If only Obama had picked Cindy Sheehan…
Published by Quin September 5th, 2008 in Punkass!Perhaps unlike most of the rest of you, I am not constantly inundated with election coverage where I am. So Lisa’s recent post was actually the first video I ever saw of Sarah Palin. On a purely presentational level– meaning having nothing to do with the Christian craziness coming from her mouth (which, frankly, is not really any crazier than the kind of religious talk I’ve heard from plenty of real-live people I’ve known all over America)– I didn’t have the same reaction Lisa did. I actually thought Palin came across very well. Trying to put myself in the shoes of a fundy, I think she’d seem really genuine and reassuring.
I then watched the YouTube of her convention speech, and I was floored. Granted, it was a friendly crowd… but. I am now convinced she is a VERY good pick by McCain. She has a way of speaking where she can get away with saying the most disgusting things (e.g. “Al-Qaida terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America … he’s worried that someone won’t read them their rights?”). She says it with such confidence– inside, she knows she’s right. There’s no outer sneer, no tick in her features that make it obvious she’s just being calculating, or trying to pretend she knows something that she doesn’t. She seems to actually believe her words in a way that beats the hell out of McCain, Bush, or any of the other GOP regulars I’ve seen speaking. She’s a true believer. And that’s a very dangerous thing in somebody who is so manifestly wrong about so many things.
I have the feeling that even if some huge skeleton falls out of her closet before election day (such as this probably unprovable but fascinating rumor, which I hope is true, because it means the writers of Desperate Housewives can warp the fabric of reality), she’s got the cool and aplomb for it just to bounce right off her. She’s mastered the Secret: act like there’s no problem, and people will believe you. I think she’s going to mop the floor with Joe Biden at debate time. Oh, he’ll probably “win” when it comes to making some kind of sense. Maybe. But that’s not really what matters, is it.
And on top of the wholesome-married-to-her-high-school-sweetheart-baby-machine-dominatrix thing, she has the secret weapon. She has actually has a kid who’s getting sent over to Iraq. On September 11th, no less. Who’d they pay off to get that to happen? So much for the old canard that Republicans never actually send off their own young to war. Now the GOP has themselves the perfect armor. The only thing that could make them happier is if the poor kid gets killed. “What a narrative THAT would be!”, thinks Karl Rove, rubbing his crotch.
Do not underestimate Sarah Palin; she’s a natural. She is not another Dan Quayle. She’s not even another Geraldine Ferraro. If McCain wins, it will be because of Palin.
(If anybody’s looking to move to Japan, I can probably help set you up…)
Yeah, it’s been pointed out that there’s a reason she was picked out of obscurity as a mayor of a small town and elevated so quickly. The career hers most resembles is Nixon’s. And she lies as smoothly as he does.
I’d take that move to Japan only if it could be guaranteed that the country will be magically unaffected by a hypothetical Great Depression II.
Amanda, I don’t quite understand the comparison. Other than that they’re both great liars. (Though the jury’s still out for me on Palin being a liar– I think she may actually believe most of what she’s saying.) In what other ways does her career particularly match Nixon’s?
Karley, no promises there. I think Japan will be particularly hard hit in future times– it has a huge population but a dearth of natural resources and an agricultural economy hugely dependent on importing from other countries. Meanwhile, in more immediate terms, the Yen has been tracking the Dollar downward for quite some time now. Why? Mainly because they’ve bought a ridiculous amount of US foreign debt. Japan actually owns more US debt than any other country, including the far more-publicized 2nd placers China. Talk about dumb investments. They’d better unload it to other countries soon, or they won’t be seeing THAT money again.
I am, frankly, terrified by Sarah Palin. She is a true believer in some seriously scary bullshit. She spouted off plenty of lies during her speech at the RNC, but who knows if she was just reading what Karl Rove wrote for her or if she was knowingly lying. Something that has always struck me about republicans - they see the world in black and white, no gray. This woman doesn’t even see black and white - just white.
“She has actually has a kid who’s getting sent over to Iraq.”
So does Joe Biden.
But yeah, Palin scares the crap out of me.
“If only Obama had picked Cindy Sheehan…”
WHOA! Now THAT is a frightening thought!!!
Not half as frightening as the misogyny oozing from your blog.
Eww, I went over to Harvey’s site and the first thing he was doing was calling Sheehan a “Cow” and referring to homosexual rights activists as “fruits and nuts”. Ick, my brain needs to be washed.
The funniest thing about it is the manic protestation in the sidebar that he IS a librul Democrat! Really! He is! So you should trust him even though he’s putting all of his free time into photoshopping unflattering pictures of a woman who symbolizes opposition to an unjust war that’s killed over a million civilians. And her own son, let’s not forget.
I would just like to come out in the open and own the fact that I was completely wrong about the level of threat that Palin posed. While I don’t think she handed Obama the presidency– the teetering economy, and a public hoping for a change from the folks who they think made it that way, had a more important effect in shaping peoples’ opinions both of McCain and of her– she certainly did her part in hurting her cause, and by the end, became nothing more than a joke to the vast majority of voters. If anything, the greatest function she has served, and will continue to serve, is as a scapegoat for the failures of the Republican party.
I still wish Obama had picked Cindy Sheehan, though.