Palin Derangement Syndrome worse than BDS

Andrew Breitbart, founder of the news Web site breitbart.com, explains the strange phenomenon known as Palin Derangement Syndrome, which seems to have infected all the previous carriers of Bush Derangement Syndrome and spread further. I take issue with Andrew only on semantics. He calls those infected with PDS "sufferers." The only people suffering are those of us nearby. They're PDS carriers, not sufferers.

Palin Derangement Syndrome, a more irrational variant of the Bush contagion, doesn't require sufferers to know anything about the subject of their hatred. Anonymous, unsourced rumors fuel the fire (book banning, speaking in tongues, creationism, etc.). Lovely family photos hacked from a personal e-mail account displayed on commercial Web sites push more buttons. Asterisks from Mrs. Palin's biographical sketch - "moose hunter," "small-town mayor," "wife of champion snow machine racer" - cause excessive sweating and irregular heartbeats. She even fired a guy who Tased a 10-year-old. (Oh wait, she didn't.)

What will happen when they find out she shops at Wal-Mart?

Predictably, the celebrity left - ridiculous enough to form a strong opinion based on unreliable data points and narcissistic enough to broadcast it - has taken to stage, television, newsprint and blogs to express its extreme ire at the Thrilla from Wasilla.

From there on, Breitbart starts quoting the deranged carriers of PDS, so don't read the whole thing unless you have a very strong stomach.

Breitbart concludes with a warning to PDS carriers that their ire may come back to bite them in the end, pun intended.

Not since the drubbing of Clarence Thomas during his 1991 Supreme Court confirmation hearings have liberals in Hollywood and the elite media so openly conspired to deny a minority the right to free thought and free expression of political ideals. Now Sarah Palin is exposing the Democratic Media Complex to a new generation, many of them open-minded women.

Joseph Curl, senior White House correspondent for The Washington Times, reports the Thrilla from Wasilla is taking The Big Apple by storm.

NEW YORK -- She may be a yokel from a state so far away it's not even considered flyover country, but Sarah Palin has electrified this city, which has seen absolutely everything (and quickly been smugly bored by it all).

You hear in the streets: "No, I think she's staying here, at this hotel!" You hear it in the elevator "here" -- the Millennium Broadway Hotel: "She's here, somewhere, maybe on the 52nd floor, in the really big suite." The bellboys ask you when they see your campaign credentials: "Can we meet her, just for a picture?" (Probably, um, not.)

She is, in fact, here, ready to check off the boxes that will make her an experienced running mate for her running mate, Sen. John McCain. She'll meet Tuesday with a slew of world leaders: First, Afghan President Harmid Karzai, then Columbia's President Alvaro Uribe, then former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, then hold a "private meeting" that is "closed" to the "ostracized" press.

John McCain is counterattacking PDS carriers, naming in particular that old gray ghost in the Big Apple, The New York Times, as number one.

The McCain campaign lashed out at The New York Times on Monday, accusing it of dropping its journalistic standards and being “150 percent in the tank” for Senator Barack Obama.

McCain personally didn't pass up an opportunity to bash the NYT and the media in general on Monday at a campaign stop when a lady asked him a question about PDS.

One of the three questions Monday came from a very angry woman. First, she drew the loudest applause of the day when she said to McCain, "I just want to say, thank you for Sarah Palin."

When the cheers died down, she struck: "I want to take the opportunity to ask the media, where's your 30 investigators over in Chicago! You gotta' start doin' your job and stop picking on little children because of their age and their pregnancy! Shame on you!"

McCain, with a wry smile, said: "That's a great question." More huge cheers. In the end, though, it didn't really matter. The 12 Monkeys -- David Foster Wallace's nickname for the dozen or so reporters from the big newspapers and wire services -- didn't wince. In fact, they didn't even bat an eye. Most weren't even listening, too busy typing away on their laptops in the back of the Scranton Masonic Temple.

Very good question. If you're waiting for the media to answer that one, don't hold your breath until they do. You'll get very blue in the face.

But to end on an up note, guess which big-shot Democrat said something nice about Sarah Palin?

Speaking about Palin's appeal to the "heartland," Big Bill Clinton said yesterday, "I come from Arkansas, I get why she's hot out there." Yep, he really said "hot."

Say what you will about Big Bill, hot babes is one area where he has some real expertise.

Obama: Emperor of the World!

