Ready....well posted...
Pheonix....
It was a long period of time, from the moment the crew enter the cockpit until they are ready for push-back. I wonder why the crew did not talk to the pilot, to convince her that she is not fit to fly. FO didn't stop her to become a national news.
But do we know the definite timescale here.? Until we know what really happened we might want to cut the rest of the crew a bit of slack. Reading the article is it not just as possible that the captain wandered on, interacted with a few passengers face to face ( about her clothing) and then grabbed the PA handset ( from the news item it appears she's doing the PA from the cabin ) and started her rant ? In which case it is possible the poor FO might have been unaware what was going on at first and was possibly too busy having a WTF moment, followed by making calls to company, to have the time at least initially to indulge in counceling.