The Ignorantly Arrrogant Thing

I don't often post about the thing Steve Benen so perfectly named "the former half-term governor," because it feeds on publicity and starved of attention it would wither away.

But today the thing's arrogance really got under Benen's skin, to the point the infamously fair-minded blogger got snarky and nailed it:

Palin sees the oil spill disaster in the Gulf and thinks it's evidence of how correct she was. But the pathologically dishonest former half-term governor seems to have forgotten that Google exists, and many of us know how to use it. Palin has repeatedly called for coastal drilling, and incorporated coastal exploration as part of her child-like "drill, baby, drill." She is, in other words, lying about claims that are surprisingly easy to check.

But what really gets me is the condescending tone. I don't mind arrogance; I mind idiots who think they're smarter than everyone else, too ignorant to recognize their own ignorance.

It's one thing for Palin to shamelessly lie about her own approach to drilling, but it's so much worse when she tops it off with, "Now do you get it?" It suggests the rest of us would understand the nuances of her policy positions if we'd only pay closer attention.

Believe me, gov, we "get it" just fine. We "get" that you're lying about easily-checked claims. We get that you're a conspicuously unintelligent demagogue who posts online because you're too scared to talk to a reporter directly.