Forgive me from the outset as I am going to lump all of you reading this into the “you” that doesn’t love Sarah, and tell you why I think “they” do. What is interesting about the topic is you are both focusing on the same things, but like the blind men describing an elephant, you see very different creatures.You see a person you consider to be undistinguished. She doesn’t talk like you. She didn’t go to the right schools. She runs a bumpkin state and before that a mini-bumpkin town. She’s got a pregnant teenage daughter, and a husband who seems more interested in racing snowmobiles and hunting, than having an actual job.
You say, “This is a big country,” and then ask, “Can’t we do better? What’s wrong with electing the elite?”
“They” see someone like them. Someone who understands their lives, and say, “Elect the elite? Those are the people who got us into this mess in the first place. Maybe it’s time for one of our own.”
They think that way because the major financial institutions are run by the best and brightest with advanced degrees from the best business schools. They hired the top mathematicians, physicists, and computer scientists money could buy to create ultra-sophisticated algorithms “guaranteed” to keep credit swaps in balance. We all know where that led.
All of this was overseen by the political elite. Again, there’s no real need to replay how well that worked out.
Our pharmaceutical and health insurance industries are run by the same business elites, with the help of certain doctors (still the ultimate elite title to many Americans) who sell their opinions and support for drugs and procedures of questionable value and safety.
Lawyers are the fight promoters of the America economic system. They pit one group against another and make the rules so complicated they are often the only winners.
Middle class Americans want their children to have better lives, and understand that education is the key. But the education system is run by another group of elites, and in their system the cost of higher education has risen by more than double the cost of living for more than 20 years, until the cost of a year at an elite college exceeds the annual income of the average American household.
So they ask, “Could someone who is one of us possibly make things worse?”
I can almost hear your shouts of “ABSOLUTELY!” And I agree, they could, so allow me to suggest you refrain from the strategy of belittling and demeaning the Governor. Aside from being uncharitable and unattractive, it is hugely counter-productive; because when you belittle her, you belittle those who are supporting her – and more importantly, those who are on the fence. When you say she isn’t good enough or smart enough you are saying the same about her supporters, and not surprisingly, it angers them and reinforces their sense of having been disenfranchised and marginalized by the country’s elites.
Sarah Palin has given you all the ammunition you need in the form of the policies she supports and the political goals she proposes. Argue against them with vigor and passion if you want to win. Make fun of her accent and her family if you want to spend another eight years on the sidelines.
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"Sarah Palin has given you all the ammunition you need in the form of the policies she supports and the political goals she proposes. Argue against them with vigor and passion if you want to win."
I don't agree with this. What are her plans? She plans to shake things up. I can't argue with that. She has taken on the big boys in Alaska? Great, what the hell did she do?
Her candidacy is based on she is a maverick from outside DC. She knows the oil industry well. And she is a pit bull with lipstick.
As far as I can see there is nothing there to attack. Except that maybe you need more qualifications than these to be the VEEP.
It never ceases to amaze me how we choose our presidents. If we were lost in the woods, we would probably want the person with the most experience and knowledge of survival to help lead us out. If we are electing a President we want someone who'd we like to drink a beer with. WHY?
Maybe we need to examine the word “elite.” Americans over-value education, don’t they? Someone with an Ivy League degree is considered smart, when again and again, the products of these institutions prove themselves to be simpletons.
Bush – Yale and stupid. Gore -Yale and stupid. Ted Kennedy – Harvard, stupid but a hell of a swimmer. Not one of these dolts should have risen above grocery bagger, yet there they be. (Oh, is Ted above reproach because he’s on borrowed time? Is he not still a cowardly, ass-covering cretin whether bloviating or near death?)
Perhaps what Ivy League schools really excel at is inflating self-opinion and imbuing below average goons with surplus nerve.
Obama is a Harvard piece. What do people mean when they say “he looks presidential?” The subtext of “he looks presidential” is, “I don’t understand the issues, so gimme a telegenic smoothie with good sound bites who makes me feel like somebody smart is in charge.”
