The Palin watch.

Tina Fey lookalike with Vaughn Ward, failed contestant for a GOP nomination in Idaho. Dig that groovy tie-dye look. (AP)

Seems Sarah Palin's endorsement can be the kiss of death:

In the midst of one of the most precipitous political crashes in the Mountain West, Sarah Palin made a mad dash into Boise on Friday, urging the election of a man who had plagiarized his campaign speech from Barack Obama, had been rebuked by the military for misusing the Marine uniform and had called the American territory of Puerto Rico a separate country.

And why not? Vaughn Ward, the Republican congressional candidate from Idaho, has the dubious character trifecta of the Palin brand: bone-headed, defiant and willfully ignorant. When told that Puerto Rico was not a country, he said, “I don’t care what you call it.”

On Tuesday, this Palin protégé was routed in a huge upset, despite a big early lead in the polls, a 6-to-1 fundraising edge and that Friday fly-in by the former half-term governor, who has Idaho roots. [Emphasis added.]

With sue respect to the hilarious account above from NYT's Timothy Egan, Palin's "Idaho roots" might be a stretch. The long and winding road that the former Miss Wasilla took to an undergraduate degree wound through, among other places, Hawaii and a j-school in Idaho, her only connection with the Spud State. That's astroturf in my book. A man's man with genuine Idaho roots, that would be Larry Craig, ex of Minneapolis-St. Paul International, which may soon be adopting its own DADT policy.

Meanwhile, Andrew Sullivan defends the bizarre investigative journalism tactics of Joe McGinniss (The Selling of the President 1968), who, as you know, has taken up residence next door to the Palins in Wasilla in preparation for the Palin book he's writing:

The MSM let this farce of a politician go an entire campaign without a single real press conference. Where was Crowley then? Waiting for a returned phone call from Goldfarb? Exercizing sufficient "deference"? The key point is that McGinniss has gone to Alaska and will stay there a while. That's how you find out who this delusional phony truly is. And that's why Palin may be a little rattled. She knows this won't be another bullshit profile from Time. I think the press should be right in front of powerful people's faces. Right there. Unblinking, so to speak.

WaPo's David Wiegel talks to McGinnis himself about renting the house next door to the Palins:

By being here I have learned things, and I've gotten an insight into her character, into her ability to incite hatred, that before I only knew about in the abstract.

Yikes.

And WaPo's Jessica Valenti isn't having any of Palin's faux feminism:

Palin is happily adopting the feminist label. She's throwing support behind "mama grizzly" candidates, describing the large number of women in the "tea party" as evidence of a "mom awakening" and preaching girl power on her Facebook page.

It's not a realization of the importance of women's rights that's inspired the change. It's strategy. Palin's sisterly speechifying is part of a larger conservative move to woo women by appropriating feminist language. Just as consumer culture tries to sell 'Girls Gone Wild'-style sexism as 'empowerment', conservatives are trying to sell anti-women policies shrouded in pro-women rhetoric.

 

H/T: Wascally Wabbit.

 

Note: Under Sec. 3, Clause xi of the Blogger's Code, I have obtained a waiver from EB's self-description as "a Palin-free zone," dating from the overkill coverage of the appearance of Palin's Going Rogue last year. Apparently I am permitted to invoke this waiver as WW recommends I deem appropriate.

 

  

Comments

[Wascally Wabbit]

An X-Ray of the inner workings of Ms. She Will Not Be Named - and an expose of Ms. I once advised a President - pregnant pregnant pause - Peggy Noonan - all in one day.
Hat tip back atcha Mr. O!

[Darwin O'Connor]

I think it would be easier for you to switch from being a "a Palin-free zone" to incorporating her into every article you post.

[David Olive]

If I was to work any one person into each blog post, it would be Aubrey Hepburn. Maybe Lawrence O'Toole, from his gracious speech accepting a lifetime-achievement Oscar...

[David Olive]

Really, WW, would the powers that be at WaPo (Michael Gerson), WSJ (Noonan) and AEI and National Review (Frum) have taken these folks seriously as hired character assassins had they not a brush with greatness in the Oval? Well, a brush with fame, anyhow. On our side of the ledger, Bill Moyers found a PBS home after his PR stint with LBJ. But unlike the righties above, Moyers quit his presidential gig on principle - his opposition to Vietnam. He decamped along with Galbraith and Schlesinger, who left on the same account.
All in one day? Many thanks, but I left out the Coultergeist.