The Empire strikes back

The WSJ graciously allowed Nancy Pfotenhauer, national spokesperson for the McC campaign, to write up a glowing review of Palin, filled with little white lies that never hurt anybody. Possible even worse than their profile on Cindy McCain back in april (see my review here) this is just priceless. Below, the first few paragraphs. My comments are in light blue.

In Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Sen. John McCain has found a fellow maverick to be his running mate -- one who can help bring the right kind of reform to Washington. Ms. Palin, like Mr. McCain, has a strong record of battling the status quo, restoring accountability and effectiveness to government, and working to secure energy independence, root out corruption and curb wasteful spending. (I'm not even touching this one since it's only the inital salvo, a summary, if you will, of the following crock.)

As the chief executive of the nation's largest state, (Largest in area, fifth smallest populationwise.) Ms. Palin oversees some of the country's largest energy reserves.(Alaska does have the some of the largest reserves in US but the largest is in North Dakota and part of Montana. So?) She came into office at a critical time in Alaska politics, facing a system plagued by corruption. Her response was to immediately begin cleaning it up. (the governor is currently under an ethics investigation by the Alaska state legislature ==> Palin Staff Pushed to have trooper fired) The results of her leadership today speak for themselves: Ms. Palin's approval ratings top 80% -- more than 60% higher than that of the Democratic Congress. (Correction, her approval ratings have fallen to 65%. Congress inherited its rating from the last 6 years)

Ms. Palin has a tangible, impressive record of achievement and executive experience. (¿? Palin's experience is couple of years as governor and six years as mayor of her hometown, with a population of 6, 500.) She is head of the Alaska National Guard (and tell us, Nancy, which crisis exactly did she use her chief executive skills?) and the chairman of two multistate agencies that make energy decisions that affect all Americans.
(Ted Anthony over at huffpo notes:

Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, considers Palin “extremely responsive and smart” and says she is in charge when it comes to in-state services, such as emergencies and natural disasters where the National Guard is the first responder.

But, in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, he said he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations.)

While Barack Obama spent almost all of the past two years running for president, Ms. Palin has been running a state. (Sorry to repeat this. A conservative, red states, fifth smallest in population. Plagued with corruption. Where it seemed she was different, but Troopergate and the flipflopping on the bridge suggest more of the same. )

It's telling that Sen. Obama chose to give a negative, partisan speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Whenever Obama dares criticize, he is painted as being negative. (Doesn't this strike you as racist? He's jiving, and they'll dismiss him are puerile or pollyana-like. But he points out the bad stuff, and suddenly he's the angry black man, and nooooo, we don't want that.) He envisions a Democratic monolith in Washington that will solve all of our problems.(Huh? If anything, he's the community organizer guy, the one who tells everyone to work towards a common goal instead of just expecting a handout. )

Look, it goes on and on, and the full text can be found here: Ignore the Chauvinists, Palin has real experience Although judging from the comments, a lot of which say pretty much what I'm commenting on, readers aren't impressed. WSJ readers. Huh.