First 25 Comments on Herbert's Jewel of a Piece

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Tuesday, September 2, 2008
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Head for the High RoadBack to Article »
Sarah Palin is the latest G.O.P. distraction. She’s meant to shift attention away from the real issue of this campaign — the awful state of the nation after years of Republican rule.
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1.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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Bob Herbert is absolutely correct when he says Palin is meant to be a distraction in this electioin. McCain knows he can't win on the real issues that are important - the war, Russia, the economy, energy policy, the housing market, health care, education, you name it, etc..So, he brings in Palin to make this election about abortion, the NRA, & the usual Republican "values" BS. This turns it into a real red state/blue state election. And just a few days later, "values" issues are all anybody can talk (or blog) about. His strategy is already working.
— Dan, Chicago
Recommend Recommended by 66 Readers
2.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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This is an absolutely great column--spot on!The one vulnerability in Gov. Palin's record is her firing the head of the state police for failing to fire her ex brother-in-law. Corrupt as Alaskan politics apparently are, the guy followed standard procedure in investigating allegations, and much of what Gov. Palin and her family has produced has been hearsay. This is a perfect example of executive bullying, although allegedly for a "good" purpose.Until BushCheney, this nation used to hold the Constitution and the rule of law paramount. With the "unitary executive" this has become rule of Presidential/Vice Presidential whim. This is exactly what has enabled this Bush Administration to manipulate fear to power. Do we want to continue government through executive whim--or do we want restore our Constitutional balance and get to work on the nation's real problems?
— Carl Ian Schwartz, Paterson, New Jersey, USA
Recommend Recommended by 52 Readers
3.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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nice job of succinctly encapsulating the issues at hand Bob, and you're right about not getting distracted by the hooey over Palin.but you did forget to mention Richard Nixon's political maxim of never kill a person committing political suicide, I think a variation of the high road you're proposing...
— Jeff Nardine, Vietnam
Recommend Recommended by 31 Readers
4.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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you are right to suggest the high road. the daily kos blog allegations that she was her youngest son's birth was actually her grandson was a new low in blogging. i am amazed at the party that is all about treating everyone with equality and kindness in fact harbors some pretty vicious rhetoriticians.additionally:governor palin has balanced more budgets than the other three presidential and vice presidential candidates combined.any focus on her inexperience simply brings the subject of senator obama's inexperience back into the debate.it shows that at 72 mccain is more open to fresh people and thoughts than a much younger opponent.oh yeah, and she is the hottest candidate for nation wide office, ever.
— kitramsey, belmont heights
Recommend Recommended by 7 Readers
5.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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No problem with the Democrats raising substantive issues, but too much discussion of complicated policy positions has killed them in the past. It is perfectly appropriate to point out that Sarah Palin is unqualified to come anywhere near being president, and that by naming her, John McCain has called into question not only his judgment but his mental stability.
— RF, Maryland
Recommend Recommended by 54 Readers
6.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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Bob, what do you think about attacking mccain for picking a candidate without fully vetting her and meeting her only once esp given that he is 72 yrs old and has had cancer. Are we allowed to question his judgment? You didn't mention that part so I was curious about your thoughts.
— Farah, New York
Recommend Recommended by 48 Readers
7.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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This is a great piece. First off, as Obama said today any talk of Governor Palin's children needs to be off limits. The children did not sign up for this scrutiny and its unfair to go there. More importantly, it will only make independent voters side with the Governor and her party if it looks like people are attacking her on this level.I've already seen commentators on the cable news channels condescendingly refer to Governor Palin being a runner-up beauty pageant winner and the mayor of a tiny town. While both are true, they have nothing to do with the fact that she is still an accomplished and amazingly charming women. (One who is also incredibly socially conservative, in ways that would horrify most Hillary supporters.)If this campaign becomes about personalities, whether about Obama, or about Palin, the Democrats will lose. If it stays focused on how Senator McCain supported George W. Bush 90% of the time, and we don't want four more years of the same, then the Democrats win.Stay focused.
— Ruth, Los Angeles
Recommend Recommended by 38 Readers
8.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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Well said, Bob!There's no need to make Palin the issue or to rise to Republican provocation to do so. She is, by any serious measure, politically and personally an insignificant factor in the election of the next president.It's increasingly clear that McCain's team made no serious effort to vet her suitability, and as her undeclared baggage continues to circle the media conveyor over the next few weeks, her usefulness to the the campaign will self-destruct completely.Voters have two major issues - the economy and resolution of the senseless war in Iraq. Democrats need to keep the focus where it belongs.
— Norm McDougall, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Recommend Recommended by 29 Readers
9.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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You quote Roosevelt: “We are fighting to save a great and precious form of government, for ourselves and for the world.”If you REALLY believe that, as I do, then you must vote for John McCain, as I shall.
— curliquedan, Phoenix, Arizona
Recommend Recommended by 5 Readers
10.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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Thank you, Mr. Herbert for so eloquently and consistently reminding us to keep our eye on the prize of true democracy. Your elegant piece on Black voters in the South and your poignant description of the African-American delivery man who came to your door on a spring primary night will always stay with me.
— Lynne, Los Angeles
Recommend Recommended by 5 Readers
11.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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Mr. Herbert, you are not kidding, nor should you be. Just take a walk over to HuffPo and see the ugly feeding frenzy. Disgusting, to say the least, and a bit scary. Too much like FOX News, and ruthless.Are we all vulnerable to this? Thanks heavens no one in my family will run for office.
— melsisson, California
Recommend Recommended by 4 Readers
12.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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I agree with most of what you've said in your column, but this VP pick is a travesty and a tragedy on a national scale--to have someone so ignorant of our national needs and our foreign policy--to be just a heartbeat away from being president is truly frightening.
