Scarborough: Behind Scenes, Top Conservatives Angry At Palin

Joe Scarborough was surely right about one thing: he's going to take some flak . .  .

On today's Morning Joe, Scarborough said that Sarah Palin has been "lowering the bar" with her public pronouncements, asserting that she hasn't done the necessary homework to permit her to speak seriously on the issues.  

Joe also claimed that while "top conservatives" are afraid to take Palin on publicly, "behind the scenes" they are angry at her for her alleged lack of preparation.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: You know, Mika, I've just got to say this about Sarah Palin. Seriously.  I was cheering for her early on as I cheer for anybody who's new on the scene, Republican or Democratic.  And she was bashed, unfairly, by the press early on, before they even knew who she was.  But it seems to me that she keeps lowering the bar for herself. Forget the speech [to the Tea Party convention].  Look at the end of Chris Wallace's interview [on yesterday's Fox News Sunday] where he rolls his eyes, embarrassed.  There's no doubt he is.  Now he will deny that. But Chris was sending a message to all his friends: yes I know. She is not a serious thinker.

And then, look at the press conference afterwards [the convention], and then sneak into rooms, be a fly on the wall of top conservatives that will bow and scrape to Sarah Palin publicly, but behind the scenes are angry that she will just not sit down and study issues.

I'll take their slings and arrows, by the way.

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: I know you will.

SCARBOROUGH: I will. Just like you attacked George W. Bush from 2005 onward and I said it publicly and I got mauled. And then you started saying the same thing about him after he left office.  So, I'll do this for you. It's all right.  It's my service. I'll get attacked and help you guys out, and when you have the courage to tell the truth to the American people, then take credit: I don't care.

BRZEZINSKI: I think it's also, not to say that you don't have tremendous respect for the people who are tapping into her message, who are frustrated.

SCARBOROUGH: I'm frustrated as well.

BRZEZINSKI: And find her as at least someone who is saying something.

SCARBOROUGH: I'm very frustrated, but I'm frustrated by the fact that Sarah Palin won't sit down and do the hard work it takes to be able to answer questions at a press conference that gives us a clear direction of where we need to go forward in the future instead of just saying "I'm against the elites."

BRZEZINSKI: Fair enough.

Note: did Wallace roll his eyes at end of Palin interview?  Watch video and be the judge.  While displaying it, Scarborough took another shot at Palin, saying "she really just seems to have a real problem expressing herself in the way top-tier presidential candidates express themselves."