Too much Palin, too few jobs

This is why President Obama can't allow himself or the economy to fail.

As Sarah Palin, the former Republican candidate for vice president, continues her book tour, it has become painfully obvious that she has not boned up on domestic or world issues since embarrassing herself time and time again during the 2008 presidential campaign. When asked about Jewish settlements by Barbara Walters yesterday, Palin answered the question like a fourth-grader, clearly showing she is still not able to articulate her position on complex issues. Her answer to almost everything seems to be to cut taxes.

When I first heard Palin speak at the 2008 Republican Convention, I thought, OK, not bad. She seemed down to earth, had a bit of a sense of humor and appeared to be a different kind of politician. Just proves how wrong first impressions can be. Later found out that she condones shooting wolves from helicopters and bases her knowledge on foreign affairs by looking at Russia from her front porch.

It quickly became clear that Palin was faking it during the campaign. She didn't have much understanding the of the world, and this led to people questioning John McCain for choosing Palin as a runningmate. This is not to say she isn't a decent mother or neighbor or basketball player. But when in came to national politics, Palin was out of her element. Now she's trying to reverse that perception by writing a book that blames the McCain campaign for forcing her into roles she wasn't comfortable with. Like a point guard in basketball, she's looking for a crack in the defense. It appears she is trying set herself up for a run at the White House by bolstering her "rogue" image and slinging mud at the people who put her in the national spotlight.

Now with Obama's popularity declining, and unemployment wiping out middle class folks by the millions, the stage is set for voters to do something more drastic in 2012. In horrid times, voters do desperate things (see Nazi Germany). Just as Obama was the polar opposite from George W. Bush, a president who had trouble speaking, the extreme contrast of a potential Palin presidency might appeal to the masses if Obama doesn't right the ship. And my confidence in Obama has been greatly shaken as he continues to run up the deficit. He has not cleaned up the lobbyists or trimmed governmental fat. He has not instituted any policies that have led to job creation.

Fancy speeches aren't going to put bread on the table of Americans. Obama traveling around the world isn't going to get people back to work. For Obama to get reelected, people need to feel reasonably secure again. According to the polls, Americans are not feeling good about the future despite electing a president who was suppose to be all about change, hope and a new era in politics. Hasn't worked out very well so far, but he still has about three years to improve things and to save us from Palin. The key is to get people back to work while maintaining our homeland defenses. If he can do those two things, he will be easily reelected.

Unfortunately, we live in a country that is fascinated by idiots, and sometimes these morons come along at just the right time to cause costly disruptions as we saw with the balloon family a few weeks ago. Whether it's the "octomom" or "balloon dad," as long as these people have some sort of shtick and thirst for fame, they will always have followers. It's too bad the media is obsessed with giving the Al Sharptons of the world a platform. But the media is only reacting to what sells. And apparently these publicity-seekers get ratings. I just hope they don't get votes.

We live in time when we need more than shtick and unhealthy ambitions from our leaders. Maybe a Palin-Octomon ticket in 2012 will be the end of the world as we know it. Perhaps there is something to this Mayan calendar stuff.