I Think I Figured Out This Sarah Palin Thing
September 9th, 2008 by Evil Beet
I’m in the gym tonight, jogging away on the treadmill (going on two months smoke-free, woot woot!!! I can JOG!!!) and I have my iPod on and I’m blasting my music, but the guy running next to me has the TV tuned to CNN. And I can’t hear anything they’re saying, but they’re obviously talking about Sarah Palin. And they’re just showing clip after clip after clip of her hitting the campaign trail with McCain. Smiling, waving, holding her baby, embracing her daughters, looking sisterly with Cindy McCain, and I’m trying to get to the bottom of something that is bothering me quite a bit right now: This woman stands opposed to everything I believe in, so why do I like her? Why am I not filled with rage and fear every time her bespectacled, grinning face shows up next to McCain’s? Why am I drawn to this woman who’s been thrust into the national spotlight after spending a lifetime fighting against the things I fight so ferociously for?
And then it hits me.
Barack Obama’s spent the past eighteen months offering this country change.
John McCain, now, is offering us a mother.
McCain is no political novice, and I figured he had a damn good reason for choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was. In retrospect, I can’t believe it took me so long.
Barack Obama’s a brilliant orator, a charismatic leader, clearly an erudite man and a voice passionately preaching Something Better that we can rally behind in this time of Very Serious Issues. And John McCain simply cannot fight him on those points. He’s painfully outmatched.
But isn’t it always a time of Very Serious Issues? Haven’t we just endured eight draining, tragic, gut-wrenching, traumatic, blood-filled years of Very Serious Issues? It’s been horrific and it’s seemed endless. And maybe, now, before we get back to the Very Serious Issues, it would be nice to go home to our mothers and put on our PJs and slippers and have her make us a nice warm bowl of soup and we can all curl up on her couch that always smells vaguely of her perfume and wrap ourselves up in the blanket she knitted four Christmases ago and watch Brady Bunch reruns on Nick at Night while we munch on her oatmeal cookies. And then maybe after that we’ll get back to the Very Serious Issues, but not yet. Right now, regardless of what we may claim to value in a candidate or an administration, we’re all exhausted, and we just want to be taken care of, tucked in, kissed goodnight and told that everything will look better in the morning.
Sarah Palin is, at first glance, what Hillary Clinton could not work into her own image no matter how hard she tried: she is a nurturer. And, right now, this country needs a nurturer. We didn’t even realize it until it was offered to us. And it’s a political strategy that’s never been attempted at this level, and it’s the right time and the right place and the right candidate and it hit me, tonight, that this is absolutely fucking brilliant.
It’s why you’re seeing Independents flock to McCain right now, and it’s why, IMHO, he’s got a damn good chance of winning this election now. Because it doesn’t really matter what gets said at the debates or where anyone stands on the issues. I wish it did, guys, but it doesn’t, not really. We vote from our hearts, not from our heads — especially at a time like this. Americans may have thought they wanted some abstract notion of change, but that was before they realized they could have a mother instead. World issues are scary. Mothers are not.
I’m not saying it’s the right way to win an election — and I’m in no way endorsing the McCain/Palin ticket — but I’m gonna go ahead and bet it’ll prove effective.
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Hi Beet!
You explained it so nicely! And you are sure to make your point very clear.
But think about it, she was indeed chosen as a veep PRECISELY because of McCain’s desperation – shouldn’t she be considered a “puppet” of the party? I can only see her as a victim in this political race – like you, I believe in the entire opposite of her opinions – but when I think about her as a way to attract votes but will not have any sort of power once elected into office… it’s kind of a pity.
And really, even if she is that mama bear every person in America longs for, you will NEVER see, hear, or sense that mama bear if McCain sits in Washington.
What an awesome entry! Not an angle I’d thought about, but you make really excellent points. Eloquently said.
Anybody that votes from their heart and not their head is a fucking moron. Unfortunately, there are a lot of fucking morons in America.
That’s nice and all, but having ol’ googly eyes prancing her babies in front of the cameras and acting like your next door neighboor does not make me like her more. Knowing what she believes in is enough for me to dismiss her.
Klipper, I have to agree. People are too fucking lazy to make a change. Although I do not necessarily like Obama or Mcain (I prefer Ron Paul for being more informed) I think I would still choose Obama. Mcain is fed his words and Palin is two faced. I have to say she did an excellent job giving Obama some extra voters!
right on Klipper!
Beet….this is so UNLIKE you…. kudos… Lets let a woman from Wasilla tell her story. This was sent to me. Tell me what you think…?——-
I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992.
Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a
first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her
father was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a
first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more
City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the
residents of the city.
She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular
girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and
won’t vote for her can’t quit smiling when talking about her because
she is a “babeâ€.
It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She
kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents
for seven months. She is “pro-lifeâ€. She recently gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.
She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.
She is savvy. She doesn’t take positions; she just “puts things out
there†and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.
Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a
champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin’s kind of job is highly
sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his
work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or
so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their
major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything
like that of native Alaskans. Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.
She’s smart. Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents.
During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running
this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been
pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had
gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had
given rise to a recall campaign.
Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a “fiscal conservativeâ€. During her 6
years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over
33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the
City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation
(1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a
regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she
promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they
benefited residents.
The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration
weren’t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed
money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it
with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage
the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said
she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a
new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a
multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece
of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was
still in litigation 7 yrs later–to the delight of the lawyers
involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the
community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it
would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that
could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.
While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office
redecorated more than once. These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city. As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she
proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.
In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she
recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while
she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today’s
surplus, borrow for needs.
She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas
or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by
her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the
basis of who proposed them.
