Lew: A few weeks back, I told Jane that I think this election will be a lot closer than most people think. Part of the reason, I believe, is the Palin factor: when you think of the contemptuous arrogance with which the politically-correct treat “ordinary” people (i.e., you and me), I think the “liberals” casting her as some kind of hick/trailer camp bimbo, is going to backfire on them. I think many people are tired of the slick, pseudo-sophisticates who make up the political class, and who act as though a forced grin makes up for a lack of integrity. Palin’s willingness to go on “Saturday Night Live” to laugh at herself contrasts so much with the haughtiness of those who presume to rule.
McCain’s “Country First” (or, “Amerika, uber alles”) troubles me greatly (I wonder if the arm-bands are now being designed), as does Obama’s vacuous “Hope.” The word “hope” rings of utter desperation (as in “I hope the Coast Guard finds me before I drown”). I have always preferred “understanding” to “hope.” Ron Paul offered a focused “understanding” of our problems, an approach that required thoughtful inquiry, not a listless sense of “hope.”
