they change at their base. (Don't count on that happening any time soon.)

However, the number of long-time Republican supporters, on whom McCain and Palin based their hopes, is beginning to dwindle, as more intelligent GOP voters move from the right to the center, and even to the left. The Rush Limbaughs, Ann Coulters, and Bill O'Reillys are losing their grip on their "ditto heads" and are becoming even more shrill in their blistering attacks on Obama, who has not yet even taken office. They are unwilling to support any leadership other than their own, which we have seen by the last eight years, has proven to be a colossal failure.

The too prideful Republican "base" members do not realize they are on the wrong track, politically and philosophically--and, worst of all, they are unwilling to look at themselves introspectively, admit their failings, and change. They will not support Obama's platform of "change" because that word is foreign to them. Filled with fear at the very mention of "change," they want to cling to the old ways they know, even though those ways of fear, blame, and attack have proven, over and over, not to work. They believe, as did Hitler, that if you tell a lie that is big enough, often enough, most of the people will believe it and follow you. Americans have shown by their votes in this last election that the majority of our citizens are too smart to fall for the big lies forever. When the public discovers the big lies were exactly that, they will desert the liars in droves. And that is exactly what has happened.

Read full article at: http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/11/what-didnt-pali.html

EXCERPT:

If Palin truly has a stupendous ignorance of international geography, it reinforces doubts about her suitability for high national office, this year and in the future. And the reported shopping sprees, if confirmed, reflect a worrisome sense of entitlement for a public official.

If false or distorted, however, the attacks reflect malicious smears by people McCain entrusted to help run his campaign.

Either way, taking shots at someone from the safety of anonymity reflects badly not just on the supposedly loyal aides who leveled the criticism, but on McCain, who seemed unable or unwilling to restrain them. If the point is to blame Palin for the campaign's failures, it's also a reminder that the aides who recommended her did McCain no service, and the candidate miscalculated when he picked her.