Dumbfound by Michelle Obama?
Unfortunately, I missed this interview as it first aired, but aa reader forwarded me a link to the Youtube video, and I belatedly viewed it with great interest. Sarah Palin was on Sean Hannity’s show on Wednesday night to discuss a range of issues revolving around the Republican nomination fight, and some of the issues that have been raised in the recent criticisms of Romney’s record at Bain, among other things. I was interested to see what Governor Palin would say with respect to the questions about all of these things.
She was careful to draw a distinction between attacks on capitalism and capitalistic endeavors, and instances of such things as bail-outs to companies with which Romney is or was involved. When Hannity pressed her on Perry’s characterizations of “vulture capitalism,” she redirected the question toward the larger subject of free market capitalism:
“I would hope that Governor Perry and the other candidates would shift gears a little bit and start talking about how important it is that we do embrace free market capitalism and fight against crony capitalism that is a problem in Washington DC, and kind of focus along those lines.”
Watch the whole interview here:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XROys–R0XY]
Palin also mentioned two unresolved issues with Romney that we need to consider is the release of Romney’s tax returns, and also the issue of his claims of 100,000 jobs created. It’s a hard thing to take Romney seriously as he continues to withhold information that will be a bludgeon against him if he should be nominated. She also mentioned that a portion of all of this was inoculation against future attacks, and that’s an accurate assessment. By playing up these issues now, they’ll be “old news” later.
One of the funniest moments of this interview was when Hannity asked Governor Palin for her impression on Michelle Obama’s statement. Her reaction was probably much like that experienced by many Americans who heard this, because it hints at just how thoroughly out of touch those in the Obama inner circle really are.
I think what I will take from this interview is that Palin’s focus on the importance of free market capitalism in drawing the distinction between Barack Obama and the eventual GOP nominee is going to be critical, and contrary to conventional wisdom, this may not automatically redound to the benefit of Mitt Romney as some may have assumed. As I’ve noted, the fact that he was a businessman doesn’t necessarily make of him a capitalist, and the evidence is mixed, particularly considering his record as governor of Massachusetts.
Love Sarah's face after watching MOO…"Oh Lord, Oh Lord…"
"the fact that he was a businessman doesn’t necessarily make of him a capitalist" — I've certainly seen plenty of those over my lifetime. It is hard to imagine what goes through their heads. Many of the non-capitalist businessmen I've met spend much of their energy on charities, as if to make up for the guilt they are feeling for being in business.