In Defense of Sarah Palin

Was thinking about posting my own “in defense of SP” blog earlier, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, given my vitriolic enmity against Kristi Burton — whom Sarah Palin mirrors on a national level. But this post gave me the extra-hard nudge I needed to come to her defense.

Interesting that many of the allegations that are coming from within the Republican ranks are similar to the questions that were raised immediately after she was picked, but that those same Republican ranks pointed to as partisan, sexist attacks. Kind of smacks as “Do as I say, not as I do” for the Republican insiders to portray her after-the-fact as not qualified for the job, while they were tying themselves into knots trying to make everyone else believe the ludicrous claim that she had more experience than anyone on the Democratic ticket.

Interesting that John McCain, who claimed that he always puts country first (by the way, isn’t this something that someone else should say about you? it’s kind of like making up your own nickname — takes all credibility away) and that he had the leadership experience necessary to be the commander in chief, selected a running mate who divided the country yet he stubbornly refused to acknowledge that impact on the race. Even worse, after a very graceful concession speech on Election Night — if McCain had acted that way on the campaign trail, the race may have been much tighter and we may have even had a different outcome — he’s awfully quick to cede any form of leadership of his own party and is likewise willing to stand quietly by as his pick for the #2 spot has her character publicly denigrated by his campaign team.

In less than a week, McCain has demonstrated all those claims of being a maverick who will take on the GOP were empty promises uttered to appeal to voters. In less than a week, McCain also has shown that any of the “united for a common purpose” or “leave no one behind” mentality that is supposed to resonate with all military personnel means absolutely nothing to him when it comes to his own running mate.

The fact that McCain’s not willing to stand by his selection of Sarah Palin as his vice presidential pick is so much more revealing of his willingness to forego his own principles than it is of Sarah Palin’s alleged character flaws. If I were any of the 99 colleagues in the U.S. Senate who will be working with him when Congress reconvenes, I’d think more than twice about negotiating with McCain and expecting him to stand by his position or to defend the agreement publicly.

What Has Gotten Me…

About the “terrorist,” “Muslim,” “communist,” “kill him” chants, the racist and bigoted anti-Obama e-mail smear campaigns, and the hate-crime-inciting Obama-and-a-noose graphics is that this level of disrespect and public hatred is being spewed at a sitting United States senator. Please name one other United States senator that people have chanted “kill him” or “kill her” about.

Some conservatives will rightly point out that some liberals — and I’ll bet some conservatives too — have called George W. Bush a terrorist. Is the “terrorist” label appropriate for George W. Bush? Probably not, given that terrorists, as understood within political theory, are recognized as individuals or groups that act to intentionally destabilize the existing government or political structure, and that use the tactic of terrorizing — i.e., instilling fear among — the general population to carry out their agendas. By these standards, Bush isn’t a terrorist. However, Bush has been responsible for the nation’s foreign policy for the last 8 years, and it is undeniable that he has neither acknowledged nor taken responsibility for any of the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Public denunciation of Bush’s leadership is justified; calling for him to be killed is not. In fact, I’ve only read about calls for George Bush to be killed — or at least, insinuations of such — from protests held by radical factions in Middle Eastern (and perhaps European, but I could be wrong) countries where effigies of George W. Bush are burned.

What can be said about the sitting United States Senator from Illinois that justifies the hate speech directed at him? What justification is there for any American to call for the assissination of a sitting U.S. Senator, let alone a presidential candidate? Have these people no shame? Does John McCain have no shame?

Yes, I get that these people represent an extreme minority of McCain’s supporters, but correct me if I’m wrong that McCain has touted his leadership as a reason to cast your ballot for him. What type of leader lets these hate-filled, vitriolic attacks continue? You’ll excuse me if I don’t find McCain taking the microphone away and saying, “No ma’am, Sen. Obama is a good family man whom I disagree with,” as a resounding renunciation of this behavior. When I see that people in “your camp” are freely spewing racist hatred and religious intolerance, I have the expectation that you — who are asking to be elected to the highest office in our nation, an office that people turn to for leadership and a sense of the national spirit — will take the extraordinary steps necessary to send the message that in America, that is not acceptable.

Remember when Obama delivered his major speech on race relations in America? Why hasn’t John McCain done the same? This is equivalent, especially at this juncture, with more and more publicized invectives popping up. Where is John McCain’s major speech on the melting pot that comprises the great country that he purports to put first? How is he putting the interests of America first by letting this hatred and bigotry continue unabated? Does he really expect me to believe that it’s better for the country to be so bitterly divided? Is he practicing the old medical technique of lancing a boil, hoping all this hatred will spill out, and then the nation will miraculously heal?

To bring it back to a man in a video who said Michelle Obama made Barack say he’s a Christian so he could win the election (really?!? who comes up with this?), I empathize more and more with the Michelle Obama who wasn’t as proud of her country as she was during the Democratic primary, when a black man and a woman were the front-runners for the presidential nomination of a major political party. I’m not very proud to claim those Americans who spew this hatred, and I’m not very proud to claim those who just pass it off as politically charged extremism. There’s something fundamentally wrong with the statements these people make, the impunity with which they deliver them, and the fact that they show no qualms, no shame, and no trepidation about saying this stuff in public.

On the DNC, briefly

as a total political junkie, i was in heaven — it was like the superbowl/world series/stanley cup finals all rolled into one for self-described political geeks like me. between the public access to the issue caucuses, networking opportunities, the parties, the massive infusion of people that turned denver into a ny-like city that vibrated with energy, and being amazed that 80,000 people actually showed up for a political rally, i enjoyed every energy-draining minute of it.

as for the speech itself, i was waaay up in the nosebleed section so actually just watched it on the jumbotron; my appreciation came more from the energy of the crowd that was all but tangible in the stadium. that and it was a kick to see all these people i know & work with up there on stage addressing the massess and a national audience. kind of surreal.

now, i’m trying to avoid poking a sharp, burning object in my eye in reaction to the rnc political theater. granted, that’s what both conventions really are, which in & of itself provides plenty of meat for an anlysis of the nuances of political messaging, activities, etc. it just kills me that the message being delivered by the rnc is that mccain will bring change — because apparently obama has shown that voters want change in 2008, so mccain will deliver it, too. and oh yeah, mccain was a vietnam pow. when it doubt, default to being a pow.

McSame Ad Debuts

Finally! The Obama campaign has finally, FINALLY hit back against McCain’s & the GOP’s negative attack ads. Took friggin’ 3 weeks for the Obama to come back hard enough to stop McCain’s climb in the polls. Here’s McSame: