What the hell are these people smoking?

One thing stands out about the plethora of conservative pundits extolling Gov. Palin’s performance during last night’s debate.

They didn’t come out this strongly after the presidential debate… and I chalk that up to the fact that Palin was NOT as good as advertised last night as she evaded answering some questions… she tried to use her “folksy” charm WAY too often and it didn’t work… and she couldn’t think off her feet nor go off the cards to save her life.

All of this makes these conservative comments about her performance even funnier…

Joe Lieberman, on Fox “News”: “She hit it out of the ballpark. She proved that she is ready to be John McCain's Vice President. She was strong, she was competent, she was informed, she was very genuine. She was humorous.” (What the hell was Joe watching? And smoking while watching?)

Andy McCarthy of National Review; “Palin's a star. Her instincts are practical and conservative, so I wish she weren't so bound to McCain. (McCain should wish that too — that's what's made her so popular and given him a shot.) Watching her is fun. It's like watching a rookie who's taken the league by storm and is hitting .290, and you just know that in two years, she'll be hitting .340 ... while Biden is hitting .210 and belongs back in Double A.” (Riiiiiiight…)

Pat Buchanan on MSNBC said that Palin “wiped the floor” with Joe Biden. (Again, like Lieberman; What the hell was Pat watching? And smoking while watching?)

Rudy Giuliani speaking to Fox "News" host Sean Hannity; "One of the very best debate performances I've ever seen by anyone. And only the liberal media could deny her this victory". (That...or a brain...)

McCain communications director Jill Hazelbaker; “Tonight, Governor Palin proved beyond any doubt that she is ready to lead as Vice President of the United States. She won this debate, putting Joe Biden on defense on energy, foreign policy, taxes and the definition of change. Governor Palin laid bare Barack Obama's record of voting to raise taxes, opposing the surge in Iraq, and proposing to meet unconditionally with the leaders of state sponsors of terror. The differences between the Obama-Biden ticket and the McCain-Palin ticket could not have been clearer. The American people saw stark contrasts in style and worldview. They saw Joe Biden, a Washington insider and a 36-year Senator, and Governor Palin, a Washington outsider and a maverick reformer. Governor Palin was direct, forceful and a breath of fresh air.”

Charles Krauthammer on Fox “News” praised Palin’s performance, but said “I wasn’t impressed by the depth of her answers or the breadth of her knowledge.” (Probably because she doesn’t have any knowledge Chuck)

Electing McCain, and thus making her a 72-year old heartbeat away from the presidency would be the biggest disaster to his the US in a very long time.

Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen… Vote Obama.

And finally…

In case you hadn’t read or heard about this today…

Appearing on a KTRS Radio show in St. Louis today, McCain Victory chair Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO, was asked by the host; “Do you think she has the experience to run a major company like Hewlett Packard?”

Fiorina answered; “No, I don’t. […] But that’s not what she’s running for. Running a corporation is a different set of things.”

Ouch.

When asked about that comment later in the day during an MSNBC interview, Fiorina replied: “Well, I don't think John McCain could run a major corporation.”

Ouch again.

With surrogates like this… who needs opponents?

UPDATE: Well, apparently McCain doesn't need surrogates like this...

After hearing her bluntly state that neither he nor Palin were capable of running a major corporation, one of McCain's top campaign advisers said that she will be punished.

From CNN's Political Ticker;

"Carly will now disappear," this source said. "Senator McCain was furious." Asked to define "disappear," this source said, adding that she would be off TV for a while – but remain at the Republican National Committee and keep her role as head of the party’s joint fundraising committee with the McCain campaign.

Fiorina was booked for several TV interviews over the next few days, including one on CNN. Those interviews have been canceled.

OOOOOOOO, sounds like someone's being take out to the woodshed...