‘Sarah Palin is a symbol of everything that is wrong with the modern United States’

(Obama doesn’t get off scot-free, though)

That’s Matt Taibbi’s quote, saying Sara Palin herself is just a reflection the real problem:

The great insight of the Palin VP choice is that huge chunks of American voters no longer even demand that their candidates actually have policy positions; they simply consume them as media entertainment, rooting for or against them according to the reflexive prejudices of their demographic, as they would for reality-show contestants or sitcom characters.

That said, Taibbi obviouslynever drank the Obama Kool-Aid, either:

It is worth noting that the same criticisms of Palin also hold true for two other candidates in this race, John McCain and Barack Obama. As politicians, both men are more narrative than substance, with … Obama mostly playing the part of the long-lost, future-embracing liberal dreamboat not seen on the national stage since Bobby Kennedy died. If your stomach turns to read how Palin's Kawasaki 704 glasses are flying off the shelves in Middle America, you have to accept that Middle America probably feels the same way when it hears that Donatella Versace dedicated her collection to Obama during Milan Fashion Week. Or sees the throwing-panties-onstage-“I love you, Obama!” ritual at the Democratic nominee's town-hall appearances.

Matt does note the obvious difference in intelligence levels between Palin and Obama, but he’s right; Obama is just as much a “commodity” as she is.

Likewise, I never drank the Obama Kool-Aid for similar reasons.