Sarah Palin

Senator John McCain yesterday announced that his choice for the next Vice President of the United States of America would not be his favorite, former Democrat Joe Lieberman who has been his shadow throughout this campaign, but rather Sarah Palin, a new face on the political scene with several years experience as mayor of a city of 9,000 and a year and a half experience as Alaska's governor. This after a two-hour private meeting with her the evening before the selection according to an ABC blog.
All I can offer at this point is some early thoughts on this unusual move by McCain. It's hard to figure this out, actually, why he would choose a running mate who has significantly - astonishingly even - less experience than even Obama whom the Republicans - following Hillary Clinton's lead - have been criticizing for months as inexperienced. Who would you want answering that phone at 3 AM while you and your family are sleeping, Sarah Palin, hockey mom and moose-slayer, or Barack Obama? The open hypocrisy of McCain's choice is amazing.
Was it my imagination or was John McCain overly friendly with Palin in the announcement ceremony. I even sensed - and as a man I'm qualified to make this observation - that McCain was almost fawning over her. McCain does have a reputation with beautiful women so maybe that's where I got that impression.
As far as my first impressions of Palin, she reminds me of the Bush Administration's young female religious right beaurocrats like former Justice Department bureaucrat Monica Goodling and former GSA chief Lurita Doan. Both of these women appeared to be ditzes and neither seemed capable of recognizing truth if it slapped them in the face. Unfortunately, my early readings about Sarah Palin leave me wondering if she wouldn't also be this same kind of religious right political hack.
Some suggest that McCain's choice was a gamble to win the Hillary faction. Somehow I can't imagine even a single Hillary supporter voting for a religious right, moose-hunting, wolf-slaying, global warming denying, oil-drilling, creation science promoting, opponent of a woman's right to choose. Palin stands firmly for these politically divisive minority right-wing issues. However, there is a significant demographic among women that I've never seen recognized that Palin speaks directly to and for - my wife's friends among them. These aren't Hillary women at all. They wouldn't be caught dead voting for Hillary. What they are is the female component in Richard Nixon's "Silent Majority." The demographic in American politics is huge, especially considering that many of these women bring their husbands along with them. This demographic spans all age groups. George W. Bush relied heavily on this demographic. John McCain has never had them. Political pundits don't even seem to know they exist, but Sarah Palin knows they do. My guess is that she was able to convince McCain that they do and that she could land them in his boat.

Color of Race

After posting on August 8, I did email everyone whose email address appeared on that anti-Obama message that wound up in my Inbox. I received a couple of courteous replies and a couple of discourteous replies, one even leaving me to wonder if I was being threatened. But I also wound up with an education. One of the individuals who identifies him (?) self as "m" and says he is an Army veteran of Vietnam has been mailing me more of this anti-Obama trash. Twice now he emailed me the one about Obama's airplane no longer displaying the American flag on its tail. A quick Google of "Obama airplane" brings up the truth from Snopes.com.
The airplane smear is characteristic of all the smears. The intent is to paint Obama in the minds of the feeble as a secretly America-hating Muslim Marxist whose supporters are mindless, time-clock punching puppets. Anyone with the power to think freely, it is argued, should see this.
I have been aware for some time of the notion that Obama is secretly something other than what he appears to be. Right-wingers and even some in the Hilary crowd tried to suggest that he might secretly be Muslim. But I am beginning to understand that the Right are now saying Obama is secretly a Communist, a utopian socialist Marxist.
That comes as quite an education for me.
First I find it surprising that the Right wants to be understood to be critical of American workers who punch a time clock.
Second, I find it amazing that in order to prove that Obama has secrets, the Right circulates easily disproved lies instead of any real evidence.
But most of all, I am struck by the way the Right is painting Obama in stereotypes that Americans have been conditioned to hate.
Hate is the key. The Right is saying that it is OK to hate Obama.
Here's what I think is going on. I think the Right is using reality inversion here. In reality it isn't Obama who is keeping secrets, it's the Right. And the secret they are keeping is that they don't want to see a black man become their leader. Racist America has long defended the power of whites to keep blacks powerless.
The result of white racism against blacks is always fear and hatred.
The intent of the Right to paint Obama as a secret Muslim Marxist is to get the mindless followers of the Right to fear and hate Obama.
The intent of the Right against Obama is the same as the intent of racism. It just uses a different vehicle, a vehicle that only exists in the imagination of the Right. In reality, the Right is expressing racial hatred against Obama.
One of the things that came back to me in the replies to that email was a strong criticism of Michelle Obama. It is well known that she said she is only now able to say she is proud of America.
Strangely enough it never was very popular to express pride in America until the Right made patriotism a political hammer after 9/11. At my high school graduation I spoke in defense of patriotism and to this day can still remember how unpopular patriotism was at the time. Even Ronald Reagan couldn't turn that around. The wave of false patriotism under George Bush and Karl Rove won't last. If Obama wins and Congress is under Democrat control, the last thing these patriots will admit to is pride in America. Pride and patriotism is still just a political hammer.
So the issue with this Michelle Obama thing isn't about pride and patriotism. Think about it. What Michelle Obama was doing was criticizing white-dominated America. An uppity black woman was very publicly criticizing whites. How dare she do that!! Attack her!!! Bring her down!!! Hate her!!!

