The Sarah Palin Debate Flow Chart is hilarious. And exactly right, I think. If you want to read Aden Nak’s post which accompanies the flow chart, it’s here. And worth reading.

FWIW, I don’t actually think Sarah Palin is stupid. If she were in your circle of friends, you’d probably think she’s pretty bright. In the circle of potential Presidents, well, that should be a higher bar, shouldn’t it? But I think we don’t actually know—she is so overwhelmed by being instantly catapulted to the national stage and her handlers’ attempts to control every utterance, she comes across as vapid and insincere. For instance, Katy Couric’s question about what newspapers she reads? I’d be willing to bet Palin knew damn well that she reads the NY Times and the Washington Post (or whatever), but was paralyzed by the idea that mentioning them might be taken as some kind of endorsement of The Liberal Media.

I do think there is lots of evidence that she is arrogant and incurious, as for example in the office redecoration Aden Nak mentions and her apparent disinterest, until recently, in anything outside the issues of Alaska politics. Her debate response apparently endorsing the Dick Cheney theory of the Vice Presidency should be enough to send anyone who believes in the Constitution into cardiac arrest. And there is plenty of reason to think that many of her religious views would be considered anathema by a large swath of Americans, and therefore need to be swept under the rug until after the election.

More to the point, though: she’s not ready. Politics aside (and God knows, I loathe her politics), the fact that she does come off as a deer—excuse me, a moose—in the headlights means we cannot trust our country’s destiny to her. Or the person of questionable judgment (and health) who decided she should be his running mate.

But stupid? Probably not. I just had to air that one quibble with Aden Nak’s post.

And now, finally, in the interest of intellectual honesty, I can’t resist undercutting my whole argument with the Forrest Gump quote that so elegantly summarizes the entire Bush presidency: “Stupid is as stupid does.”