Don’t Know Much About History
By GAIL COLLINS
And do we really need a new Sarah Palin? Shouldn’t’t the first one be made to go away before we start considering replacements?
This picture from her response to the SOTU speech reminds me of a 1979 Rolling Stones Country Western song, "The Girl with the Faraway Eyes."
This column by Gail Collins is a fun read. We learn that Michele Bachmann’s epiphany came when she was a senior in college minutes after reading the historical novel "Burr" by Gore Vidal. It caused her to instantly switch from a Democrat to a Republican because Gore Vidal made fun of the sacrosanct Founding Fathers who not only ended slavery, but included John Quincy Adams from the following generation.
I read "Burr" recently and found like most all of Gore Vidal’s body of work, it was an American history lesson with the everyday life and humanity of the characters added to the politics of the times. In the case of this book, a Gung Ho defense of conservative Burr (States Rights) and an attack on the more liberal Alexander Hamilton (Federal Power).
We also learn how Bachmann was held hostage by gays in a toilet and hid in bushes to spy on gay gatherings. Collin’s closing remark is as good as her opener:
Maybe she’ll make Sarah Palin look good.