Daniel,

With all due respect, I have to disagree with your assessment of Palin’s prayer. To me, and others, it seems that we have to read the word “is” in her prayer in the subjunctive. That is, she seems to pray in hope that it is a mission from God, not suggesting, definitively, that it is.

She’s far from perfect, but I think we ought to give her a fair shake. I certainly don’t think that this prayer means what many wish to suggest that it does.

Cheers,
NPO

Nathan, with all due respect, your point is about as substantial as a mouse’s fart in a hurricane.

Whether Palin is saying in that clip that the war in Iraq *is* a mission from God, or whether she’s asking everyone to pray that it is, either way, she’s showing herself to favor the same old warmongering neoconnized theocracy of the Bushite variety that we’ve had to endure for the past 8 years.

I honestly don’t see how pointing out that she stated that she hopes and prays that the Iraq War is the will of God is NOT giving her a “fair shake.”

She may not have stated that the Iraq War IS the will of God, but what she did say is that she WANTS it to be, and called on others to pray that it IS.

1. I have no particular interest in reassuring myself of anything: I’m a committed Barr supporter.

2. I, still, shall contend that, just maybe, it’s not so cut-and-dry. She may be suggesting that she wants it to be the will of God, but she might also be praying that it is lest we, otherwise, act against the will and draw the ire of God.

There’s a longstanding cultural myth that an honest, authentic person will come to power accidentally and enact sweeping, benign reforms. This might not happen very frequently in real life, but it happens in the movies all the time.

Because of the unusual political and cultural nuances to her background, it’s easy to fall into that hope with Palin. We’ve heard so many times in the last week that McCain didn’t vet her properly. That only fuels our hopes. He didn’t know what he was getting into! we’ll tell ourselves.

Unfortunately, on the most important issue of the election — the war state — Palin appears to have lousy views, although she’s appealing in some other respects. And even if she were a peacenik, it wouldn’t make any sense to back McCain, of all people: The man at the top of the ticket would still be an imperialist. But if McCain does get elected, we can still fantacize that there’s a secret subversive at his right hand, just waiting for the opportunity to step into his shoes and throw some sand in the machinery of power.

Those fantasies aren’t particularly harmful. Just as long as they don’t become a substitute for throwing sand ourselves.

Nathan P. Origer is 100% right in his assessment of the nature of Palin’s comment. I have absolutely no truck with the McCain/Palin ticket and what it represents, but truth is truth, she made no such remark that the Iraq project was a mission from God. To say otherwise is demonstrably and patently false.

Tim,

Would that Palin were paleo, she’s actually ReichsChurch. If she were paleo we’d have at least an even chance of there being a rukus raised about running with a war-mongering, stem-cell research supporting poseur like McCain. Palin probably can be best compared to the early Martin Neimoller sans armband. But so good looking. How sad.