GOP "Meet the Hypocrisy"

Guiliani tells Brokaw on "Meet the Press" that Palin is ready on foreign policy because the most vital attribute for foreign policy leadership is 'executive experience'.

That of course disqualifies McCain entirely, and also says  Bush, who had much more 'executive experience' as Governor of Texas (and, they argued, as one of the owners of the Texas Rangers -- remember all that??) was one of our most-prepared-for-foreign policy leaders ever... ... .

How's he managed?

The one thing he has had to manage entirely on his watch, from the choice to launch to today, is his Iraq adventure.

Woodward follows Guiliani on show and one of first quotes they read  from his new book is ;

After ordering the invasion, the president spent three years in denial and then delegated a strategy review to his national security adviser.  Bush was intolerant of confrontations and in-depth debate.  There was no deadline, no hurry.  The president was engaged in the war rhetorically but maintained an odd detachment from its management.  He never got a full handle on it, and over these years of war, too often he failed to lead.

Woodward goes on to characterize Bush' management of the war since 2006; 'He's kind of wringing his hands'.

Another striking Palinesque note -- when Pelosi reached out to Bush privately to try to find some way to work together and asked "Can't we find a way to end this diviseness and work together?' he responded with 'My views are known and unalterable'.

Frank Rich has a good column today about the GOP affirmative action program that is Sarah Palin. 

Other Palin ledes today;

Once Elected, Palin Hired Friends and Lashed Foes

Speaking of executive experience, here is the low-down on the truly tiny job that is Mayor of Wasilla in oil-subsidized Alaska

The universe of the mayor of Wasilla is sharply circumscribed even by the standards of small towns, which limited Palin's exposure to issues such as health care, social services, the environment and education.

With so many government services in the state subsidized by oil revenue, and with no need to provide for local schools, Wasilla has also made do with a very low property tax rate -- cut altogether by Palin's successor -- sparing it from the tax battles that localities elsewhere must deal with. Instead, the city collects a 2 percent sales tax, the bulk of which is paid by people who live outside town and shop at its big-box stores.The mayor oversees a police department created three years before Palin took office; the public works department; the parks and recreation department; a planning office; a library; and a small history museum. ... ...When Palin was mayor, the population was just 5,500.

...Palin limited her duties further by hiring a deputy administrator to handle much of the town's day-to-day management. Her top achievement as mayor was the construction of an ice rink, a project that landed in the courts and cost the city more than expected.

Perhaps the scariest quote of all from the piece;

"People said, 'What are you doing to my city? I liked it better when we didn't have government,' '' said Richard Deuser, the city attorney at the time. "And Sarah really pandered to that resentment, that resistance to change. Sarah became their person."

And...

..."Sarah always did and still does surround herself with people she gets along well with," she said. "They protect her, and that's what she needs. She has surrounded herself with people who would not allow others to disagree with Sarah. Either you were in favor of everything Sarah was doing or had a black mark by your name."