Sigh

Peter Wehner weighs in on the latest Presidential horse-race poll, and sadly veers off into increasingly tiresome peevishness.  There is a certain type of conservative who just can't abide Sarah Palin, which is to say, they can't abide any conservative who is high-profile enough to merit serious mainstream media push-back.  Chris Christie is a delightful exception to this rule, which Mr. Wehner makes abundantly clear, but I dare say if the Governor does enter the Presidential sweepstakes and the media does inundate him with 1/2 of the vitriol they have poured on Ms. Palin, Mr. Wehner will suddenly discover that Mr. Christie lacks the maturity" or the "temperament" or the "seriousness of purpose" required to top the Wehner like-o-meter.

Mr. Wehner concludes:

Ms. Palin has also suffered in contrast to other Republicans, and most especially Republican governors, many of whom embody a maturity, a proper governing temperament, and a seriousness of purpose. Compared to what Christie, Mitch Daniels, Scott Walker, Bob McDonnell, Bobby Jindal, and other lawmakers are doing, Palin seems to be shrinking before our eyes.

For what it's worth, I would ask Mr. Wehner to take a seriously objective look at Ms. Palin's career both before and after she was tapped for the Vice-Presidency and the national spot-light, and he might find the very definition of maturity, temperament, and seriousness of purpose. He might start with the way she took on the entrenched governing elite of her own party and won. Then he might take a look at the way she broke the back of the corporatist oil lobby in Alaska and successfully put together one of the largest pipeline projects on record - all to the benefit of her State and it's citizens. Then he might ... well, again, just look at her record.

Mr. Wehner's problem is not that he has a problem with Ms. Palin. It's that he brings to his analysis of the poll a non sequitor. Governor Christie is doing remarkable work in New Jersey; but instead of lauding the Governor, Wehner focuses instead on tearing down Ms. Palin. Why are her poll numbers down near Reid and Pelosi? There are myriad reasons, not least of which is that she herself has withdrawn from the public spotlight. For a politician as canny as she is, this ought to give a serious pundit pause to wonder. But instead of enlightening us with some learned speculation, Mr. Wehner resorts to two year old cliches that she lacks "basic knowledge about public policy," and WTF claims that she is unable "to articulate a compelling case for conservatism."

Again, just look at her record, and also the compelling performances she gives that draws crowds of conservatives in numbers never before seen. She makes the case for conservatism, boy and how!

Sigh.