GOP Pride

Yesterday I was the proud recipient of a chain email titled "obama.......WHY????????" which was apparently originally written by CPT Jeffrey S. Porter. The email is critical of how Obama shunned the troops in Afghanistan on his recent visit there.
It took me about a minute using Google to discover that this email was a stunt, a smear, meant to be mailed anonymously throughout Republican circles, sort of a cyber Republican circle-jerk. In Republican circles, it seems, perceptions are all that matter, the truth be damned. Pass that lie to all your friends. Don't bother to check any sources first.
Since late July, the Internet has been full of websites exposing this email fraud. Another early post here. All you have to do is Google the guy's name and tons of places that discuss this email come up. There's no way to claim innocence for anyone who forwarded this email after the truth had been exposed. Yet that little fact doesn't stop Republicans from smearing their feces all over the Internet, does it?
Obama had an interesting thing to say about this sort of thing. He was speaking of how Republicans have been mocking his claim that simply running tires at the proper pressure could save more oil than could be produced by expanded offshore drilling. From TPM ElectionCentral, Obama responded:
"Now two points, one, they know they're lying about what my energy plan is, but the other thing is they're making fun of a step that every expert says would absolutely reduce our oil consumption by 3 to 4 percent. It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant."
Did you catch that? Republicans seem to take pride in being ignorant.
On that note, here's the email I received. I admit to removing the header from it. I wonder if I should email all these good people to inform them of the mistake.
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From: emt6989@hotmail.comTo: bassman_4001@yahoo.com; blpk61@hotmail.com; chrisdjn@comcast.net; chubs700@comcast.net; lanemedic@yahoo.com; deekal409@hotmail.com; dmartin@pulsenet.com; drdonna@gmail.com; fridgedaddy@yahoo.com; cfnurses@yahoo.com; fred.simpson@comcast.net; gcole@wpahs.org; cowboyc20@yahoo.com; suns_moons19@hotmail.com; emjschmuck@comcast.net; bobo15347@comcast.net; jeepwrangme@yahoo.com; ffmedic94@yahoo.com; ffemt011@yahoo.com; mjwystepek@yahoo.com; mustangjason00@hotmail.com; nancytopolski@livenation.com; pete316@bentcom.net; robinsanders5@yahoo.com; sharonl1969@comcast.net; sparkyg3@juno.comSubject: FW: obama.......WHY????????Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2008 18:15:08 -0400--------------------------------------------------------------------------------From: 763wright@comcast.netTo: emt6989@hotmail.com; bassman_4001@yahoo.com; reepsveb@comcast.net; Free2ride527@comcast.net; TGray@baxglobal.com; pbutler2004@comcast.netSubject: Fwd: obama.......WHY????????Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2008 05:45:48 +0000-------------- Forwarded Message: -------------- From: mukiwasteve@aol.com To: nick6835@optimum.net, garandgunner@hotmail.com, suntanfit@msn.com, sp33mm@msn.com, toys4totsusmcr@aol.com, bluewisp@aol.com, ESSELLCEE172@aol.com, RAZukowski@comcast.net, zuke@kmdodge.com, dgtay@aol.com, champagne@airadv.net, 763wright@comcast.net, janetknaupp@hotmail.com, oldbetsy1776@yahoo.com Subject: Fwd: obama.......WHY???????? Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2008 01:50:43 +0000 pass this around.................-----Original Message-----From: Tim Hesse To: Walt Serafin ; Tom Ibinger ; Terry McGinnity ; Steve Winiecke ; Scott Hesse ; Ryan Hesse ; Matt Hesse ; Kevin Kumpf ; Ken Detmer ; Gary Amble ; Dave home ; Brian Buckingham ; Bill Home Hesse ; Alex Winiecke ; Alex Hesse Sent: Fri, 1 Aug 2008 10:06 amSubject: FW: obama.......WHY????????-----Original Message-----From: m [mailto:mmmtait@yahoo.com]Sent: Friday, August 01, 2008 9:02 AMTo: mSubject: obama.......WHY????????I don't know each of your personal political convictions, and apologize ifanyone finds this offensive. I thought it was important enough to share.This is Jeff's first hand view of Senator Obama.---------- Forwarded Message ----------Hello everyone,As you know I am not a very political person. I just wanted to pass alongthat Senator Obama came to Bagram Afghanistan for about an hour on hisvisit to'The War Zone'. I wanted to share with you what happened.He got off the plane and got into a bullet proof vehicle, got to the areatomeet with the Major General (2 Star) who is the commander here at Bagram.As the Soldiers where lined up to shake his hand he blew them off anddidn'tsay a word as he went into the conference room to meet the General. A s hefinished, the vehicles took him to the ClamShell (pretty much a big toptentthat military personnel can play basketball or work out in with weights)so hecould take his publicity pictures playing basketball. He again shunned theopportunity to talk to Soldiers to thank them for their service.So really he was just here to make a showing for the American's back homethat he is their candidate for President. I think that if you are going tomakean effort to come all the way over here you would thank those that areproviding the freedom that they are providing for you.I swear we got more thanks from the NBA Basketball Players or the DallasCowboy Cheer leaders than from one of the Senators, who wants to be thePresident of the United States. I just don't understand how anyone wouldwant him tobe our Commander-and-Chief. It was almost that he was scared to be aroundthose that provide the freedom for him and our great country.If this is blunt and to the point I am sorry but I wanted you all to knowwhat kind of caliber of person he really is. What you see in the news isa ll fake.In service,CPT Jeffrey S. PorterBattle CaptainTF WasatchAmerican SoldierDon Herpenherpen@comast.netAmerican by birthMARINEby the grace of God Semper Fi

Hope

I just bought Barak Obama's book this week. It wasn't expensive the way most political books are. But I've already misplaced it.
Anyway, I cracked up this morning when I saw this new moveon.org advertisement!