It may be too soon to say it's a full-fledged revolt or insurgency, let alone a split, but there are conservatives who are uneasy with Sarah Palin and taking John McCain to task. In his column, David Brooks (whom I interviewed on the subject at the RNC in St. Paul) today talks about experience and prudence and clearly believes Palin hasn't enough of either, noting that, "She has not been engaged in national issues, does not have a repertoire of historic patterns and, like President Bush, she seems to compensate for her lack of experience with brashness and excessive decisiveness." He joins George Will and few others who just can't get aboard, at least not right now.
Meanwhile, Washington Post column Richard Cohen, a Liebermanesque "liberal" (supported the war and Bush, and bashed the left in the process, all the while using his credentials as a "liberal"), is admitting that he's one of those "journalists" who is "guilty" of being "in the tank" for McCain, but now can't stand the "ugly new McCain." Never mind that this is not a new McCain, just the real McCain. The point is, he is jumping ship big time, based mostly on McCain's lies and tactics in this campaign but also on the choice of Sarah Palin:
His opportunistic and irresponsible choice of Sarah Palin as his political heir -- the person in whose hands he would leave the country -- is a form of personal treason, a betrayal of all he once stood for. Palin, no matter what her other attributes, is shockingly unprepared to become president. McCain knows that. He means to win, which is all right; he means to win at all costs, which is not.
The Palin bubble is starting to burst. Whether or not it's a hard crash or soft one remains to be seen.
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