It's Like a Car Accident

Well I am about halfway through the first debate. I've been watching it on Youtube since I couldn't watch it it live. So far nothing much has jumped out at me. When I finish the debate and read up on some of the facts of what were said then I'll probably offer an opinion. Initial responses online and polls seem to say Obama won but I will need to see the whole thing.

But as usual Sarah Palin has me wound up. Like a bad car accident, I can't look away. She is such a goldmine of reasons not to vote for a McCain presidency. Most recently gave an interview with Katie Couric and it such a joke. She obviously has been coached on a few talking points that she repeats ad nauseum, regardless of the question or whether her 'answer' is factually true or even makes sense. SNL performed another Palin parody skit and, amazingly, transcribed a large portion of the skit directly from the actual interview. It was hilarious if you find things that turn your stomach funny.


I've been reading a lot of Andrew Sullivan's blog lately. He's a conservative blogger and while I usually don't agree with him, he is a smart conservative and he can see this Palin/McCain debacle for what it really is. He has compiled a nice list of outright lies put forth by Palin. They're worth a read and demonstrate that this woman is NOT real or authentic or a new kind of politician. She's a liar with no qualifications for this job and convincing people that she's 'authentic' is the same shitty trick that got Bush elected. Demonizing people who are educated as 'out of touch' has served the Republican machine well.

And lastly, Sam Harris has written another, longer, editorial on Palin. After reading this I feel envious of Harris for being able to say so perfectly what I and many other Americans have been thinking. He nails the evaluation of Palin and America's phobia of 'elitism' completely. Here are some of the better quotes.

"...we cannot ignore the fact that Palin's impressive family further testifies to her dogmatic religious beliefs. Many writers have noted the many shades of conservative hypocrisy on view here: when Jamie Lynn Spears gets pregnant, it is considered a symptom of liberal decadence and the breakdown of family values; in the case of one of Palin's daughters, however, teen pregnancy gets reinterpreted as a sign of immaculate, small-town fecundity. And just imagine if, instead of the Palins, the Obama family had a pregnant, underage daughter on display at their convention, flanked by her black boyfriend who "intends" to marry her."

Another good one on America's fascination with mediocrity in leadership.

"Ask yourself: how has "elitism" become a bad word in American politics? There is simply no other walk of life in which extraordinary talent and rigorous training are denigrated. We want elite pilots to fly our planes, elite troops to undertake our most critical missions, elite athletes to represent us in competition and elite scientists to devote the most productive years of their lives to curing our diseases. And yet, when it comes time to vest people with even greater responsibilities, we consider it a virtue to shun any and all standards of excellence. When it comes to choosing the people whose thoughts and actions will decide the fates of millions, then we suddenly want someone just like us, someone fit to have a beer with, someone down-to-earth—in fact, almost anyone, provided that he or she doesn't seem too intelligent or well educated."

Harris makes a good point and I agree that we can admire her as a who cares for her family and has found time to support them and work in politics in Alaska but hidden within all this is lies and hypocrisy. She is not 'real', she is not 'legitimate', she does not have the credentials required for this important position. She is a joke and picking her smacks more of a gimmick to win white women voters and the religious right than as a serious choice for a job that is one 72 year old heartbeat from the Oval Office.