It’s a fact: you can’t just keep up with the gaffes these days.
Joe Biden intimates that Sarah Palin should be more supportive of stem cell research because of her Down Syndrome child. Barack Obama commits a meta-gaffe  “lipstick on a pig†– intentionally or unintentionally suggesting that one of his opponents is the pig and the other the cosmetic accent. The big mistake comes on top of an ongoing problem with his tone regarding the GOP vice-presidential nominee: he continually refers to Palin as a mother, an up-and-coming talent, or any number of variations on the theme, all displaying condescending irritation, particularly from someone of his relatively limited experience.
What’s up? Everyone, including me, has their theories. Resentment, disappointment at the sinking polls, and dashed expectations (no run-away race this year) are a few of the more obvious ones.
What is important is that whatever the reason, the lesson of their response should not be overlooked: the Democrats are panicky. As such, one wonders if they are fit for high office.
Obama and his supporters never tire of telling us that we should assess his ability to govern as president by his performance in the campaign. Fine  let’s do it.
Has he shown grace under pressure? Not exactly. Has he controlled his own message? Nope. Did his own personnel pick (the serially obnoxious Joe Biden) set this slow-motion pile up in motion? Yup.
So here’s the rub: Palin has energized the GOP base, driven women and independent voters into McCain’s camp, and flummoxed the MSM, but her greatest accomplishment has been to unveil the Democrats’ true liability.
That basic liability has nothing to do with the fact that they are ultra-liberals and lack credibility on national security issues. Their biggest problem is that they have never led, never managed, never navigated during a crisis, and as a result never demonstrated calm under fire. It is one thing for the GOP candidates to state that in a speech  as many did at the Republican National Convention  but it is quite another to see it being played out before your very eyes.
Like water dumped on the Wicked Witch of the West, Palin’s popularity has melted the facade of professional competence and personal stability which cloaked her opponents’ weaknesses.
Now we can all see for ourselves their executive prowess. When pressured they whimper, whine, and insult.
And now the entire country in the post-Labor Day run-up to the election is watching. It is not a pretty sight. But it very well may be that we are, finally, seeing the real Barack Obama.
Jennifer Rubin is PJM’s Washington, D.C. editor. She also blogs at Commentary’s Contentions.
