“What man or mouse with a fully functioning human brain and a résumé as thin as Palin’s would flirt with a presidential run? It makes the political biography of Barack Obama look more like Winston Churchill’s, despite the fact that the 44th president breezed into the Oval Office as little more than a glorified state senator.

“Still, Palin is undeterred, charging ahead maniacally while declaring her intention to run for the top office in the land if ‘nobody else will.’ Adding audacity to this dopey dream is that Palin can’t stop herself from taking swings at Republican giants. In the past month alone, she has mocked Ronald Reagan’s credentials, dismissed George H.W. and Barbara Bush as arrogant “blue bloods” and blamed George W. Bush for wrecking the economy…

“If Republicans want to embrace Palin as a cultural icon whose anti-intellectualism fulfills a base political need, then have at it. I suppose it’s cheaper than therapy.

“But if the party of Ronald Reagan, Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio wants to return to the White House anytime soon, it’s time that Republican leaders started standing up and speaking the truth to Palin.”

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“TV’s Joe Scarborough, who today dismissed Sarah Palin as a symbol of ‘anti-intellectualism’ with a ‘dopey dream’ of being president, will help headline the launch next month of a new national group dedicated to restoring civility in politics.

“Scarborough, a Republican, former Florida congressman and host of “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, will participate in the debut event of “No Labels” on December 13 at Columbia University in New York…

“The message of the group, encapsulated in a ‘Declaration’ written by McKinnon, is a plea for calm, reason and cooperation.”

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“I actually had to Google what the meaning of ‘blue bloods’ was, although I could surmise that it was some kind of knock against education and coming from a family of some success. Yes, in essence that is what this statement meant. Families that work hard and achieve a long line of successful people are ‘blue bloods’ and thus, she implied the opinions of said people are jaded and elitist, even if that family lineage has a long history of public service and leadership within Republican Party. Of course, Sarah Palin is also living the American dream, albeit a different one without the help of any kind of family lineage. She has a successful career that probably most Americans would want by earning millions for her reality show, appearances on Fox, and getting paid to go places and speak her mind. Both of these narratives exemplify why this country is still as Ronald Reagan famously put it ‘a shining city upon a hill.’…

“As Republicans we cannot risk heightening this cultural war to a higher level than it is already. It is not just the liberal elites versus the ‘real’ American Republicans, it is now becoming a war within the Republican Party itself about what kind of people we want leading the party. This type of rhetoric will continue to alienate and stereotype Republicans that don’t pass cultural purity tests. We are watching the old fashioned spirit of the Republican Party that once served us so well abused for the purpose of clever talking points.”

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“What is particularly amusing is the GOP political-consulting complex circling the wagons to protect their fortress, as reported before Thanksgiving by Politico. Based on all this history, just who is it among the prospective 2012 candidates that they think will escape the ‘too dumb to be president’ treatment Palin will undergo were she to run? George Romney’s son Mitt, like his father a successful businessman turned governor? Mike Huckabee? Or a Pawlenty, Daniels, Barbour, Rubio, Perry, Jindal etc., etc., etc.?

“Dwight D. Eisenhower was a hero-general of World War II, the man who organized D-Day, the successful invasion of Europe — yet he was mocked from one end of the country to the other as nothing more than a bumbling, unimaginative fool. With the greatest of respect to all those under consideration for 2012, there is not an Eisenhower at the starting gate.

“Whoever emerges as the winner of the 2012 GOP nomination is in reality in line to be Palinized.”

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