The story is being imbued by MSNBC with all the reportorial eminence of D-Day. This is big, crucial, the most earthshaking story of the 2016 GOP presidential race so far. Steve Kornacki is breathless and Chuck Todd is deeply inquiring and Chris Matthews is early to work because THIS IS HUGE. One nitwit is endorsing another nitwit and yet another nitwit is left out in the cold -- graciously, though, and of course unctuously:
I love @SarahPalinUSA Without her support, I wouldn't be in the Senate. Regardless of what she does in 2016, I will always be a big fan.
That Cruzian tweet is accompanied by this Palinesque dig:
Palin's cited story (in her tweet) is irrelevant. People don't like Ted Cruz because he's Ted Cruz, and that's pretty much all one needs to know.
But my, what a hubbub. Imagine ... Sarah Palin is betraying one of her very own! Who would have ever thought she could do such a thing? Why, it's almost as though she's without scruples.
Something else she's without is political juice. From FiveThirtyEight last summer:
The chart, quite simply, bespeaks another irrelevancy: Sarah Palin herself. Her "net favorability rating among Republicans has declined more than 55 percentage points, from +83 percentage points to +27 points by mid-2013." Palin, noted 538, had become so politically irrelevant that pollsters stopped polling about her. No one cared any longer.
Until today -- until she decided to endorse Donald Trump, which will put her back in the headlines for 24 or maybe 48 hours. Which, probably, is the entire point of Palin's endorsement: anything for some lipstick on a pig.
***
Showtime: About three Trumpeteers clapped when Palin finally came on stage. To compensate, however, she proceeded ditzier than ever -- with The Donald looking as though he couldn't wait for her to shut the fuck up.
(One highlight: Palin ripped the GOP establishment for "eating its own" -- attacking Trump -- just before ripping her own party's majority in Congress for not more fiercely attacking Obama.)
(Oh my God! This speech could finally sink the Trump candidacy.)
Can Trump's campaign become any more ridiculous? Palin? I'd almost forgotten she was even alive. This is Yuuuuuuge? For the terminally witless. Yes. It's Yuuuuuuge.
Posted by: Shaw Kenawe | January 19, 2016 at 04:35 PM
What could be more fun for the boys and girls at MSNBC than Palin? Party time!
Posted by: Bob | January 19, 2016 at 05:27 PM
This is the best American presidential election ever! And I have been indulging in a fascination with American politics for at least two thirds of my sixty years. There's always new things to discover and new perspectives to see but I defy anyone to find me an election year with a better cast of characters and better clowns.
Posted by: Peter G | January 19, 2016 at 06:18 PM
The only thing that could be better is if Trump chooses Palin as his running mate. Go Palin!!!
Posted by: Anne Dillon | January 19, 2016 at 06:48 PM
Phil Plait, the astronomer, nailed it with this classic Tweet: "Sarah Palin endorsing Trump is so ridiculous that the only analogy mocking it enough is that it’s like Sarah Palin endorsing Trump."
Posted by: shsavage | January 20, 2016 at 07:28 AM
Also, there's this instant classic: http://www.mediaite.com/online/tomorrows-ny-daily-news-cover-doesnt-hold-back-on-birdbrains-trump-palin/
Posted by: shsavage | January 20, 2016 at 07:32 AM
I'll see you and raise with a Pet Shop Boys song.
http://crazyeddiethemotie.blogspot.com/2016/01/ny-daily-news-mocks-palin-endorsing.html
Posted by: Neon Vincent | January 20, 2016 at 08:41 AM