An Email to K-Lo of NRO/Corner

An acquaintance copied me on this email he sent to K-Lo of National Review Online. Although politics is not my thing, I thought it was quite good. Posted herewith in its entirety:

Subject: I Just Don't Get This Email

Kathryn (if I may call you that), the angst in that email is very understandable. Sarah Palin hit a home run tonight, and not because I am grading her on the curve, but because I have watched every debate since 1976, and I can't remember one in which I wasn't nervous until it ended. Ronald Reagan included, if not more so, because he was obviously the last and best hope we conservatives had. I thought McCain did well against Obama, and thought he won, because by the 75th minute I was able to relax. His performance was that good. But with Sarah Palin, I went into it nervous as a cat, and after 3 answers, I was able to not only calm down, but became eager to hear her answers to questions.

Yes, there were moments in the first half hour when I screamed at the TV: "He's done it. Biden has served up a nice hanging curve ball over the plate; hit it, Sarah." And she didn't. But after it was all over, I realized that she did what so many people are unable to do: she did not get caught up in the debate per se; she picked the things she would respond to; and the things she picked went to her strengths.

I had a friend in college who was a great high school athlete, and who attempted to walk on to an SEC football team as a linebacker. He was gifted; but he ultimately failed. Another friend was an assistant backfield coach for the team, and I asked him why Bill had not made the team. He said "He chicken fights." I asked him what that meant, and he said that Bill would hit the line and begin fighting with some opposing player, and then completely forget that ... he was supposed to be following the football. The ball would go right around him, and he would still fight away with whoever. He had heart, but no common sense. Sarah Palin did not chicken fight tonight over every point; she kept her eye on the ball and ran to where she needed to be.

Sarah Palin did not "win" the debate in any sense that Bill Buckley won debates at Yale. But Vice-Presidential debates are not scored that way. They are scored by who has the facility to overcome the over-arching tension of the moment and get the message across. Sarah Palin did that tonight, and she did it better than anyone I have ever seen in politics.

The emails you are getting are from people who probably don't consciously understand anything I have just said, but they viscerally understand. And for some odd reason, the Corner has not evidenced in the last few weeks any visceral understanding of Sarah Palin or why she appeals to us on-the-ground conservatives.

But don't worry, I (we) still love you all and the work you do.

(Name Withheld)

Posted by: Whit via email.

The Blame Game

With respect to the Republican House behavior, I don't know what's happened to the Corner and other conservative commentary we layman rely on. The Speaker's comments just before a critical, nervous, tight vote was not only "extremely unwise and irresponsible" but incredibly stupid and incompetent in its blatant partisanship. Especially since Ms. Pelosi needed Republican votes so she could shield her own committee heads from having to vote Yes to the legislation. To her, this important legislation was nothing more than a handy way to diss the Republicans and win more seats and the Presidency this November.

In politics, as in business and every other walk of life, the personal is important, and the Democrats have routinely savaged the Republicans for partisan gain ever since Paulsen proposed the bailout. And, as John McCain attempted to help (at the request of both Democrats and Paulson), they upped their rhetoric to stratispheric levels, even to the point of telling the sitting Senator from Arizona to get out of town! Has this ever happened before? Has any Senator ever been told to get out of town by the political leadership of the opposing party just prior to one of the most important votes facing the Republic in my lifetime?

Statesmanship is important, and Republicans have always had to carry this burden due to the Democrat's congenital lack of moral fiber. But the fact is, neither conservatives nor anyone else knows whether or not this legislation would even work. Under these circumstances the argument for statesmanship is decidedly weak. When Social Security went negative in the 80's, Ronald Reagan dumped his economic and political principals and signed off on a huge increase in Social Security taxes. That's statesmanship, but statesmanship in the service of something that, whatever its problems and ramifications, would at least fix for a time the central problem facing the Government and the American people. This Bill bore no such certainty of fixing anything - it was simply audaciously hopeful.

The Democrats have spent a week now trying to gain political advantage from this crisis, and the Republicans have spent a week trying to be statesmanlike and solve the problem. Nancy Pelosi's speech was just the latest salvo in the Democrats electoral partisanship and made it plain that Republicans are expected to take a knife in the gut in the supposed patriotic protection of their country, while Democrats reap great electoral rewards.

They have the majority; this is critical legislation; the Republican President is ready to sign what they put before him. It's time for the Democrats to show statesmanship, and if they don't, it's time for National Review and other conservatives to stick the blame where it belongs: with the Democrats. This outrage against Republicans has got to stop.

via email