I was cruisin’ the tubes when I came across a blog post on the Atlantic Monthly site about female support (or more precisely, the lack thereof) for Sarah Palin. At the bottom of the comments section was this gem from a “tnorton:”

If she didn’t have a good chance you liberals would not keep running stories daily headlines about her not being qualified, nor would your supporters spend most of their time responding or commenting on how she doesn’t have a chance. Funny how an attractive, intelligent republican female scares you guys so much. Must be because she not the average female liberal, A mullet wearing, PETA supporting lesbian member of NOW. Poor libs cant sleep at night worring about her. GO SARAH!!

If she didn’t have a good chance you liberals would not keep running stories daily headlines about her not being qualified, nor would your supporters spend most of their time responding or commenting on how she doesn’t have a chance. Funny how an attractive, intelligent republican female scares you guys so much. Must be because she not the average female liberal, A mullet wearing, PETA supporting lesbian member of NOW. Poor libs cant sleep at night worring about her. GO SARAH!!

Now, suffice it to say, I had one or two points of disagreement with this brilliant person, but the foremost was the idea that liberals thought that Palin running for President was a BAD THING. I felt compelled to share the following insight:

Are you freakin’ kidding me? I’m wetting myself with glee, and so is everybody I know. She’s our dream opponent. She lays bare everything about your party and ideology that we hold in utter contempt: Your cluelessness, arrogance, utter lack of concern for the vulnerable and the future, your worship of wealth as the determinant of human value, your casual attitude toward the grave responsibilities of public office, your substitution of glib talking points for policy analysis, your mindless jingoism, your rank hypocrisy, your deeply troubled relationship with the truth. She is a better refutation of the conservative creed than anything we could make up. She is a giant gift-wrapped wet dream for liberals who might otherwise be concerned about 2012. I’m on my knees praying to the God I cherish that conservatives are THAT FRICKIN’ STUPID! If she announces, I’m going to launch a fund-raising drive for her among my liberal friends. In the words of my second-least-favorite President: “Bring it on!”

Reading that last paragraph, the only thing I regret is the absence of the word “vacuous.” Feel free to insert it where appropriate.

The Republican Party has experienced hacks and gifted wonks at its call. It has people who can look good in a suit, stare into a camera, and recite a focus-group tested soundbite with the best of them. Can we dare to hope that the rabid base is gullible enough to believe that this human train wreck is the best choice to run against one of the best political operators in the history of American politics? Can we really be that lucky?