"Now she can prepare herself for higher office by studying up, reading in, boning up on the issues." Mrs. Palin's supporters have been ordering her to spend the next two years reflecting and pondering. But she is a ponder-free zone. She can memorize the names of the presidents of Pakistan, but she is not going to be able to know how to think about Pakistan. Why do her supporters not see this? Maybe they think "not thoughtful" is a working-class trope!I do have two complaints:
1. The claim near the end that the world has never been a more dangerous place is complete rubbish. Other than the happy period between the end of the cold war and 9/11, the world is less dangerous than at any time since before WW1. Noonan knows that I am sure but was evidently being thoughtless, which is not what you want in a column wherein you complain about someone else not being thoughtful enough.
2. One could make the argument that the cost of Sarah Palin is a small price to pay for SNL becoming funny again, at least when Tina Fey is doing her imitation. This argument should have been addressed in the column.
