Ezra Klein and I had the same reaction to Sarah Palin's resignation speech:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/07/sarah_palin_resigns.html#comments
Which is tangentially related to something I often think about this time of year: Ego, team work, and good writing. Jefferson and Adams.
In the HBO miniseries about John Adams, there is a great scene where Adams asks Jefferson to help author the Declaration of Independence. Adams, who is portrayed as a person of great ego, asks Jefferson to help because he's a better writer and well..... people like him better than Adams. Later, they show the back and forth between Adams, Jefferson and Ben Franklin in drafting the final document.
Two great clips:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1Txi1687wo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrvpZxMfKaU&feature=related
There are a lot of great moments in American history when people with immense talent and ego recognize their limits and as Palin would say "pass the ball." Or better yet, as Harry Truman said: "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. "
If Palin can't even be bothered to pass the ball to a speechwriter, I think it's highly unlikely she will be part of any future great moments in history!
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