"What We've Got Here...Is.....Failure To Communicate...."

There’s one scene, not to mention many others, in the movie “Cool Hand Luke” that I like a lot.

Luke, played by Paul Newman, is challenged to a fight by Dragline, played by George Kennedy because Drag, the “leader” of the chain gang is threatened by Luke’s growing popularity.

Take a few minutes to watch the scene provided here before reading any further.




The obvious lesson trying to be imparted here is never give up.

But that’s not what I remember.

What I remember is the wonderful job that George Kennedy did in conveying the frustration of somebody who went from wanting to beat the hell out of somebody to wanting that person to just lay down.

In other words, with each new punch, the feeling of victory was being overtaken by feelings of guilt.

I know exactly how Dragline felt.

Because it’s getting to that point when it comes to making comments about Sarah Palin.

Here’s a piece from CNN that brings my point into focus.



ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (CNN) -- With 10 days until Election Day, long-brewing tensions between GOP vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin and key aides to Sen. John McCain have become so intense, they are spilling out in public, sources say.

Several McCain advisers have suggested to CNN that they have become increasingly frustrated with what one aide described as Palin "going rogue."

McCain sources say Palin has gone off-message several times, and they privately wonder whether the incidents were deliberate. They cited an instance in which she labeled robocalls -- recorded messages often used to attack a candidate's opponent -- "irritating" even as the campaign defended their use. Also, they pointed to her telling reporters she disagreed with the campaign's decision to pull out of Michigan.

A second McCain source says she appears to be looking out for herself more than the McCain campaign.

"She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone," said this McCain adviser. "She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else.
"Also, she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party. Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves, as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom."

A Palin associate defended her, saying that she is "not good at process questions" and that her comments on Michigan and the robocalls were answers to process questions.

But this Palin source acknowledged that Palin is trying to take more control of her message, pointing to last week's impromptu news conference on a Colorado tarmac.
Tracey Schmitt, Palin's press secretary, was urgently called over after Palin wandered over to the press and started talking. Schmitt tried several times to end the unscheduled session.

"We acknowledge that perhaps she should have been out there doing more," a different Palin adviser recently said, arguing that "it's not fair to judge her off one or two sound bites" from the network interviews.

The Politico reported Saturday on Palin's frustration, specifically with McCain advisers Nicolle Wallace and Steve Schmidt. They helped decide to limit Palin's initial press contact to high-profile interviews with Charlie Gibson of ABC and Katie Couric of CBS, which all McCain sources admit were highly damaging.

But two sources, one Palin associate and one McCain adviser, defended the decision to keep her press interaction limited after she was picked, both saying flatly that she was not ready and that the missteps could have been a lot worse.

They insisted that she needed time to be briefed on national and international issues and on McCain's record.

"Her lack of fundamental understanding of some key issues was dramatic," said another McCain source with direct knowledge of the process to prepare Palin after she was picked. The source said it was probably the "hardest" to get her "up to speed than any candidate in history."


I imagine that even if you and I don’t share the same perspective politically, there’s a pretty good chance that we have at least one thing in common.

We’re both ready for all of this to be over.

But either way, I think it fair to say that the last three paragraphs of the story are not only telling, they’re stunning.

The McCain campaign is defending the decision to keep Palin from answering questions because “after she was picked…she was not ready and the missteps could have been a lot worse…she needed time to be briefed on national and international issues and on McCain’s record…her lack of fundamental understanding of some key issues was dramatic…and…it was the hardest to get her up to speed than any other candidate in history?”

Whatever else may have been, or has yet to be, said about this election, I think this story leads to only one reasonable conclusion.

Even the very campaign staff that was instrumental in choosing Palin to be the running mate is saying that she wasn’t qualified to be the candidate.

And, partisan politics aside, if she’s not qualified to be the candidate, then how in God’s name can anyone believe for a moment that she’s qualified to be one 72 year old heartbeat away from being President of the United States?

I admire Luke for not wanting to give up.

But I most identify with Dragline and the feeling of not wanting to throw any more punches.

Just lie down, Sarah.

And stay there.