Note to fans of those who look Presidential: so did Ted Bundy.
A city college grad (hell, a high school grad) with balls and street smarts will prevail over Ivy dilettantes every time. So let’s re-define “elite” from the crop of over-priced schools to strictly self-made men and women.
If we are so alarmed that Sarah Palin is the best that can be found, perhaps we need to shed our predilection for simplistic, two combatant battles. Isn’t that the American way? Yankees or Mets, Cowboys or Indians, ketchup or mustard, Red or Blue? There are other choices, folks. Anybody surfed over to the Libertarian page and checked out Bob Barr’s platform?
Once you get past Sarah’s folksy winks and Joe’s hair plugs, there’s not a lot of difference between them, nor the tops of their respective tickets. Choosing between Obama and McCain is like choosing between the Gambinos and the Luccheses.
"Winks" aren't folksly...they're unprofessional.
Not knowing which branch the duties of the VP fall under is not "maverick," it's inexperience and a lack of knowledge.
Referring to Americans as "Joe-Six-Pack," does not make her understand the average American, it demeans us.
Suggesting that she, as the VP, would "council" a girl who is pregnant with her own father's baby to "choose life," is just scary and ludicrous.
Saying that the "heels are on, and the gloves are off," well, that's just sexist and she should be ashamed of herself.
And now...USING her to sling the most racist, fear-mongering, distubring statements about Barack Obama ever, is just a disgrace to America, and the GOP should be absolutely ashamed of itself.
Palin has withstood some of the worst personal attacks that I have witnessed in politics. She has faced it with courage and dignity. She did not publicly protest, complain,or get angry. In my mind, she has been liberated, she can attack her opponents as fiecely as she desires.
I forgot the r in fiercely.
Humble beginnings do not disqualify someone for higher office. They recommend them if they also bring curiosity, heart, drive and intelligence. We've had many a president that have come from a humble start. Clinton, Reagan, Nixon, Truman, Carter and Gerald Ford come to mind. Actually most have not come from priveledged backgrounds (notable exceptions are Roosevelt and Bush). It's not so much where someone is educated but what they do with that education.
I'll match the attacks Obama has endured against anything Palin has received. And believe me when I say we haven't heard anything yet. The next 4 weeks will be some of the nastiest we've ever witnessed.
My problem with Palin isn't where she's from or her accent; it's what she says or more importantly doesn't say. She seems to have no knowledge or interest in American history, political theory, or any sense of America's place in a global communtiy.
She has mastered the art of political theater. She know how to give a speech and deliver a line. But she doesn't seem to have any sense of what the speech actually means or what the consequences of the line might be. She's just delivering a performance designed by others.
Her performance with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric (not exactly The Nation or New Yorker reporters) demonstrate to me that she has no depth of knowledge on any particular subject nor an interest in learning. This incuriosty is a terrifying proposition given what we've been through in the last 8 years with a president with similar tendencies.
I'm a pig so I only have one bit of indecision about Palin. Tonite should it be the librarian fantacy,or something involving a saddle & boots.
I love the down home flavor. It's refreshing & needed. VP,no way. My Rep. in congress, sure. I miss Dennis Kucinich. I give her all the credit in the world. But out of all four involved,she is not ready. Besides I dont agree with most, of the very few, opinions she's expressed.
Six months from now she'll be a trivia question. And I'll be pissed at Obama for continuing the lie / war.
i'm not defending or promoting her. i'm not comparing her to anyone. all i'm saying is if you want to make her a working-class hero, just keep suggesting she's a no-nothing, white-trash MILF who has no right to run for the office.
As if.
As if she was up and running on understanding national issues rather than learning on the job.
As if blind ambition should qualify for POTUS. A person with scrupples would bow out till they had something more to offer than balls.
As if we had common values that we shared. She has no values, she is a self-serving opportunist who has the morals of Joseph Stalin.
As if she possesses potential to hold the office of VP/POTUS, her supporters cannot tell the difference between a ripe apple and a green one.
