Pavlov would be proud. A few days ago, he cautioned against the Alaskan gamble: "Palin has been governor for less than two years." Now - surprise! - that's a virtue. There is not a single mention in his latest piece of her lack of record of even any opinions on foreign policy in the past decade. From the magazine that said we couldn't even risk voting Democrat in 2006 because the peril was so great.

Then this cascade of nouns and adjectives:

the liberal elites of New York and Washington... all the powers of the old liberalism, both in the Democratic party and the mainstream media ... anti-small town and anti-religious prejudice ... Democratic opposition research ... a credulous and complicit media ...

Yes, hello again to all that. And this rallying cry:

Palin will be a compelling and mold-breaking example for lots of Americans who are told every day that to be even a bit conservative or Christian or old-fashioned is bad form. In this respect, Palin can become an inspirational figure and powerful symbol. The left senses this, which is why they want to discredit her quickly.

Oh, please. This is an apparently unvetted candidate whom Kristol himself warned against last week as too jejune. No one is criticizing her lifestyle or background (well, maybe a few jokes about beauty pageants and moose, but come on). They're criticizing her qualifications and total lack of record of any kind on foreign policy. They're criticizing her because she didn't even have an opinion about the surge in the debate over a year ago and said her total input on the matter was what she'd heard "on the news." Is it really somehow anti-Christian or bigoted against old-fashioned rural folk to be gobsmacked that McCain thinks she should be a heartbeat away from the presidency in wartime?

Yes, the neocons tell us they are serious about the war. But the only war they seem really interested in at times is the old culture war. At least they know how to fight that one, I guess.

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