Sarah Palin - Leading the American Taliban

Steve Benen at The Washington Monthly discusses Palin's recent speech at a Christian women's conference:

She asked for the women -- who greeted her with an enthusiastic standing ovation -- to provide a "prayer shield" to strengthen her against what she said was "deception" in the media.

She denounced this week's Wisconsin federal court ruling that government observance of a National Day of Prayer was unconstitutional -- which the crowd joined in booing. She asserted that America needs to get back to its Christian roots and rejected any notion that "God should be separated from the state."

So much for separation of church and state, eh?

Benen observes:

But far less amusing is the fact that Palin and others of her radical ilk reject any notion that "God should be separated from the state." It's the 21st century, for crying out loud. There are some countries that endorse Palin's worldview and intermix God and government -- Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan under Taliban rule come to mind -- but they're generally not countries the United States tries to emulate.

The separation of church and state has long been a concept that all Americans could embrace, and has served as a model for nations around the world to follow. For Palin to publicly denounce this bedrock American principle suggests she might actually be getting worse.

She's so absolutely clueless about everything. It's like history and facts and documentation are pesky gnats, to be swatted away if they don't conveniently fit into her narrative.

Let's hope this is part of her branding strategy, intended to drive more speeches, future book deals, and increase her worth as a talking head. Because if she really believes this stuff, and is serious about becoming president, there are enough sheep following her to make things problematic.