As if I would ever vote for John McCain for putting her in as an earmark.
Denny,
I was not going to comment on your blog but the Hankster said that Palin was equal to Stalin?
Yes I checked he did say that.
I guess she could see from Alaska what Joseph was doing.
she is a self-serving opportunist who has the morals of Joseph Stalin.
POTUS is a dopey acronym. (As are most acronyms.) People who use acronyms tend to favor petrochemical-based garments and purple prose, such as placing
Joe Stalin & Sarah Palin in the same sentence.
Winks are "unprofessional?" A surgeon hocking a loogie into an open chest cavity would qualify as unprofessional. But a wink?
"Heels are on and gloves are off" is sexist?
Fistinyoface divines a disgruntled Hitlery fan, who feels equally girlish in jeans (size 18), tee shirt (XXXL)and sensible (Birkenstock - 12EEE) shoes or evening wear(a mu-mu big enough to tent MSG for fumigation.)
Of course she'd think Joe Six-Pack (domestic, we'll wager) was a direct reference to her.
Some people are so easily offended!
Is “Elite” the new dirty word for liberal?
All corporations I’ve ever worked for have been for profit organizations. Is that Elite?
What political elite party was in charge of the house and senate up until two years ago. Or are you suggesting that the party that is with a slight margin in control now so smart and so elite that they were able to create the current mess in less than two years?
Should the mavericks use their brand of deregulation for the health care and pharmaceutical industries?
Is being knowledgeable of current affairs the same as an elitist?
I know how many newspapers and news shows I’ve watched today. And I can name them. I can even mention some Supreme Court cases in addition to Roe v Wade.
If a person tries to manipulate voters with their “folks‘” anti elitists phrases shouldn’t you be able to make fun of that trait?
If a person doesn’t talk about the issues, or doesn’t know the issues then I guess there isn’t much to talk about. That is unless you consider the make believe stories of Wright, Raines, and Ailes (sp).
However, I’m at peace….I’ve already voted.
I have not voted yet.I still believe and from what I witness in a small blue collar ohio town. Its about race and dignity,sexism and explotation and one time is every example and the main stay of every argument. 4 years ago 8years ago 12 years ago 16 years ago. This town was filled with democratic signs for president. I drive around town every day east side to west side the signs are not there.Makes me sort of wonder.Denny, I liked the editorial
Don't care for the reference of Stalin with Palin. Have you looked at the 2 names?
Back up and reflect on tax deductions. There are 2 distinct points: quality and quantity. You can have the morals of Joe Stalin and not send millions to their death. He rolled over people who were in his way but also took out those who he felt had any question of loyalty [read: conscience.]
If you read investigative journalism, you might see the pattern of just the sort of sociopath who goes into politics as a populist.
She already is a working class hero and, more importantly, a celebrity. She's anything but stupid. Anybody with a net worth of $2.1mm and calls herself Joe sixpack is ambition incarnate. She's having her day in the sun now but I suspect he star will fall just as it rose.
It looks like there are 3 keys to Joboma winning. First,try not to say much. Two step back & let people hear McNovacain. Third,do nothing & watch McNovacain adjust his own campaign.
Who would have thunk that the 1st black man running for prez would be labeled "elite" and endorsed by the American Communist Party. Gotta love this place.
Peace Helen
Aren’t Palin’s 15 minutes over yet?
Hey wait a cotton pickin rootin tootin minute!
I am getting really sick of the idea that you can't criticize Palin for having insubstantial credentials without somehow being an elitist.
I don't care if her husband works with his hands. I don't care if she has a Great White North accent. I don't care if she hunts and fishes and shops at Walmart.
I do care that her experience is very limited relative to anybody in the Senate. Knowing how Washington works is important. Just ask the Clintons, who had to figure it out on the fly (remember the ill fated health care plan?).
Come to think of it, though, Bill Clinton is the closest to her in socioeconomic (how's that for a nice "elitist" word) status of any recent president. And he turned out OK.
So who knows...
