I just started writing this little blog with a laudatory sentence about Governor Sarah Palin. Then, almost without thinking, I backspaced right over it. Why, I immediately asked myself, did I do that?
The answer is frightening.
I have been so barraged by vituperative attacks on this Alaskan--both in person and by email--that my own self-defense mechanism shot unbidden from my brain to my fingers before I had a conscious chance to weigh in on its advisability.
Well, pardon me, brain. I'm short-circuiting that little foray right here and now. And I'm going to say it loud and clear.
Last night, Governor Palin was a credit to herself, her family, her state, her country.
She conducted herself with dignity, wit, intelligence, humor, and grit. We could have expected all those admirable qualities in Senator Clinton, had she not been unfairly deprived of the chance to be behind the presidential candidate podium. Instead, we have another woman--one with whom Hillary Clinton has little in common. In fact, only one major thing: gender.
And that's enough to link them inextricably. You see, they're just TOO. Senator Clinton was too hard, too experienced, too loud, too connected, too intelligent, and how dare she tear up...! Governor Palin is too folksy, too inexperienced, too friendly, too conservative, too likable, too family-y, and how dare she smile engagingly and say something witty and pithy...!
Are you getting my sad parallel here? In the space of less than a year, we've been treated to two of the most riveting individuals the feminine gender has to offer in the world of American politics. And, let me put it bluntly:
There is nothing they can do right.
Today I read that the most touching moment last night was when Senator Biden teared up. Senator Clinton was crucified for the same thing.
And Governor Palin? She hasn't had the temerity to show her emotions. All she's done is speak, act, and behave like herself. This is how a 44-year-old woman democrat describes the governor's debate performance: “I still don’t like that pandering to the folksiness: the winking, the dropping the Gs, the shout-outs to third graders. She didn’t completely bomb, but politically, I’m so opposite of what she stands for.”
And the way she talks, of course, is what she stands for.
Right.
Funny thing. I can't recall the particulars of Biden's, McCain's, Obama's, Bush's, Carter's, Reagan's, ad nauseum, cadence of speech, indulgence in winks, or their propensity to mention anyone they knew during debates...a shout-out sort of thing. I wonder how we ever figured out what they stood for.
So here's a shout-out to you, Governor Palin, and you, Senator Clinton, and you, women of America...
Fight on. Lead with your intelligence. Stick to who you are and what you believe. And always remember what one of Jane Austen's heroines said...I live by it....
'My courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me.'
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8 comments:
The number of pro-Obama emails I've received from friends and friends-of-friends is overwhelming. They all paint John McCain as evil incarnate, and I won't even discuss the filth and lies about Sarah Palin.
I've lost friends because I do not support Obama. I've lost clients because I do not support Obama. I no longer discuss politics with my family.
It boggles the mind that the treatment of these two amazing women - Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton - isn't front page news. Where's NOW? Where are all the women who fought so hard for equal rights? What the hell has happened?
To top it all off, I got the following from a friend (which I've already posted at the Clinton Democrats site). I find it obnoxious. Despicable. I expect to hear a knock on my door any day now and be taken away to a re-education facility where I can learn to love and praise Obama. I'm disgusted with what's going on, and yes - my courage is rising!
http://www.thegreatschlep.com/site/index.html
The Great Schlep aims to have Jewish grandchildren visit their grandparents in Florida, educate them about Obama, and therefore swing the crucial Florida vote in his favor. Don’t have grandparents in Florida? Not Jewish? No problem! You can still become a schlepper and make change happen in 2008, simply by talking to your relatives about Obama.
It's fascinating to watch the reactions of the east coast "elites" to Governor Palin. It's as if they've never seen an American before. I especially liked the "pandering to the folksiness" line. Who do they think graduates from the University of Idaho?
Interesting also that the abortion issue wasn't raised. I wonder if it had something to do with Senator Biden being a pro-choice Catholic? Too sticky an issue for him and with Ifill being in the tank for Obama, she just decided to skip it.
Oh my GOSH! You nailed it for me....it doesn't matter what either of these two accomplished women do....it's not going to be good enough, and they will be picked apart until they leave the stage (notice how the criticism of Clinton has completely stopped?). I have a very sad feeling that none of this will actually be seen until it's in the rearview mirror. This period will be reviewed with shaking heads and tsk-tsks for its barbaric treatment of these women! I want to be there when the books are written and the movie is made. (Sorry about the "Momsy" name...I can't figger this Google/BLogger thing out, and have to keep signing up again for an account! Sometimes I'm annavedo. What a hassle.)
You've all called it--why isn't the ill-treatment of these honorable women front page news? Since when must women speak a certain way? How long do we condone the inveterate hounding of women until they leave the stage?
You know, I truly thought I was now living in a society where this was largely in the rear-view mirror. Instead, not only have the experiences of Clinton and Palin illuminated the ugly truth of sexism, but we're learning that when we do cry foul, we're ignored, dismissed as whiners, or sneered at with contempt. (As to where NOW is...you can find its president cheerleading for Obama.)
But the source of some of the most venomous contempt is the biggest worry, I believe. It's the women who have gone after Governor Palin with such desperate, malicious gusto. It's inexplicable and each time I'm confronted with it, I've found myself recoiling from it with a sick feeling in my stomach.
But be of good cheer. There are more of us intimidating women out there than any of us realize.
Just look at this very page.
I'm convinced this was written by Pat Buchanan.
Gump, isn't ideology easy. No thinking required. Just take what the guy on TV says and regurgitate. Take the worst person you can think of and compare.
Are you sure Hitler didn't write this? How about GWB himself, in-between masterminding another 9/11?
Cathylee - I couldn't agree with you more.
Have you seen where the head of NOW in Los Angeles has endorsed McCain/Palin? Did you see what she said? Twas great!
Sorry folks, but you are bending rational observation here. Palin IS a manipulative individual as attested to by many who have been around her political career in Alaska, and by much that is presented on the nightly snooze. She overtly appeals to mindlessness, has apparently no interest in the world at large as attested to by her vacuous responses to far too many queries and has employed a vindictive nature over and over during her tenure as mayor and govenor. Why does she not have open press conferences?
I suppose you are also in favor of her intentional stirring up of irrational bigotry, fear and possible violence in her 'base', using all those tools your defend and that her critics expose?
I am generally one with the angst about the stupidity with which HC fell...but please, let's not take this defensive bluster you all seem to expound about Palin too far...there, is a 'too' for you!
Doubt Nothing...Question Everything
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