Might Palin Pull a Harriet Miers?

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So it’s only been a few days that Sarah Palin’s been on the ticket. But for chrissakes, it’s only been a few days that she’s been on the ticket! This much drama, this soon? At this rate, I half-expect Maury Povich to nab her first interview. And I actually felt kinda dirty watching the networks tonight, they went all Inside Edition on us, like CBS interviewing teens on a New York City stoop, asking what they think of Palin’s daughter being a mama (they were teenagers, blunt and unforgiving). With only a Category 1 storm to cover and no Bush/Cheney duo-of-evil to broadcast, the nets needed the drama to fill that gaping news vacuum. But, did they, really?

Weirdly, this confluence of events, the surprise out-of-nowhere pick of Palin, the stall of the convention, Gustav being less than a catastrophe, and Palin’s family drama, all of these factors have come together to magnify the absurdity of a) the VP pick, and b) the saturation of punditry (of which I am a part, I know). It’s like the entire world started to care about one woman four days ago and now her life is laid bare, boom.

Which of course, is your fault, McLame. We care, and we go on and on because there’s a chance she’ll be our president in a matter of months. Of course everyone is on the detail hunt, that’s why candidates are “thoroughly vetted.” The ol’ straight talker has got to know this isn’t going well. So does he back up slowly and flip on the hazards? Does Palin resign a la Miers and take one for the team? Joe Lieberman, Tom Ridge, Mitt, any of you guys game for a do-over?

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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

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