'Incurious About The Mechanism Of Government'

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_09/014793.php

'INCURIOUS ABOUT THE MECHANISM OF GOVERNMENT'.... I find profile stories about Sarah Palin's governing style fascinating, in large part because of how strikingly similar she sounds to George W. Bush.

Today, for example, the Washington Post had a good item about Palin's strengths and weaknesses as a governor -- she's apparently very good at sensing the public's mood, and very bad at actually rolling up her sleeves and working. One anecdote, about the work on Alaska's natural gas pipeline project, was consistent with other recent reports.



We've been getting a lot of reports lately about how Palin gets bored and detached when it's time to get policy work done. Larry Persily, who worked for Palin's Washington office, noted that some of the governor's problems resulted from the fact that she "underestimated exponentially how much more complex state government is than the city of Wasilla." Persily said Palin is smart but has "never" been "deeply engaged."

Republican state Rep. Mike Hawker added, "{Palin's} administration had the appearance of paying absolutely no attention to any of the rest of the unglamorous side of government."

The Anchorage Daily News' Gregg Erickson had a similar assessment: "{Palin} tends to oversimplify complex issues.... It is clear that she has not paid much attention to the nitty-gritty unglamorous work of government.... She seems to be of the view that politics should be all rather simple."

She's not engaged on federal issues and not engaged on state issues. Great.

—Steve Benen

... I've ever viewed Bush, knowing Bush was mostly about economic power and was pandering to the religious Right. Palin is a true believer and may actually want to bring about the Rapture.

If you don't have the instincts and mental training to engage and solve large, complex problems. Let alone the enthusiasm or curiosity to.

"incurious about the mechanism of government"


Nice :thumbsup:

:scared:

:scared:

:kick:

whatsoever. For one small example:
She calls herself a "hunter." She's a hunter like Cheney the Dick is a hunter. That's not hunting, that's just shooting and killing. Nothing sporting about it in any way.

... to reveal the true Sarah Palin. There have been too few stories bringing together all of Palin's *professional* history, laying out her style.

As for her disinterest in the "mechanisms of governing", consider her proclamations of executive experience as mayor of Wasilla. What she doesn't mention is that she hired a city manager to handle the actual dirty work of running the town.

She's a hollow shell, a personality-driven politician, just like Bush.