Jonah Goldberg upsets fans of the Alaskan governor:
Dear Governor Palin,
You’re blowing it.
We haven’t met, but you might remember I was one of the first columnists to tout you for John McCain’s running mate. I cheered you mightily when Senator McCain selected you, and I still believe that you were the smartest choice he could have made given the obstacles before him. I’m also assuming you want to run for president some day.
I really don’t see what Palin’s more hysterical fans are so upset about. Goldberg is correct. Palin has great natural political gifts, but her performance as a vice-presidential candidate in 2008 was sub-par. If she makes the mistake of relying upon her natural talent rather than improving her game, she will likely lose the nomination since the GOP squish faction is gunning hard for her.
Although I correctly predicted Palin would be McCain’s running mate, I’m not favorably impressed by her. Like Obama, she’s just bright enough to think that she can coast through the big leagues, but that’s only true when the powers-that-be are laying down the palm leaves for you. The fact that she let McCain’s advisors tell her what to do told us all we needed to know about her capacity for judging some of the more complicated factors of national politics. If she’s learned her lesson and is now playing for keeps, she’ll listen to Republicans who wish her well, like Goldberg, while paying no attention to the likes of Brooks and Frum, who do not.
UPDATE: It seems Mrs. Palin may have taken Mr. Goldberg’s advice too much to heart, seeing as how she immediately announced her resignation from the governorship.