Perhaps if Sarah Palin does not drool and fall unconscious during the debate, the media will credit her with a good performance. Then again, maybe not. Then again, maybe she will babble incoherently with ridiculous bromides that don’t make sense, which is what happened in the few interviews she has given. McCain should have chosen Tina Fey for vice president. What is truly amazing is that Fey's brilliant spoofs of Palin use her exact words as comedy.

John McCain made the blunder of the century picking someone he did not even know, whose knowledge base falls below that of freshman members of Congress on simple issues, let alone hard issues. Her mumbling and bumbling about how her national security experience with Alaska close to Russia was weird, incoherent and ridiculous. Her mumbling and bumbling about the economic crisis was a jumble of clichés and talking points that didn't fit together or make even minimal sense. She sounded like the village idiot, even on 100 percent predictable and easy questions. To be devastated by Katie Couric is ridiculous.

My biggest concern is her repeated lie that she killed the Bridge to Nowhere when it is now documented, with proof positive, from every source, that her claim is, indeed, a lie. It is alarming that anyone who could succeed to the presidency would have such contempt for the truth, and for voters, that she keeps repeating a proven, demonstrable lie. Just what America needs in a president, right?

Palin's false claims about earmarks, Palin's extreme abuse of power in Alaska followed by Nixon-like claims of executive privilege and Rove-like vendettas and cover-ups make her a walking parody of Dick Cheney.

The Sarah Palin choice was a fiasco, a mega-disaster, rapidly turning into a farce. This person is so manifestly unqualified and so obviously ignorant even on major issues that have been on the front page for years, that it is nothing short of alarming that she could succeed to the presidency.

Of course, the lunatic right-wing base of the Republican Party adores her, but for everyone else, from independent voters to Reagan Democrats, from high-level Republicans to a growing list of conservative commentators, the Palin choice was a ridiculous farce and a genuine danger to the nation.

John McCain increasingly looks like an angry, emotional, hyper-partisan and reckless gambler who could be even more dangerous than George Bush as president. His ridiculous intervention in the bailout talks was a farce. His claiming credit for the bill passing at the moment it was being defeated was comic opera. His choice of Sarah Palin was a farce for his campaign and an insult to men and women alike.

[Please crosspost your comments to The Hill, where this blog entry also apppears.]

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About author Brent Budowsky served as Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen, responsible for commerce and intelligence matters, including one of the core drafters of the CIA Identities Law. Served as Legislative Director to Congressman Bill Alexander, then Chief Deputy Whip, House of Representatives. Currently a member of the International Advisory Council of the Intelligence Summit. Left goverment in 1990 for marketing and public affairs business including major corporate entertainment and talent management. He can be reached at Brent Budowsky served as Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen, responsible for commerce and intelligence matters, including one of the core drafters of the CIA Identities Law. Served as Legislative Director to Congressman Bill Alexander, then Chief Deputy Whip, House of Representatives. Currently a member of the International Advisory Council of the Intelligence Summit. Left goverment in 1990 for marketing and public affairs business including major corporate entertainment and talent management. He can be reached at brentbbi@webtv.net