Palin Continues to Mystify the Media

The NY Times reported on Sarah Palin's appearance at the Reagan Library last night and it's clear they just can't figure her out:

Sarah Palin opened a weekend centennial celebration to Ronald Reagan by declaring that the United States was lurching toward a “road to ruin,” a nation so beleaguered by debt and out-of-control government spending that an urgent change in direction was needed in Washington.

She did not, however, provide any fresh clues as to whether she will join the Republican fight to challenge President Obama or simply offer commentary from the sidelines. She delivered a withering critique of the president’s policies, particularly his State of the Union message to “win the future” by increasing government investment to remain competitive in the world.

“We were just told that the era of big government is here to stay and you’re going to pay for it whether you want to or not,” Ms. Palin said. “But they can’t sell it to us with the old sales pitch anymore. Now it’s much worse. It’s couched in a language of national greatness.”

For Ms. Palin, a speech on Friday evening to a conservative group that gathered to pay tribute to President Reagan offered an opportunity to connect herself to the most iconic figure of the Republican Party. Yet she did not use the appearance — one of the highest-profile Republican platforms in months — to move beyond familiar criticism or attempt to prescribe a new or specific remedy for what she sees as missteps in the Obama administration.

“How we answer will be America’s glory or our shame,” Ms. Palin said, drawing applause from a dinner crowd of about 200 people. “These aren’t easy questions. Today for many, there’s a fear in the air.”

Ms. Palin, the former Alaska governor and the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, delivered a 30-minute speech at the Reagan Ranch Center, a museum in downtown Santa Barbara. She drew modern-day parallels to Mr. Reagan’s 1964 speech, “A Time for Choosing,” which he gave on behalf of Barry Goldwater, the Republican presidential candidate.

In her remarks, she made no mention of the crisis in Egypt or how the administration has handled it.

That last sentence cracked me up. The Times is used to Democrat politicians making every event about themselves, so when Palin didn't play by those rules they just don't know how to handle it.  She was not there to give a policy speech on how she'd handle the world's problems, but to celebrate Ronald Reagan and how his approach to the nation differed from what we see today.

You can read the rest of it here.