Legitimate Concern on Palin
I’ve been thinking about Sarah Palin during my weekend hiatus (I was in Adelaide, which is an entirely different, occasionally terrifying story).
But remember last week? Remember when everyone was convinced that the level of scandal was too great, that Palin would be replaced by the end of the week?
It’s funny how one speech that didn’t say a whole hell of a lot totally changed the tone about Sarah Palin.
I’m a little concerned that the coverage and Democratic outrage over her speech (mine included) has legitimized Palin as a candidate. I wonder if a better reaction might have been, ‘Yes, well, that’s all very nice speechifying, but you’re highly unqualified to be president, so….’ *
It may also have taken our eyes off the ball.
John McCain seems to have gotten a free pass on his speech - not much fanfare, but - Barack Obama aside - not much critique either. Palin is the big story of last week - and McCain seemed small beside her.
That might be a good thing, but I’m conflicted. I feel as though treating Sarah Palin like the enemy only grants her power and diverts attention from the fact that the best way to keep Palin out of the White House is to make sure that John McCain doesn’t get there.
Palin excites the base - fine. She might get some people out to the polls that would have stayed home (and, for the record, I’m glad about that; the more people voting the better, I say). She might get some pumas and some panthers.
The election, however, is going to be decided by the vast majority of people who will vote for the top of the ticket.
My desire to not have Palin as a VP is marginal compared to my desire not to have McCain as President. Last week she earned, as far as Republicans are concerned, her right to be on the ticket. As for the rest of us, I think we should laugh her off on the rhetoric, hammer her on the issues should she ever bring any up, and let Biden raise expectations for the debate.
The focus, however, should be McCain.
Speaking of Biden - this is three minutes of a speech he gave after the RNC. Pretty good stuff:
* - my exception to that is the snipe at community organizers. Seriously, where does she get off?
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September 8th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
My favorite quote of the week in reference to Palin came from an online source that I’m too lazy to look up right now. I’ll find and e-mail it later. But the basic aim was to put community organizing in terms she and her voting base could relate to. “Jesus was a community organizer. Pontius Pilate was a governor.” BURN!
September 9th, 2008 at 6:14 am
a calm and pointed dismissal of unqualified candidates is the rocket fuel that put Bush in the white house Twice!
September 9th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
But isn’t what I wrote more or less the point of the link you posted earlier today? Don’t fall for the Palin bait?
September 9th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
true, anticipating whims of the unwashed masses damns you if you do and damns you if you don’t.
September 10th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
I’ve been seeing posts around the tubes suggesting that the rolling attacks on plain represent an insecurity of the media to know how to temper or pace attacks on a woman candidate’s character. It seems further compounded by the fact that a short on resume and bush-esq candidate like Palin’s attack points are less policy related and more character related. I mean with hillary they could attack the record if you didn’t like or even the ethics scandals, but here we just have a candidate who gives you the willies in the same way Bush did. How do you call a woman totally unqualified without a detailed history to call up? I suppose these are questions that will continuiously come up in future campaings starring female candidates. I look forward to when my children can burn a paper mache effiage of a woman not because of her gender but because of her content of their character.
September 10th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
Well, I’d start right there - the comparison to Bush.
Make a commercial that runs clips of him as a Texas governor in 2000 with clips of Palin this year:
Run that clip of her thinking that Fannie May and Freddie Mac are paid for by taxpayers. Run the clip of her not understanding what the veep does. Take her down the dumb, right wing governor track if you have to.
The easiest way to do this is to ignore the fact that she’s a woman. That automatically leaves out the vagina-based attacks and allows one to go for the jugular.
How about: Sarah Palin - Unfit to Lead.