Ouch. That's gonna leave a mark.

One more conservative columnist faces reality. Kathleen Parker askes Sarah Palin to quit for the good of the party and her country:

It was fun while it lasted.

Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League.

No one hates saying that more than I do. Like so many women, I’ve been pulling for Palin, wishing her the best, hoping she will perform brilliantly. I’ve also noticed that I watch her interviews with the held breath of an anxious parent, my finger poised over the mute button in case it gets too painful. Unfortunately, it often does. My cringe reflex is exhausted.

Palin filibusters. She repeats words, filling space with deadwood. Cut the verbiage and there’s not much content there.

...

If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself.

If Palin were a man, we’d all be guffawing, just as we do every time Joe Biden tickles the back of his throat with his toes. But because she’s a woman — and the first ever on a Republican presidential ticket — we are reluctant to say what is painfully true.

What to do?

McCain can’t repudiate his choice for running mate. He not only risks the wrath of the GOP’s unforgiving base, but he invites others to second-guess his executive decision-making ability. Barack Obama faces the same problem with Biden.

Only Palin can save McCain, her party, and the country she loves. She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first.

Do it for your country.

How can any reasonably intelligent person watch the Couric interviews (or the Gibson interviews and even the friendly Hannity sessions) and think this woman can lead this country? Her answers are incomplete, nonsensical and an embarrassment.
Nice job, John McCain!

UPDATE: From Americablog.com ...

This is a conservative writer at the lead conservative Web site. This is a woman who was a fan of Sarah Palin, and now thinks Palin is wholly unqualified to be president of the United States.

First off, the writer is a real conservative, not some liberal. ... Second, she's a woman. Third, she was a Palin fan. Fourth, she's willing to say publicly that Palin needs to leave the race.

You don't do that to your own nominee unless it's panic time and you feel you have no choice. This article gives cover to anyone in the future who criticizes Palin. She was declared unfit for combat by a lead female conservative.

Also, there are probably even more conservatives fretting in the wings. This also means that Sarah Palin has not rallied Republicans. She's rallied SOME Republicans. She's freaked out others, just as she's freaked out all of us.

UPDATE II: From religious conservative writer Rod Dreher

Palin Debacle on CBS Evening News

Couric's questions are straightforward and responsible. Palin is mediocre, again, regurgitating talking points mechanically, not thinking. Palin's just babbling. She makes George W. Bush sound like Cicero.
... she discusses why having Russia next to Alaska gives her relevant foreign policy experience. I am well and truly embarrassed for her. I think she's a good woman who might well be a great governor of Alaska. But good grief, just watch this train wreck.
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