Bush In Pumps
Naomi Wolf's essay in The Sydney Morning Herald makes an interesting case that there was some logic behind Sen. McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as a running mate. Apparently the idea was to reach out not only to the religious base, but also to the legions of women not fortunate enough to have reached the pinnacles of success that Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice have. Those women with young children and stuck in pink collar service jobs would identify with Gov. Palin. To be honest, it looks like it worked, but only for a couple of weeks.
The selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate hit the United States like an electric storm. To her legions of lipstick-waving fans on the right, Palin is a down-to-earth, God-fearing "hockey mom" whose moose hunting, evangelical faith, and even chaotic family life, are all evidence that she is a real, typical American.
To her equally frantic detractors on the left - and increasingly in the centre - she is a frightening harbinger of a theocratic America, a mafia-style executrix of state business who lies about the connection of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to Iraq, mocks Barack Obama for his opposition to torturing prisoners, and defies subpoenas. Think of her as George Bush II, but in designer pumps. ...
Just about any woman who was not born into privilege, has small children at home, and is not a cannibal or a satanist would elicit initial roars of approval from women in general, and surely from a group that has been silenced and trivialised for so long. When you've been making the coffee forever, it's nice to imagine leading the free world.
That said, Palin's sinking approval ratings show that, while such women thrill to symbolic validation, they are not fools. They have begun to notice how Palin is trotted out like a model at an auto show to be introduced to heads of state as if they are local car dealers, and how the media are allowed to take pictures but not ask questions ("That's me with Henry Kissinger!"). They also notice that the economy is imploding, while Iraq is calming down only because the US is paying insurgents and al-Qaeda sympathisers the equivalent of a monthly car payment per person not to kill its soldiers.
Moreover, as Palin's political persona takes shape, it looks increasingly alarming. The problem is not just that the McCain campaign has surrounded her with veterans of the Bush-Cheney cabal (Karl Rove's acolytes and operatives now write her speeches and manage her every move). It's also that she believes that God set her legislative agenda in Alaska, and that she has failed to venture much beyond the Discovery Channel when it comes to foreign travel.
Her "folksy charm" and parenting credentials in and of themselves do not qualify her for the job of Vice President, especially since the would-be President is 72 and has health issues. While Gov. Palin might not be real clear on what the Vice President actually does, the rest of the country has watched the office grow in responsibilities beyond the traditional one of attending state funerals. The current Vice President has made certain of that, usually to the detriment of fundamental American ideals.
Additionally, the Alaskan investigation into her handling of a state employee who just happened to be divorcing her sister means that she is carrying some hefty baggage into the last stages of the campaign. It doesn't take a Ph.D. in Russian history to see that.
Most women, regardless of their class and formal education, have seen through the cynical ploy, and did so rather quickly. Most women are now left to consider just what kind of judgment John McCain showed by selecting Gov. Palin.
The selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate hit the United States like an electric storm. To her legions of lipstick-waving fans on the right, Palin is a down-to-earth, God-fearing "hockey mom" whose moose hunting, evangelical faith, and even chaotic family life, are all evidence that she is a real, typical American.
To her equally frantic detractors on the left - and increasingly in the centre - she is a frightening harbinger of a theocratic America, a mafia-style executrix of state business who lies about the connection of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to Iraq, mocks Barack Obama for his opposition to torturing prisoners, and defies subpoenas. Think of her as George Bush II, but in designer pumps. ...
Just about any woman who was not born into privilege, has small children at home, and is not a cannibal or a satanist would elicit initial roars of approval from women in general, and surely from a group that has been silenced and trivialised for so long. When you've been making the coffee forever, it's nice to imagine leading the free world.
That said, Palin's sinking approval ratings show that, while such women thrill to symbolic validation, they are not fools. They have begun to notice how Palin is trotted out like a model at an auto show to be introduced to heads of state as if they are local car dealers, and how the media are allowed to take pictures but not ask questions ("That's me with Henry Kissinger!"). They also notice that the economy is imploding, while Iraq is calming down only because the US is paying insurgents and al-Qaeda sympathisers the equivalent of a monthly car payment per person not to kill its soldiers.
Moreover, as Palin's political persona takes shape, it looks increasingly alarming. The problem is not just that the McCain campaign has surrounded her with veterans of the Bush-Cheney cabal (Karl Rove's acolytes and operatives now write her speeches and manage her every move). It's also that she believes that God set her legislative agenda in Alaska, and that she has failed to venture much beyond the Discovery Channel when it comes to foreign travel.
Her "folksy charm" and parenting credentials in and of themselves do not qualify her for the job of Vice President, especially since the would-be President is 72 and has health issues. While Gov. Palin might not be real clear on what the Vice President actually does, the rest of the country has watched the office grow in responsibilities beyond the traditional one of attending state funerals. The current Vice President has made certain of that, usually to the detriment of fundamental American ideals.
Additionally, the Alaskan investigation into her handling of a state employee who just happened to be divorcing her sister means that she is carrying some hefty baggage into the last stages of the campaign. It doesn't take a Ph.D. in Russian history to see that.
Most women, regardless of their class and formal education, have seen through the cynical ploy, and did so rather quickly. Most women are now left to consider just what kind of judgment John McCain showed by selecting Gov. Palin.
Labels: Class Warfare, Election 2008, sexism
posted by Diane at 3:45 AM
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