Biden Swears in, Palin Swears Revenge

As you may know, the Veep is currently in Iraq, making the rounds to prove to us just how safe it is to live there. If you have body armor. Some body armor. And a cadre of Secret Service Agents. Oh, and guns, that's right, guns.

Still, Biden made the rounds, so to speak, greeted by the forces in Iraq, and then made a special trip to see his son, Beau, who, despite being Attorney General of Delaware, also finds the time to serve as a Captain with the Delaware National Guard. He also took the time during his sojourn abroad to give some fighting men and women what they've been holding out for, besides the whole "not dying" thing. The Vice President, sporting a khaki suit and combat boots, looking somewhat like a desert pimp, spent some of July 4 helping 237 members of the Armed Forces become American citizens. They were sworn in in Al Faw Palace, previously occupied by one Saddam Hussein, to which Biden said "That S.O.B is rolling in his grave right now." Classy, Joe. Then again "that's good 'ol Joe for ya'!" And, really, I can't go about saying Saddam wasn't an SOB, just... I might do it with some class. But still with a khaki suit and combat boots.

Meanwhile, as Matt so diligently reported, Sarah Palin, Biden's former "competitor" for the Number Two spot, has resigned her Governorship effective the end of July. Sort of?

CNN, who rudely interrupted the controversy-embroiled Governor on an impromptu fishing trip, caught her with her pants up - her waders, that is! - and her fists raised, reporting this morning that Palin told them "I am not a quitter; I am a fighter." Damn. Damn, damn, damn.

As CNN and Fox News both reported, Palin didn't rule out a run for the Presidency in 2012. Son... of a bitch.

I don't hate the lady. In one of the pieces I've written for the book, I describe my own early distaste for her that was then peppered with some understanding at the reasons people were calling her stupid, like "not knowing what the VP does." Let's be honest - the VP doesn't have to do much at all, so in essence, it was a valid question. But these latest developments beg the question - she pulled down McCain's campaign, so how does she think she can have one all her own?

If the media is as powerful and vindictive as she'd like us to believe, calling the accusations against her "bull crap" (classy, Sarah), how does she plan on winning us over? Her idea of being a politician is to just play straight-up corn-fed, slap your baby and kiss your back. She's about 70 years behind in understanding what it actually means to be a politician. If she wants back in the game, she's going to have to play hard ball. And if she does, I see a bunch of Anti-Hillary democrats changing their minds just to keep Palin off the ticket.

Which ticket, though, remains to be seen. She's reportedly been trashing both Obama and the Republican party quite heavily, a move that indicates she's either clinging to the "Maverick Republican" image of John McCain, or she's moving on. Could there be a third-party run? Despite her record, her popularity could easily get whatever third party she chose instant media coverage, sending the media tripping over itself to "see what this whole third-party thing is all about," leading it to - cue the collective orgasm of Libertarians everywhere - eventually giving someone like Ron Paul some air time.

Whatever she decides to do, I think you should know this when you think toward 2012. There are people, like Thomas Van Flein (Palin's lawyer), who think things like this (as quoted on CNN):

"In my opinion, she was the national campaign for Republicans last fall," Van Flein said. "I know John McCain was the candidate, but the decision was really about Sarah Palin and could she take on Obama. That was a lot of weight on her shoulders to carry that campaign, and they almost pulled it off."

Ouch.

- Jason Klamm
(see my own presidential campaign site, for 2020 [& 2016] here, to give you an idea of what can happen when media completely informs someone's idea of what it is to be a politician)