You think the Big O's Berlin "Citizen of the World" speech was over the top? Stand by. He's going to top it tomorrow night at Mile High Stadium with his coronation, uh, acceptance speech.

Here's the facts from Reuters: Obama speech stage resembles ancient Greek temple

DENVER (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's big speech on Thursday night will be delivered from an elaborate columned stage resembling a miniature Greek temple.

The stage, similar to structures used for rock concerts, has been set up at the 50-yard-line, the midpoint of Invesco Field, the stadium where the Denver Broncos' National Football League team plays.

Some 80,000 supporters will see Obama appear from between plywood columns painted off-white, reminiscent of Washington's Capitol building or even the White House, to accept the party's nomination for president.

He will stride out to a raised platform to a podium that can be raised from beneath the floor.

Honest to God, folks, I couldn't possibly make this stuff up. The man is bat-sh!t crazy!

P.S. I stole the awesome photoshop from Mike O at The Political Inquirer

P.S. II, Big Bill says after his speech in Denver tonight, he's blowing town. (Did Monica call?) Bill chatted today about "candidate x" and then said he won't stay to hear the Greek god speech.

As usual, Charles Krauthammer has the definitive word on Obama, the Greek god coronation:

Has He Lost His Mind?

The Berlin folly -- in English.

The Superbowl Halftime Show -- without the game.

What's the finish? Maybe Obama’s got Zhang Yimou to do the hidden-rope trick, and have him lifted, Beijing-style, to the heavens when he’s done. Will he reappear three days later at the Bird’s Nest?

Or maybe he'll just do a Napoleon and coronate himself. By the time Napoleon made himself emperor, he had won the Battles of Lodi, of Arcole, of Rivoli, of the Pyramids and of Marengo. And had promugulated the Napoleonic Code. He had yet to write a single autobiography.

The return of Bill and Bruno II

Jonah Goldberg uses a monster movie theme to chronicle the umpteenth return of Bill and his lovely wife Bruno, and guess who the victim in the shower is in Nightmare on Dem Street?

The Clintons are back. The coffin lid has sprung open, the seal of the crypt has been broken, the mutant virus has escaped the lab. Both Clintons will speak at the Democratic convention, and Hillary will get her I-told-you-so's.

...But fixating on the plot is never a good idea with monster flicks. The point is that the story is always the same. And so it is this time as well. Bill and Hillary are back. And forever more, Barack Obama won't be able to take a shower without fear of that curtain snapping back, as a woman - or is that a man? - prepares to plunge the knife into his back.

Amanda Carpenter at Townhall.com says the Clinton pair's starring role at the Democratic Convention reveals just one more reason Obama is not quite ready for prime time.

While Obama slipped away to Hawaii, Hillary Clinton finagled herself a roll call vote at the Democratic convention and her husband a prime time speaking slot.

In other words, Obama got rolled by Hillary for his own convention. That should tell you something about his ability to stand up to hardknuckled political leaders.

Bill & Hill plan Denver drama

Maureen Dowd at the New York Times has got her pretty red head all in a dither. She’s shouting out a warning to Obama, far away in Hawaii on vacation, that meanwhile back at home, Bill and his lovely wife Bruno are hatching a deep, dark plot to steal the show at the Denver convention.

Can Hillary pull off such a dastardly deed as stealing the nomination from the Anointed One, the Obamessiah? Dowd warns Yes, She Can

While Obama was spending three hours watching “The Dark Knight” five time zones away, and going to a fund-raiser featuring “Aloha attire” and Hawaiian pupus, Hillary was busy planning her convention.

You can almost hear her mind whirring: She’s amazed at how easy it was to snatch Denver away from the Obama saps. Like taking candy from a baby, except Beanpole Guy doesn’t eat candy. In just a couple of weeks, Bill and Hill were able to drag No Drama Obama into a swamp of Clinton drama.

Now they’ve made Barry’s convention all about them — their dissatisfaction and revisionism and barely disguised desire to see him fail. Whatever insincere words of support the Clintons muster, their primal scream gets louder: He can’t win! He can’t close the deal! We told you so!

Hillary’s orchestrating a play within the play in Denver. Just as Hamlet used the device to show that his stepfather murdered his father, Hillary will try to show the Democrats they chose the wrong savior.

It’s OK, Obama. Party on. Maureen’s just feeling a little paranoid. What could possibly go wrong? Bill and Hill wouldn’t dare stab you in the back.