Kiner's Korner: Run, Sarah, Run

Watching the Republican Presidential candidates is like watching a dysfunctional family in action. On any given day, the Republican "family" of candidates are busy destroying each other.

Look, I am no psychologist. Except for having taken Psych 101 in college, my background in this field is non existent. So like anyone else who needs an instant definition of a term (dysfunctional in this case), I turned to Wikipedia for a little help.

Here is how Wikipedia defines dysfunctional: "A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions".

Wikipedia then defines certain characteristics of dysfunction. For those of you who have been watching the Republican presidential debates, these qualities are pretty hard to miss.

First we have lack of empathy, understanding, and sensitivity towards certain family members. Second, to have a dysfunctional family you need extremes in conflict (either too much fighting or insufficient arguing between family members). Third, there is abnormally high levels of jealousy or other controlling behaviors. Fourth, there is an abnormal sexual behavior such as adultery, promiscuity, or incest. And finally, there is family members who disown each other, and/or refuse to be seen together in public. Again, thank you to Wikipedia for this clarification.

As we watch the debates and the sniping, there is little doubt that any of the candidates have much sensitivity for each other. The only area that they have in common was expressed recently by Mark Barabak writing for the Tribune Newspapers. "For most Republicans this contest has ceased to be about jobs and the economy and instead rests on which candidate can shove a fist the farthest down President Barack Obama's throat".

The second characteristic relates to extremes in conflict that results in too much fighting. Do I really have to explain that one?

The third characteristic of a dysfunctional family is high levels of jealousy. When one candidate catapults into the lead, the others pounce on him or her like a hungry beast. To wit Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, and now Newt Gingrich.

The fourth characteristic of a family that exhibits dysfunctional traits is abnormal sexual behavior such as adultery or promiscuity. Does the name Newt Gingrich ring a bell?

Fifth and finally, there is such loathing among the candidates that they refuse to be seen together in public. Maybe it's just "The Donald" (Trump that is) who is the problem, but the fact is only two of the Republican presidential candidates have signed on for the debate with The Donald as moderator.

And that brings me to Sarah Palin. Whatever our thoughts are of Sarah, everyone would concede that at the very least, she is very, very sly. She is staying above the fray, just waiting for this dysfunctional family of presidential wannabes to self destruct. As the field narrows, and as rank and file Republicans realize that none of the present contenders meet their standards-either politically or ethically, Sarah Palin will come storming in and present herself as the best alternative that the Republican party has. 

Yes ladies and gentlemen, you saw it first in this exclusive from Patch.com - Sarah is running.