— LeS, Washington
Recommend Recommended by 53 Readers
13.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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The problem is this - Obama is not running against Bush/Cheney - he's running against McCain. And while the soundbites are cool sounding, the facts are not. Fact is that there is simply no way for Obama to pay for all his speech promised. That he doesn't address. That Herbert doesn't address. Are we that simple-minded a party that we can be bought off with the same kind of empty soundbites and rhetoric that Bush used to fool others for voting for him not once but twice? Are we not smarter than that?Is Palin merely a distraction? I don't think so -- and its unwise to be that dismissive of her - Obama can't dismiss yet another woman as easily or as nastily as he has dismissed others that got in his way.Obama is not running against Bush - and its time he faced up to that. It's time he started defining his policies to us - how is he going to pay for all his promises? What are the "nuts and bolts" of his plan. Its not like the budget hasn't been available for his perusal these last 3 years - its there -- so why can't he lay out his plans even after 2+ years of running for President?Is Palin a distraction? No. Is Obama's lack of actual plans a concern? Yes.
— Katy, NYC
Recommend Recommended by 6 Readers
14.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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The Republicans are indeed brilliant at distraction, so much so that much within their arsenal of distraction is now, and has long been, treated as an intrinsic part of the "substantive" issues of American life. I fully agree with you about where these substantive issues lie, but how to argue with someone who believes that "the chatter about gays, guns, and God" are in fact essential elements of any substantive discourse on contemporary America? Surely, you, I, and a great deal of your readers are firmly aligned in our belief that these are nothing short of distractions and ploys, but what headway can be made if others, just as firmly, believe otherwise? How can one classify what marks a distraction and what a substantive issue? They often bleed into each other, as something as enormous as God and religion have into education and so many other aspects of contemporary American society, cultural, and politics. These distractions are a troubling issue, all the more so in how often they pass – or even, in some sense, become – substantive. What, if anything, to do about this?
— Ben, New York
Recommend Recommended by 8 Readers
15.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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Actually, the mistake Kerry and Gore made was in NOT going after the "distractions." They tried to argue the intellectual issues; they tried being gentlemen; they tried being above the fray - and they lost. Obama should go for the throat. Not go after Palin, but go after the hypocrisy, the illusion of family values, the finger-pointing. These are treacherous waters, but the lesson of Kerry and Gore is that expecting people to appreciate statesmanship, loses.
— Theresa, Foster City, CA
Recommend Recommended by 42 Readers
16.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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If the Dems take the high road, McCain is finished. He has demonstrated that he is perfectly willing to slander and smear his opponent, and frankly, decent Americans are fed up with it. So, down with McCain, Hannity, Limbaugh, Rove and the rest of these low-class neo-cons.
— EVV, Lakebay, WA
Recommend Recommended by 35 Readers
17.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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Thanks. Beautifully written.
— NR, Tenafly NJ
Recommend Recommended by 6 Readers
18.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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This a weak article. I have been watching the news and you know if it was the other way around it would be a real bally hoo. The real issue is she was not the best selection and now everyone has to be told to be careful about what you say. To be honest I do not think people care one way on the other on the daughter being pregnant.
— Cheryl, Georgia
Recommend Recommended by 13 Readers
19.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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"She’s meant to shift attention away from the real issue — the awful state of the nation after years of Republican rule."That's correct. Fall for distraction again at America's continued peril.
— Mark, Alexandria, VA
Recommend Recommended by 19 Readers
20.
September 2nd, 2008 6:43 am
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Exactly. Thank you.
— Chuck Draves, Colorado
Recommend Recommended by 4 Readers
21.
September 2nd, 2008 6:50 am
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How is it that attacks on Palin's weak record can be perceived as bullying or overkill when the Republicans get away with Swiftboating John Kerry and the mainstream media got away with blatant sexism against Hillary Clinton?I don't really expect an answer to this question, but it does make me shake my head in wonder.
— MA Price, Okinawa, Japan
Recommend Recommended by 24 Readers
22.
September 2nd, 2008 6:50 am
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This is just too precious! Wasn't it Reagan himself who rode into office criticizing "the welfare queens" and using black teenage mothers as the boogey man? Sure it was! And why are families suddenly private matters? Were they private matters for Hillary? Hillary's family drama is fair game - but not Palin's? Give me a break! For Democrats to be above pointing out the hypocrisy would be too good. Goodness is not rewarded in politics.
— Theresa, Foster City, CA
Recommend Recommended by 28 Readers
23.
September 2nd, 2008 6:50 am
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So what was untrue in the Swift Boat book?
— Richard, New York
Recommend Recommended by 6 Readers
24.
September 2nd, 2008 6:50 am
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so i'm hrc and the picture has changed. there is a republican woman who may be vp for eight years whose every word will be paid attention to. will my low education/income women followers stay with me? what do i know about sno-mobiles, mooseburgers? do i want to run that risk? maybe i should really work my heart out for obama?george spencer
— geo spencer, quito ecuador
Recommend Recommended by 3 Readers
25.
September 2nd, 2008 6:50 am
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Obama and Biden may certainly take the high road, but it's high time the Democrats take the low road. The Swift Boating of Kerry really worked. It's time to get tough and hit the Republicans in the solar plexus. It's simply wrong that a 42 year old who governed 7,000 people 20 months ago could be the most qualified person to lead 300 million people. It's reckless! The Dems need to hit hard on experience, question Palin's ability to be a good mother when she's running for office and attack her for Troopergate. Did she talk to her daughter about safe sex or no sex? What kind of Mother leaves a baby with Downs Syndrome to be care for by others when she's campaigning? Muddle the message during the Republican Convention and then back off and hit hard on McCain's age and his impulsive, maverick style. We need to to fight!
— DWR, Portland, OR
Recommend Recommended by 39 Readers
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