Palin Derangement Syndrome (PDS)

A new malady of the political mind has arisen, one equally devastating to the left and the right. "Palin Derangement Syndrome" (or PDS)--unlike related illnesses (Clinton Derangement Syndrome and Bush Derangement Syndrome)--causes the victim to lose any and all rationality and objectivity when discussing the former Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin.

Here we have evidence of Richard Cohen's slip into the disease. When the disease strikes a liberal, it renders the sufferer incapable of understanding the Governor's obvious appeal as a public figure. There are reflexive, jerking, references to obscure 20th century French populists (of course) and thinly-veiled exhaustion with the vapidity of the American Public.

For conservatives, PDS is particularly pernicious, in that it tends to greatly distort what are otherwise natural and useful political instincts. One classic symptom of PDS is a condition manifesting itself as "RCS" (Reagan Comparison Syndrome), in which Mrs. Palin is glowingly compared to President Reagan for her cheerfulness and her ability to connect with everyday Americans. While a comparison to Reagan may be apt, it would likely be best to compare her to the Reagan of the 1950's, stumping for GE and creating his conservative ideological baseline, than it would be to compare her to the finished product--a conservative Colossus standing astride the social and fiscal conservative wings of the Republican Party.

Sarah Palin is an interesting political phenomenon, tailor-made for the media age. She is not the potential undoing of the Republic, and she is not the savior of modern Conservatism. Palin Derangement Syndrome is an equal opportunity brain-cell killer, and we must continue to watch for signs of it in our loved ones.