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Read the article below the video for a related opinion article from ***Erin Flaherty's piece*** published on Yahoo. Reader coments are posted below the video.
Sex(ism) and politics: Is
McCain the worst
offender?
- by , on Sun Sep 14, 2008 12:28pm PDT
- Read More from This Author »
Brad Barket/Getty Images
It was inevitable that Tina Fey would return to "Saturday Night Live" to play Sarah Palin. Not only are they spot on look-alikes (right down to the "sexy librarian" glasses), but Fey nailed that far north accent and carefully coached timing with her signature comedic precision. (To be fair, Gina Gershon does a pretty mean impression, too.) Placing her on a platform with Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton was genius, especially since, much to Clinton supporters' chagrin (and surely much to Hil's own), Palin keeps aligning herself with Clinton, even if their politics couldn't be more different. In fact, Palin's beliefs are pretty much the antithesis of Clinton's, and yet, when Palin talks about her (at her last speech, the crowd booed, so she is pulling back on that presentation), surely the speech writers in her camp have encouraged her to do so because part of her role in the campaign is to stealthily attract those millions that staunchly supported Hillary. And that makes me wonder if McCain isn't the ultimate sexist. Let me explain.
This weekend's SNL sketch centered on sexism and its role in this highly charged political race. RememberRush Limbaugh's infamous comment about Clinton aging before our very eyes (conveniently ignoring the fact that McCain is considerably older than she is)? Ah, memories. Now that all eyes are on Palin, it’s her turn to be attacked by the evils of gender inequality. In fact, some journalists have even been accused of being sexist by attacking her politics in tough interviews. I'm sorry, but how is asking a candidate we know very little about the hard questions considered sexist?
Let’s review: While we're still relatively in the dark about who this person is politically speaking, we do know that she's a working mother (we can relate!), former mayor of the crystal meth capital of Alaska, currently embroiled in a lawsuit concerning misconduct, went to five colleges to get one degree and that her daughter is suffering the consequences of abstinence only sex education and pregnant at 17 (just like Jamie Lynn Spears! Again, we can relate!). Oh and she can see Russia from Alaska which makes her a foreign policy expert, thinks environmental issues are hogwash and she's a former beauty pageant contestant, (and the latter tells me that she thinks objectifying women is dandy). Palin is sexist! But seriously folks, how did she come to land so close to the White House again?
We've all witnessed McCain's history of making lewd remarks about women (he's attacked Chelsea Clintonfor being "ugly," possibly called his wife a trollop and the c-word and definitely offered her up to participate in a topless beauty contest among other gems), but in choosing Sarah Palin, McCain proves himself to be more sexist than Rush Limbaugh and Hugh Hefner combined. It was a reckless choice, no doubt, which makes me fear how he'll behave when the phone rings at 3 a.m., and I have to agree with this New York Times editorial that reasons: "If he seriously thought this first-term governor — with less than two years in office — was qualified to be president, if necessary, at such a dangerous time, it raises profound questions about his judgment. If the choice was, as we suspect, a tactical move, then it was shockingly irresponsible." Although I'm sure he had little to do with the decision, after all, it reeks of campaign strategy and he had never met her before, at the end of the day, he has embraced her. Why? Because his strategists think that disenfranchised Hillary supporters and hockey moms everywhere are stupid enough to vote for them because after all, she's a woman. No matter that Palin doesn't support choice for rape and incest victims, has questionable parenting skills and family values, favors book censorship and doesn't seem interested in green issues that will make the world a better place for our children and generations to come. She made a big deal out of sending her son to Iraq, and offered this noble message of hope to the troops: that they would be fighting “the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans.” Um, excuse me, Guvna? As most schoolchildren know, Saddam Hussein and Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. Like the Bush Doctrine, Palin seems to have no knowledge of terrorists and what the war she is sending her own son to is about. Un-freakin-believable!
McCain spent a lot of time slamming Obama for lack of experience, but in choosing a first term governor who is not versed on the current policies of her own party, he undermined his own argument. While she claims that voters don't want candidates with "big, fat resumes" as she told Charlie Gibson- who seemed exasperated by her level of incompetence during the interview- when exactly did the American public start preferring to elect candidates that they can relate to instead of those that possess leadership capabilities? Oh now I remember, it was when Bush presented himself to us as "just another good ol' boy." And by pointing fingers at more intelligent, profound leaders and calling them "elitist," that's exactly how we got into all this war, tattered economy, country in crisis trouble in the first place.
After "getting to know her" a little better last week, there is no doubt in my mind that Governor Palin is fit to win a Miss Congeniality contest. People are clearly fascinated by her. But knowing that this ill-equipped Manchurian candidate is potentially a heartbeat away from being President of the United States of America, and part of that has to do with the inherently sexist idea that women will vote for another woman because she's "just like us!" makes my skin crawl. Maybe I'm missing the point. Perhaps Palin was simply brought in to capture the powerful evangelical Christian vote. Maybe it's a bit of both. But if they wanted to go after the deeply religious, couldn't they have found a pious candidate who is more prepared for the vice presidency? And with a 72-year-old presidential candidate, make no mistake that there is a very distinct possibility that if the McCain ticket makes it to the White House Palin could likely find herself in the Oval Office. (Insert creepy, maniacal laughter here.)
Ummmm, on a lighter note, here's that clip from SNL. It's hilarious. [Ed's note: Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, and we welcome commentary from all sides. For more Palin coverage see: "The Hotness Conundrum," "Why we're perplexed by Sarah Palin," "Get her to the church on time" and "Will she help him win?"]
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