True - but Bubba went to Georgetown, Yale and Oxford - although he never lost his appreciation for down home women.
I feel I must defend my point again. Criticizing her positions does not make someone elitist, but I believe much of the criticism has been very personal, and when it is, it only makes serves to make some people like her all the more.
Yes there is a culture war. But she is baiting the opposition as much as the other side draws their line.
America is the land of rags to riches. One moment hand to mouth prospector. The next lighting cigars with c-notes. Gambling and lottery millionaires are roads to success. Sarah Palin's rapid ascent is in keeping with the American dream.
She is the hero of the nature side of the nature vs nurture divide. The white women from the back woods has more common sense than the educated black man. Their's is a world of unlimited resources because god will provide the just. He gave this land to the white man to take from the indian.
Cycling in spandex on country roads is waving the red flag. Every once in a while I get a good dose of hostility even though I keep to the right and wave on cars to pass. My presence is a reminder that their world is changing. Perenial peasants sticks together in good times and bad. I don't baptize, I live hoping change will come by example.
I'll concede that some of the criticism of Gov. Palin has been personal -- primarily because there isn't much know or revealed from a policy standpoint.
Over the last few days the McCain campaign and Gov. Palin in particular have called Sen. Obama a liar, a "pal" of terrorists, mysterious, untrustworthy, unreliable, foreign (conspicuous use of middle name Hussein) and by and large not one of us. If these are personal attacks, I don't know what they are. Fortunately, they don't seem to be working.
McCain seems to have discarded any pretense of running any semblence of the dignified campaign (admittedly and oxymoron in most cases) that he professed to want. I guess when faced with the battleground poll numbers right now, the way to go is ugly.
Strap on you pads, helmets and cups. It's going to be full contact from here on in.
Birdman – there are a thousand ways to justify what is being said about her. But do you want to win the election? Well, ragging on her personally will get you grins from the people who already agree with you, but you are chasing some of the undecided away.
And Hankster – how do you know the people heaping abuse on you when you are all spandexed-out and riding your bike aren’t granola-eating Obama lovers?
Hankster, maybe you should drop the spandex and substitute sweatshirts/pants as your riding attire. The thought of 60 year old men in spandex makes me slightly nauseous and irritable.
she is a self-serving opportunist who has the morals of Joseph Stalin.
Did you here that only 9% of Americans are happy with their lot in life?
No wonder the rest of the world hates us.
We have it all....wealth, liberty,freedom of spirit, law & order, education for all and yet as a people we are unhappy.
9%.
As a people we should be given a spanking and sent to our rooms but those rooms include TV's, computers and games.
There is a religious theory that if you kill yourself, you will have to come back and live another life.
Is our life so bad? OK you are now going to be born in Bangladesh. Have a nice life. jb
I am in the 9%. I do not want.
There isn't one physical type driving one type of vehicle who harrass me. But as Sarah can field dress a moose, I can spot a redneck in action.
Woody, form follows function. Initially, I thought I could wear reasonable clothes while cycling. They may have obnoxious writing, which you can get around, but these fabrics are astonishing. I can get soaked in a downpour and be dry a short while later. They keep out the wind but stay cool in the sun. Now I know why clowns are always smiling. However, the alternative to aging is unacceptable.
JB, our lives are not as good as they were 8 years ago.
And we don’t have the freedoms & liberty we had prior to the Patriot Act.
And my take on why the world doesn’t like America is that we want to impose our will on them regardless of their traditions & religions.
Now go to your room.
I think Andrew Sullivan summed this up the best on what is happening to the GOP:
"What Rove never realized is that many of us fought hard for intellectual and moral respect for conservatism in college and grad school, only to have our efforts turned into a joke by the crassness of the Party Of Rove. There were only a few self-described conservatives at Harvard when I was there, and I spent a great deal of time losing friends, breaking up dinners, offending professors because I was a) right of center and b) obviously academically serious. And now I'm supposed to defend Sarah Palin? As vice-president? I mean: seriously?"
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