First things first: Wasn’t the DNC stupendous? Michelle, Hills, Bills, Biden and of course Obama, who gave the speech I never in my lifetime thought I would witness. It felt like watching the hallowed moments of the Kennedys, of Martin Luther King, and how perfect it came on the anniversary of MLK’s dream speech. Election-wise, he did everything he needed to do: he solidified himself as a great leader with talking points, cajones and most importantly VISION–not just an inspiring speechmaker as some have criticized. He touched on points he needed to: small businesses and the middle class, Katrina, equal pay for equal work and–o awesomeness of awesomes–BEASTED on the major controversial issues like gun control and right to choose. BEASTED on ’em! Out the park! I couldn’t even cry, like I did during seriously EVERY other speech–I was over at Will’s with a buncha O’bamas, and I was dropping every embarrassing dance-move-of-joy I could muster: the Arsenio fist-pump and whoot, the cabbage patch, the booty pop, the Usain Bolt, the hustle, okay not the hustle, but Will’s friends probably think I am a bona fide Wedding Crasher or something. And if I may be so shallow: MICHELLE OBAMA’s SPRING 2009 FLORAL FROCK BY THAKOON WAS KILLING EL GAME.
Second things second (how appropriate since she is the second woman ever nominated for VP in a major political party, UNLESS YOU COUNT THE GREENS, shout out to Winona LaDuke, Jan D. Pierce and, as ever, the great Rosa Clemente):
John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as a clear pander to the slim margin of yet-undecided post-Hillary voters is offensive. Its implied notion that any woman will do, that we are voting with our vaginas and not our minds, reeks of misogyny–particularly when you consider Gov. Palin herself has misogynistic tendencies what with her affiliation with the anti-choice group “Feminists for Life” (what a crock), and the fact that she would even *consider* running with McCain considering his long history of voting AGAINST equal pay, is suspect (the real question: does she even know about that? The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, after all, was a piece of national legislation, and Gov. Palin, after all, is apparently only interested in state government. I mean, if she can’t look outside the bounds of Alaska to pay attention to um, THE WAR IN IRAQ, months before her SON DEPLOYS, why would she pay attention to an itty bitty little bill that would make it illegal to pay women less than men for the same jobs?).
Now, the anti-choice/conservative Christian side of Sarah Palin as an appeasement to the Repub’s religious right–now that is what is scary. It is easy, and it is tempting, to dismiss Palin as the Harriet Meiers of Republican VPs, given her stunning lack of experience and the fact that she apparently knows NOTHING about foreign policy?!?!?!?!?!?! But do not underestimate the evangelicals’ impulse to elect someone solely on their Christian credentials.
Meanwhile, I can’t fault Palin, who appears to be an intellctual lightweight, for going along with being a pawn in John McCain’s evil evil evil scheme. I am so disgusted with him, and this choice shows his inability to make a sound decision that is indeed “country first” (as if we didn’t doubt it before). A HEARTBEAT AWAY, Y’ALL. Can you imagine Sarah Palin bounding in to meet with Ahmidenijad? With Putin? It would be GEORGE W. BUSH REDUX. SHE IS GEORGE W. BUSH REDUX. McCain’s got his policies, she’s got his demeanor. We need to do EVERYTHING WE CAN to stop this, from donating money to Obama’s campaign o canvassing to calling our friends and family in important states and convincing them, and further, convincing them to convince others. Because Sarah Palin won’t bust through the glass ceiling. She will cement it.
SIDEBAR: I am ecstatic to see Biden intellectually slaughter her on every issue in the debates. She, who claims she knows about foreign policy thanks to her state’s proximity to Russia. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. (Tears.) I only hope he will go slightly easy on her so it cannot be painted by the evil repubs as misogyny.
