So, John McCain has retracted statements Palin made about going into Pakistan. During the debate last Friday, McCain criticized Barack Obama for saying that if US troops had members of Al Qaeda in their sights and they went over the border into Pakistan and Pakistan refused to help us, we should go after those members of Al Qaeda on our own. Yesterday, Palin said almost the same thing as CNN reports in this story http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/28/mccain-retracts-palins-pakistan-comments/
I had some fun trying to imagine the phone call between McCain and Palin where she was trying to explain contradicting his policy on the subject and embarrassing him. Since she is known to break into a cutesy affect when cornered, I imagined during her explanation to McCain that Palin would launch into song to the tune of Britney Spears "Oops! I did it again"...
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
I think I did it again
I tried to seem smart, went against your positions again
Oh Johnnie, it might seem on purpose
But it doesn't mean that I'm serious
'Cause I have no real sense of the world
This is just so typically me
Oh baby, baby
Oops! I did it again
I played with your campaign, got lost in the game
Oh baby baby
Oops! You thought I was smart
Cause I was a Governor
I'm just not competent!
You see my problem is this
I'm dreaming away
Wishing I had read, more about the world
I cry, watching Joe Biden
Can't you see, I'm a fool in so many ways
Cause I have no real sense of the world
This is just so typically me
Baby, oh
Oops! I did it again
I played with your campaign, got lost in the game
Oh baby baby
Oops! You thought I was smart
Cause I was a Governor
I'm just not competent!
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
(spoken section) All aboard
McCain: Sarah, before you go, there's something I want you to have
Palin: Oh, he's beautiful, but wait a minute, didn't Henry...
McCain: Yes, he left politics in the 70's
Palin: But I thought he was regarded by some as a war criminal
McCain: Well baby, we're so desperate, he's going to try to tutor you
Palin: Oh, you shouldn't have!
Oops! I did it again to your campaign
Got lost in the game Oh baby
Oops! You thought I was smart
Cause I was a Governor
I'm just not competent!
Oops! I did it again
I played with your campaign, got lost in the game
Oh baby baby
Oops! You thought I was smart
Cause I was a Governor
I'm just not competent!
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My apologies to Britney Spears. If the embedded video doesn't work, click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unBACOHFXes for the real song and then read along with the above words. Here are the real lyrics http://www.ubritney.com/lyrics/oidia.html
Now, all kidding (was I kidding?) aside, how do you 'retract' the heartfelt position of your running mate, someone you are pushing as being ready to be President (haw!)? How do you push the undo button on what she said? Is this a team running for President or playing on Who wants to be a Millionaire? Do we need to set up lifelines for Palin? When asked a tough question, does she get to phone a friend, as humorously suggested in the SNL skit of her interview with Couric? Is that going to be her response to the American people when she has real national responsibilities and screws them up? Oops! I did it again!
If McCain wanted to do something empowering for women when he selected Palin, why is he not allowing her to have her own opinions on this issue? Would he retract statements by Romney if he was his running mate? If it was Jindal, or Huckabee? No, if any of those men said something in error or not in step with the campaign, they would be out there retracting it themselves. McCain is taking it upon himself to retract Palin's comments because she is a woman and he thinks he is entitled to do it. Admittedly, she is a woman completely unready for the office to which he nominated her, but whose fault is that? Every day, we see more evidence of how horrifically bad McCain's judgment was in selecting Palin. How much worse can this farce get?