Tarot Reading The Palin-Biden Debate: The Bright Knight Versus the Fire-Breathing Gas Bag

UPDATE: Oh, without a doubt, Governor Palin won this thing hands down. She was on her game. I wasn't too far off the mark in my reading, but I erred in reading perhaps too much in the fact that I drew the cards upright. I should have stuck to the method I originally learned from the Mythic Tarot, to wit-each and ever Tarot card has its own unique positives and negatives regardless of the position in which they appear. The key is to reading them in context, especially when it involves spreads.

I should have stuck to that, because if I had, my interpretation would have been far closer to what actually happened tonight. Sarah the Knight in Shining Armor did not exactly "slay" the Fire-Breathing Gas bag, but she damn sure kept him chained in his lair. Hey, didn't I say that though, in so many words? Well, what's going on here is even though I predicted that Sarah would do good, even I was very surprised at how good she actually did.

As for Biden, he did not make any serious mistakes and seemed cordial enough. It is hard for me to dislike Joe Biden, who I see as an affable and well-meaning sort, though I disagree with him profoundly on most of his positions. Aside from all that, Palin owned the stage tonight. Against any other opponent, Biden might have emerged the victor in this debate at least on a tactical level. Against our Sarah, however, he comes across as just another tired old business as usual Washington poll who has been in the Senate roughly ten years longer than anybody should be. Sarah was fresh, eager, positive, engaging, quick-witted, knowledgeable, and utterly charming as hell. Just as important as any of this, however, perhaps even more to the point-and this is the one thing the media and Washington elites and pundits just cannot seem to grasp-

She is authentic. She is one of us. I don't mean she is just one of us in the sense of rank and file Republican or a conservative, or a Christian, though she is certainly all of those, while I am in all honesty none of those. I am not even what you could call a "true blue conservative". No, what I mean is that she is authentically one of us as an average American who knows what most of us live through every day of our lives. I have no doubt she even understands many of the frustrations of the left, which probably helps her take their criticisms in context as well as with a big old grain of salt.

In all fairness, Joe Biden did pull even with Governor Palin in one respect. They both demonstrated that each should be, by all rights, at the top of their respective tickets.

Other than that one similarity, however, Palin distinguished herself tonight as a one of a kind politician all too rare in American politics, somebody who is actually from and of the people. There are more of them than you realize in public life, but even most of them soon seem to, as the old saying goes, forget where they came from. Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, and even Ronald Reagan belong to this class. Another one that fits this description is Joe Biden.

There are others who walk among the people and empathize to a point with their concerns, but are yet strangely in a world of their own, among them and yet apart from them. Obama would seem to fall into this category.

There are even those rare individuals who, though they come from an elite class, find themselves thrust by way of unforeseen circumstances into situations that give them a unique insight into the more gritty realities of everyday life in ways they might not have otherwise ever conceived. John McCain would seem to fit into this mold.

And of course there are those who wrap themselves in the persona of the common man and play the part to the utmost while never really having a true anchor in that world aside from their unfortunate personal foibles. George W. Bush would be such an individual.

Palin however is one of those rare individuals who up until now has risen to the heights of power and influence and emerged onto the national spotlight while never losing her true sense of self, remaining anchored in the reality of life and the world of which she is a part. I would compare her to Harry Truman in this regard.

However the election turns out, she scored a very definite victory tonight-not only for her, but perhaps most importantly, for the common American man and woman. Yes, we have a voice.

END OF UPDATE

The debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden is tomorrow night, and I decided to do a tarot reading to try to grasp what might conceivably happen. The results were quite interesting.

For Sarah Palin, I drew the Knight of Cups upright.



That I drew this card in the upright position is a good sign and also for her a good card. It is also a very significant one in the context of recent events. Due to certain missteps and misunderstandings, I've had the feeling McCain has treated his running mate as though she were a damsel in distress that needs protection from some malicious fire-breathing dragon. By this I don't so much mean their Democratic rivals as I mean the press and the more vocal far left fringe detractors of Palin. First we had the highly and obviously edited interview conducted by the arrogant ABC News anchor Charles Gibson, which was followed by a shameful display of "gotcha" "journalism" by CBS News anchor Katie Couric, who in my opinion lulled Palin into a false sense of security by engaging in a "heart-to-heart" period of "girl talk" before proceeding to lower the boom. I can't prove that, of course, and it doesn't really matter in one way, because even if it is true Palin should have known better than to fall for it.

