I am seriously dismayed at the attraction that intelligent people have for Palin. Its not that I don't understand the attraction. To me, its three things. First, she's clearly not part of the established order. Second, she's fiercely conservative. Third, she's female.
The first makes a little bit of sense to me,because after a while you think 'these bozos have screwed us royally, lets try somebody else'. My comment about having the brightest being the ones who got us into this mess goes equally well toward the people in power being the ones who got us into it, too. New brooms, etc. Bring a fresh face in. But I think that new face needs to be coupled with intelligence and a deep world view. Obama's a new face (as McCain likes to point out) but he's provably bright (as a doctorate in law from Harvard shows). She's bright, I think, but not as bright as he is. Despite her mocking of his past, I like it. I think that people who can couple deep theoretical knowledge of the law with a practical awareness of how the law affects people on the street are valuable, and trumps small-town mayor and two year Governor.
The second, I don't care about, but I know that there are a lot of conservatives out there, and for many of them, political faith trumps all. Its how Bush got elected, and reelected.
The third is, I think, why she's on the ticket. There's a massive number of women who want to see a woman on the ticket, and within some degree of reason, they don't care who. Well, here she is. I don't think most women are dumb enough to vote for a person just because of gender, though I can see that being a tie-breaker. However, McCain thinks they are, and so far, he's right. I see a fair number of women saying Palin for President. Given McCain's age and medical history, they may get it if he gets elected.
I'm surprised that the McCain campaign severely limits the opportunity for the press to talk to her. It's odd: I'm willing to believe that she can be as feisty as the next guy in a dust-up, so why are they doing that? What's she got to hide? Inexperience? Shallowness? Put another way: if all you see of her is scripted performances, all you get is all they want you to see. That scares me, a lot.
Oh, and one other thing. Why is it that we don't hear much about McCain says this, offers that, suggests the other? Why is it always about Palin? My thought is: for whatever her qualities, she's there to be a distraction, a novelty. And you know what? It's working.
6 comments:
I guess my comment on the last post has something to do with this. I hope you don't think less of me just because I like her. If so, then I guess there's nothing I can do about that.
No, ma'am, I sure don't. I like her, too. Just, not for that office, not yet.
Ok, that's relieving to hear. Thanks, Bill.
Pshaw. Besides, I may need someplace to hide if they're elected.
You probably wouldn't want to come here. I've got bees and yellow jackets I've been fighting outside. And then there's that Palin sign in my yard. I cut the McCain part off and just left the Palin name. Not a lot of Obama signs in my gun-toting and church going small town, Bill ;-)
You know, I don't care if the Republicans take themselves down. They've been on the gravy train for some years now, and its killed their core spirit. They've become what they used to mock. Being kicked out would do them good, refocus them, make them the Republicans that elected Reagan. You can already see that happening. Some of them are starting to focus again on fiscal control, limited government, states rights. All good things, I think.
I don't know if either candidate can pull off the hat trick of big goverment to handle big problems while staying small, but I know who's in favor of it. It isn't the guy who wants to cut the taxes of the wealthy and hope that it trickles down. It isn't the guy who said our economy was healthy and then turned on a dime to say it was a crisis. It isn't the guy who sang the praises of deregulation and now speaks out of the other side of his mouth. It isn't the guy whose campaign was dying until he threw in the novelty act. It's the guy who has walked the walk, literally. Not the guy who married the wealthy woman, but the guy who earned it himself. Not the guy who hires lobbyists by the busload, but the guy who keeps them at arms length. Not the guy who dodges press, but the one who embraces it.
McCain scares me. Palin scares me. Together, they terrify me. They're just not good enough. Given the scope of our problems, I want the A team on this.
Obama's not perfect. But he's the best we have.
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