Sarah Palin
I was going to post on the inappropriate choice of Sarah Palin as the vice presidential nominee for the Republican Party, but I am sure that it will be a total non-issue in about two days. Besides, I am fairly sure that many of you would see it as political sour grapes as I was passed up for the number two slot by BOTH parties. The fact that Palin is totally unqualified for the job is just rubbing my nose in it. Turns out I was more qualified for the VP job than the GOP nominee. Who knew?
What I would like to address is the fact that the Republicans seem to think American women would fall for the bait — voting for a woman just because she is a woman. It is insulting to our intelligence to think that we would choose gender over the capacity to lead the country. Trying to pick up Hillary supporters by choosing someone with the right genitalia but whose political views are diametrically opposite Clinton’s is the GOP’s way of saying it believes that women are interchangeable. Gee, maybe we should check to see how many of the second and third wives are younger versions of wife number one. On both sides of the aisle. Don’t believe me? Watch who they replace Palin with. It will be someone like Charlie Crist of Florida — tanned, beautifully coiffed and photogenic. What? You thought Dan Quayle made the cut because of his SAT scores?
The Republicans thought they could get away with throwing in a stereotype instead of a qualified candidate for a very good reason: it works. The American public has an alarming tendency to vote for types, particularly photogenic types, instead of paying attention to actual issues. Most people spend more time planning their yearly vacation than investigating the views and issues of presidential candidates. We judge the candidates on looks and twenty second sound bites. Both parties are aware of this and that is why they are able to sling mud, tell outrageous lies (think Max Cleland) and get away with it. They know that no one is going to check or care.
If you are worried about the direction that the country is heading in, if you are suffering from the results of the collapsing economy, and if you are unhappy with politics as usual, it is up to you to do the hard work and make a difference.