The Man Formerly Known as The Designated Adult

Rich Lowry, editor of The National Review, formerly known as "the designated adult," actually wrote this after seeing the Biden/Palin debate:

I'm sure I'm not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, "Hey, I think she just winked at me." And her smile. By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America. This is a quality that can't be learned; it's either something you have or you don't, and man, she's got it.

After Lowry endured much mockery, the Boo Man came to his defense:

Everyone's mocking Lowry, but I at least partially agree with him. I described myself as stunned, which isn't that far from mesmerized. I had a tremendous amount of difficulty processing any meaning in what she was saying. Part of the reason for that was that she was speaking extraordinarily quickly and part of it was that she kept making unsignaled changes in direction. Part of it was because a lot of what she was saying was filler, and basically meaningless. But another big factor was that I couldn't believe my eyes. I couldn't believe that she was acting like a beauty contestant, and it stunned me almost insensate. I couldn't believe that John McCain had allowed this to happen. I still can't. So my sympathy goes out to Rich Lowry. He's now the butt of a joke. But, for me, those little starbursts in the living room were real. They came from my frying synapses.

Well. I think we have progressed well beyond the Stephen Colbert stage of American politics and are now in totally uncharted waters.

Sit up a little straighter.