Now, some conservatives are feeling anxious about her presence on the Republican ballot. Some are even suggesting that she find a way to step down "with dignity". Of course, most of these so-called conservatives are doubtless pursuing their own agenda and were never too happy with Palin's overt displays of Christian faith. More importantly, they doubtless have serious reservations about her reputation as a fighter of government corruption, a persona she brought to beat against Republican officials within her state probably far more often than she did Democrats. Let's just say that their reasons might be construed as self-serving ones.

It would be a drastic error in judgment for Palin to be removed from the ticket, and I don't think that is going to happen. For one thing it would be heralded as an admission by the McCain campaign that her pick demonstrated poor judgment on McCain's part. For another, it would be seen as a victory by the far left who have gone overboard in their personal attacks on Palin, saying things about her and her family that would conceivably result in widespread city riots if similar things were said about Obama.

Palin should not be viewed as some damsel in distress, however, but as the white knight riding in on her horse to rescue the fair maiden-or perhaps more appropriately the fair prince-of American conservatism. I think she will do this well, and to great effect. I just hope she isn't too hamstrung by McCain's desire to run a "positive campaign". She should give no quarter and not be afraid to go on the offensive.

Her opponent in the debates has a good many weaknesses which she could and should exploit. She would be foolish not to do so, and I am hopeful that she will. The evil fire-breathing dragon of the Democratic Party has a lot to answer for regarding their contribution to the current home mortgage crisis and the resultant financial turmoil in the markets, and she should stand firm and bring this all out in the open. Republicans have been afraid to do so publicly thus far out of a misguided fear of appearing to be against the poor and "anti-minority"-in other words, racist. But it is a fact that the governments involvement by way of Democratic initiatives to mandate the extension of credit to the poor, and especially minority borrowers in an attempt to increase the percentage of poor and minority homeowners despite their questionable ability to make good on their payments is arguably the greatest cause of the current crisis. The Democratic party has not been held to account for this mess they are for the most part responsible for creating.

To rub salt on an already festering wound, some of the major players involved in causing the problem, such as Barney Frank in the House and Chris Dodd in the Senate, are the ones now charged with leading the initiative to solve the problem. That to me is rather like putting Jack the Ripper in charge of the Whitechapel Murders. You're right. That doesn't make any sense. Neither does this.

Being a shining knight in armor is not always easy, if it ever is. Palin can do it with a smile and be the shining bright heroine of the Republican Party she was first greeted as. And this is just one example of how she can do it. There are many others she can pursue.

What can the fire-breathing dragon do about it, besides fume? Well, in Joe Biden's case, let's examine the card I drew for him, which is, appropriately enough perhaps, the Ace of Wands, also upright.



The fact that I drew the card upright might well mean no major missteps on his part, but by the same token, it demonstrates that he might be unable to take his call for "hope and change" to any specificity within the context of this debate. He might sound sincere, but aside from assuring us that the team of Obama and Biden represents the real change in Washington that he has fought for all his life, he will be hard pressed to convince any outside his own base of support that he as a United States Senator of more than thirty years duration is an appropriate agent of that change that will almost certainly be his oft-repeated talking point during the debate.

Aside from that, don't expect any major gaffes from the Washington gaff machine during the debate. Though this particular fire-breathing dragon has a reputation more as a gasbag than as a real fire-breather, he tends to be more focused and disciplined during debates than he is when engaging in speaking directly to crowds in speeches or in off-the-cuff remarks to the press. Don't look for him to compliment Palin on her looks or talk in a condescending tone such as calling her "little lady, and don't expect him to gaze at her ass.

Still, though he will consciously avoid such stupidity, and though he will come across as sincere in his promises to assist Obama in initiating change and reform regarding first one or another policy or problem, he is unlikely to offer anything definitive in a manner that will be convincing. He is unlikely to convince undecided voters that they should vote Democratic based on his presence on the ticket or based on Palin's alleged lack of qualifications.

He will not be so much a fire-breathing dragon as a flame of undefined promise and hope, but with nothing in the way of an indication as to how that fire can be properly channeled to significant effect. Put more succinctly, by the time he is through, we might be convinced that he sees the need to bring about change, and maybe even that he sincerely wants to bring it about.

Still, though he will probably sound sincere, we just don't believe he or Obama can do it, or will do it, nor will he be able to provide any convincing examples of how he or Obama can regarding anything specifically.

There is a lot at stake in this debate for both sides, especially for Sarah Palin and the McCain campagin. If she can just hold her own, and pull even, she is a big winner. If she really does good, and symbolically slays the great fire-breathing gas bag, it might be the ultimate checkmate on the Obama campaign.