Politics (and you thought I’d steer clear of this one…)
John McCain has just selected a totally unknown politician with almost no experience as his running mate. Reactions have been varied, but in Europe it’s been shock and disbelief at such an unwise choice. McCain, at 73, has cancer and his running mate, if he is elected, would step into presidential shoes should he succumb or be incapacitated. Sure, she’s governor of Alaska, a tiny state population wise, and she ran a town of about 6000 as mayor for a couple of years. Fine.
Let us not forget Dan Quayle, the smiling boy idiot who was Bush’s VP. Anyone less likley to lead a nation is hard to imagine. He couldn’t have led a beetle out of a matchbox, although he did forever cause young folks to pause in confusion as to how they should spell ‘potato’.
Any party that selects such running mates as these is a pretty bizarre party, but not absolutely unelectable (see Quayle, above). What it signals to many of us, though, is that this is a party that has absolute contempt for the thinking American populace. They wanted a young, reasonably attractive female, with a son in the army and a kid who was disabled as a sort of window dressing to lend an aura of wholesomeness to a very unattractive party.
Would you vote for a party, or a candidate, that seems to be so intent upon insulting us? But then, of late years the Republicans have had only contempt for most Americans.
on September 2nd, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Hi Allan,
Isn’t it fascinating how the issues around Sarah Palin are unfolding?
I guess that is what happens when a party picks some random woman as a candidate in the hopes that women will vote for her simply because she is a woman. What were they thinking?
And yes this choice was very insulting -especially insulting to the Hillary supporters it was meant to win over.
Jean
on September 3rd, 2008 at 12:15 am
Dear Jean,
Yes, indeed! And we haven’t heard the end of it yet…. I’m sure we’ll be astonished before this election is over. Hold on tight!
Allan
on September 6th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
What I noticed most about each convention was the use of narrative to market the candidates. I felt it myself and Gurgen, Wallace, and Begala confirmrd it on CNN.
In that sense, McCain is a triumph: from Innocent to Hero. His story is courageous. (Victor Lazlo and thensome.)
But because this was a political campaign, the story was repeated so as to almost trivialize seven years in a tin box with a light on for 24/7 with the isolation interrupted only for torture and beatings.
Did you notice in these “narratives” the importance of Mother? Obama’s and McCain’s? Tributes to both were moving - McCain’s there to enjoy them, Obama’s gone young.
I’m not sure if America has had two opposing candidates for president each of whom have written a memoir. Does anyone know?
Obama took a “bullet” for his when Sarah Palin said, “Note that Senator Obama has written two memoirs but no major legistaltion.”
Ouch!
MLou