Posted 2:53 PM by Gene

I am willing to correct myself on SARAH!!!!!. Apparently she did write her latest book by herself, so it was unfair at least to say "she didn't know what a word was." Our perception was colored by the regiments of ghostwriters who've trooped across DC, writing memoirs never to be read again. The problem, then, lies with her demeanor. Imagine SARAH!!!!! as warm-hearted and fuzzy as, say...Barbara Bush. Imagine a lovable female conservative. SARAH!!!!!'s problem is The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther BECK!!!!!'s, defined by the solid conservative Charles Murray:

Beck is spectacularly right (translation: I agree with him) on about 95 percent of the substantive issues he talks about. He is a full-throated libertarian in a world of wishy-washy Republicans. The man is a gifted communicator....

But Beck uses tactics that include tiny snippets of film as proof of a person’s worldview, guilt by association, insinuation, and occasionally outright goofs like the fake quote. To put it another way, I as a viewer have no way to judge whether Beck is right. I have to trust that the snippets are not taken out of context, that the dubious association between A and B actually has evidence to support it, and that his numbers are accurate. It is impossible to have that trust.

In short, because SARAH'S character is so outlandish, and so much of what she does seems designed solely to attract attention (like PILLHEAD), one can't believe her. If I took the time I might find things to admire. But face it, she was introduced to us as a gimmick, and her airhead persona was confirmed by the manic antics of her family.

Yes, the recent criticism was a blatant dishonest partisan gag. Had SARAH!!!! not put publicity and her personality first, had she not acted like the kind of cartoon star too prevalent among our superiors, she could have spared us considerable agony. SARAH!!!!!'s problem was foreseen by THE MASTER: "Sir, a woman's preaching is like a dog's walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all." He may be SEXIST!!!!! but with SARAH!!!!! he may also be right.