Lewis Black Takes on The Epic Insanity of Sarah Palin

Lewis Black popped by MSNBC’s Countdown tonight, and he had some thoughts to share on Sarah Palin. Black said that the idea that Palin could be considered a presidential candidate is epically insane, “The whole concept of her doing the reality show is more than — and then to hear them talk about her as a possible candidate for president is — we’ve now reached epic — it’s epically insane.”

Here is the video from MSNBC:

On Countdown, Lewis Black talked about Sarah Palin’s latest SarahPAC video, “I think what’s interesting is that after the editing, she shoots the grizzly. It’s unbelievable. It’s truly — I did every possible type of drug as a child, and nothing prepared for me this, Keith. Nothing even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined.”

Black then called Palin a fictional character come to life, “What I do believe is that she’s actually not real. That’s the way — that’s the only way my mind can deal with it. She’s a fictional character come to life. I used to say in the act, she reminds me of — it would be if it it was a movie, this would be terrific. If it was a film, it would be wonderful. Like Jimmy Stewart, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” Jimmy Stewart would be a better leader and he’s dead.”

He also had some choice words for The Learning Channel’s decision to air her reality show, “It’s The Learning Channel. That’s another one, you know. It’s another kind of — how on the learning — not the learning — it can’t be the learning — it The Learning Channel can’t in all good conscience put that on and call themselves The Learning Channel.”

Black talked about the bizarreness of Sarah Palin being discussed as potential presidential candidate, “The whole concept of her doing the reality show is more than — and then to hear them talk about her as a possible candidate for president is — we’ve now reached epic — it’s epically insane. I used to think you kind of go for a long time as you grow older, that’s nuts, it’s quirky, it’s odd. Now it’s just bizarro. It’s like when I was with the — you know, in the old days when you’d go to see the tent where the oddities were, the fat lady and the bearded lady. Now it comes to us. It’s now a 24-hour news cycle.”

Black pretty much nailed it. The notion that Palin can run off and do a reality show and still be discussed as a presidential candidate is surreal to say the least. Can you imagine Ronald Reagan quitting as governor of California, and prepping for his presidential run by hosting a reality show? It isn’t presidential, and the fact that she has chosen this path should disqualify her from any serious discussion but it won’t.

Lewis Black also hit on something else. Much of the media attention that Palin gets is because she is a cross between a train wreck and freak show. Palin’s often bizarre behavior makes for good television, but much like Christine O’Donnell, Palin doesn’t realize that people are laughing at her, not with her. Her own ego tells her that her fame equals political power, and a ticket to the Oval Office. The reality is that being famous for being famous is not the same as being viewed as qualified for the presidency. Palin will run in 2012, and she will lose. At this point she will go from a quirky freak show television to being just another failed presidential candidate.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association