Via an excellent piece by Rebecca Traister in Salon,
Shaking our heads and wringing our hands in sympathy with Sarah Palin is a disservice to every woman who has ever been unfairly dismissed based on her gender, because this is an utterly fair dismissal, based on an utter lack of ability and readiness.
I came across this even more excellent blog post by the journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates, explaining how and why it could be that McCain’s decision to pick Palin was, in fact, cruel and sexist:
Which brings me to the sexism of John McCain. He knew full well what Sarah Palin was going to face if he nominated her. He knew that reporters would go through her past, that they’d quizz her on the present, that she would need to be ready, and he shunted concern aside, and tossed her to the wolves. Think on that for a mement. For one last run at the White House, he risked a future star of the party he claims to call home. How do you do that?
It amazes me how McCain/Palin ticket even has supporters. I have tried to look at the two parties from an objective point of view. Even if I was uninformed and unfamiliar with the state of American politics it would only take a few minutes of talking to Sara Palin about the possibility of her being VP to know that she is ill-prepared and unqualified. It does concern me that many Americans are going to vote Republican for the simple fact that they are Caucasian. That would be the biggest travesty of American History
It would be the biggest travest of American History to have a president that is not loyal to our country, to the extent of not saluting our flag? Give me a break who is he loyal to? That would be the question to have answered!
I’m afraid I do not understand the above comment by DeAnn V; I don’t mean I don’t agree with it; I actually cannot understand what it says.
At any rate, my feelings are similar to Ron G’s, above. I would be just as horrified by the idea of a VP as unqualified and uninformed as Sarah Palin if she were on the Democrat ticket as I am with her on the Republican ticket. One viewing of her interview by Katie Couric and I was not only flabbergasted by her inability to answer the questions but was literally sick to my stomach with fear that someone no more knowledgeable about foreign relations and international political policy than many random people on the street (less so, in some cases!) might actually be elected VP, and thus be one step away from BEING OUR PRESIDENT. I defy anyone to argue that Sarah Palin could EVER do the job of President of the United States. And yes, I understand that’s not the job she’s campaigning for; but if McCain is elected, it IS the job she could very possibly end up with. Of COURSE she could. McCain is in his 70s and has a history of several serious medical conditions. Of COURSE she could end up President. What are Republican voters thinking?!
The second commenter’s unfamiliarity with punctuation norms is second only to her unfamiliarity with, like, truth. It’s tiresome to have to say, but Obama is an American, and has always has been. (John McCain wasn’t even born in the United States, let’s remember.)
On the subject of Obama’s lack of patriotism, his campaign site includes a page which shows him leading the Senate in the Pledge of Allegiance – after introducing a Christian chaplain to bless the whole bunch of plutocrats. I mean, this is VIDEO. That’s even better than a photograph of a human footprint inside a dinosaur’s footprint!
Let’s not forget that Mrs. Palin has twice addressed the Alaskan Independence Party, of which her husband was a member. This party has enthusiastically pushed for seceding from the United States. (Number 2 among their 4 possible goals is, in fact, “Become a separate and Independent Nation.”)
Let’s not talk about suspect loyalties – because, what, Obama once forgot to salute the flag? Please, how much more transparent and hollow can an argument be? I go to Twins games and other sporting contests, do you know how many people I see who are not really paying attention to the flag during the National Anthem? Are they not Americans? Are they disloyal? How shall we charge them? With what crime? Being free? Being, therefore, American?
Who exactly do you think Obama is loyal to, DeAnn? Is the marker of loyalty saluting the flag? Wearing a flag pin? Something similarly simple? If so, you would be very, very easily fooled. Indeed, you probably already have been.