My Favorite Conservative on Sarah Palin

In my experience, Norm Ornstein of the Heritage Foundation is the most articulate, insightful conservative in the realm of public policy research and analysis. I urge you to read carefully his brief review of Governor Palin's interview with Charlie Gibson of ABC tonight:

"She had me at hello Charley-- had me scared to death. Not a single doubt that she is ready to be president-- everyone, no matter how experienced, should have doubts about the ability to take that job. A combination of utter inexperience and utter arrogance is about the worst possible combination I can imagine. Not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is would be bad enough, but saying unequivocally that Georgia should be in NATO-- meaning we would now perhaps be in a state of war with Russia-- and then without a beat saying that military action should be the last resort-- shows a series of knowledge and logic gaps that ought to shake every foreign policy specialist, liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, to his or her roots. Maybe they can force feed her enough facts to skate through a debate, and maybe her self-confidence will still play well with many voters, but this first cut performance underscores our worst fears."

Norm writes for a subcription only publication and does not appear on television frequently. If you believe his perspective is valid, please circulate it widely on Friday.

-Richard Holcomb