While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected
City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from
the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents
rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin’s
attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew
her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the
Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.
Sarah complained about the “old boy’s club†when she first ran for
Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of “old boysâ€. Palin
fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as
Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people,
creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally
grateful and fiercely loyal–loyal to the point of abusing their power
to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the
case of pressuring the State’s top cop (see below).
As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla’s Police Chief because he “intimidatedâ€
her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska’s top
cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure
and she had every legal right to fire him, but it’s pretty clear that
an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn’t
fire her sister’s ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation
for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen
contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she
later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to
replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.
She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in
help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town
introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council
became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She
abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t
like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.
Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything
publicly about her.
When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got
the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one
of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no
background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great
job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the
high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the
structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this
Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party)
engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some
undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all
her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and
garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a
gutsy fighter against the “old boys’ club†when she dramatically quit,
exposing this man’s ethics violations (for which he was fined).
As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from
Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel
politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the “bridge to
nowhere†after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.
As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget
guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing
projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative
action restored most of these projects–which had been vetoed simply
because she was not aware of their importance–but with the unobservant
she had gained a reputation as “anti-porkâ€.
She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party
leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated
them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a
fiscal conservative.
Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah.
They call her “Sarah Barracuda†because of her unbridled ambition and
predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly
stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made
point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah’s
mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and
experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.
As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package
of legislation known as “AGIA†that forced the oil companies to march
to the beat of her drum.
Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to
global warming. She campaigned “as a private citizen†against a state
initiative that would have either a) protected salmon streams from
pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the
state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State’s
lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior’s decision to list polar
bears as threatened species.
McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a
heartbeat away from being President. There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she.
However, there’s a lot of people who have underestimated her and are
regretting it.
CLAIM VS FACT
•“Hockey momâ€: true for a few years
•“PTA momâ€: true years ago when her first-born was in elementary
school, not since
•“NRA supporterâ€: absolutely true
•social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill
that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships
(said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
•pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to
promote it.
•“Pro-lifeâ€: mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby
BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life
legislation
•“Experiencedâ€: Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has
residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska.
No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on
supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city
administrator to run town of about 5,000.
•political maverick: not at all
•gutsy: absolutely!
•open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at
explaining actions.
•has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
•â€a Greenieâ€: no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores
and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
•fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
•pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city
without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built
streets to early 20th century standards.
•pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on
residents
•pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city
government in Wasilla’s history.
•pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union
doesn’t make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim
that she is pro-labor/pro-union.
WHY AM I WRITING THIS?
First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed
voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting
programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny +
Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local
government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.
Secondly, I’ve always operated in the belief that “Bad things happen
when good people stay silentâ€. Few people know as much as I do because
few have gone to as many City Council meetings.
Third, I am just a housewife. I don’t have a job she can bump me out
of. I don’t belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no
fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will
cost me somehow in the future: that’s life.
Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100
or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah’s
attempt at censorship.
Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to
say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.
CAVEATS
I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in
spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor)
from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of
Wasilla, and I can’t recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust
for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible
for a private person to get any info out of City Hall–they are
swamped. So I can’t verify my numbers.
You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the
population of Wasilla, ranging from my “about 5,000″, up to 9,000. The
day Palin’s selection was announced a city official told me that the
current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was
5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to
2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90’s.
Anne Kilkenny
This is a big improvement to your “motherfuckers” post. :]
I appreciate the rather unbiased stance, and I think the points you made were great. I hadn’t thought if it this way, but it really does make sense.
Thank you, Ann. What Beet says is nothing new. People have been voting emotions, personalities and their pocketbooks for years. And then they have the audacity to wonder why we are in such trouble as a country. You get the government you deserve. People just don’t know Palin, and to vote for her would be the most irresponsible act they could possibly accomplish…the same irresponsible act they performed when they put Bush in office. I think when people hear more facts, about how she has lied and misrepresented herself to the general public, they will change their minds. Mother figure, indeed. Nothing could be further than the truth.
And that is why this planet is doomed beet.
To Ew…
Absolutely. Palin stated in an address she made to students at her church (and I heard this one with my own ears): “Our presence in Iraq is God’s will.” How could ANYONE in their right mind vote for this power hungry nutcase? She can hide behind the “family image” and use her children as a tool to get elected all she wants. No sale!
I will just say – were Palin Muslim, we would be fucking terrified with her opinions. She’s always talking about God. Change “God” for “Allah”, and you’d get what Bush would call a terrorist.
Nice entry… However, I must say I don’t feel anything nurturing from this woman. I also don’t think she represents me in any way regarding being a mother or as a woman. She has creeped me out from the beginning and I don’t like her opinions or experience (lack thereof). I think she is just another tool used by the republicans and I think it will definitely help their campaign, but I don’t want 8 more years of the same bullshit. The US needs to keep up with other nations and actually go forward and be progressive instead of going backwards and continue being conservative. If McCain/Palin win, we will lose even more respect from other nations and be a bigger laughing stock in the eyes of the world. That is, if the Large Hadron Collider doesn’t blow us all up first.
I so totally don’t buy any of your rhetoric. And change “Allah” for every time she says “God.” Get a life, get a brain, get a job. The alternative is a Muslim leader that allows his brother to live in a 10 X 8 shack in Africa on a pay of $12.00 per annum! Why don’t all of you feel empowered enough to send $100 bucks his way since his brother certainly won’t. And why allow someone you support to sit in a GOD DAMN AMERICA church for 20 plus years. PUHLEEZE, ya’ll make me wanna puke
Thank you Ann for all the information – plainly laid out, by someone who sounds as if they have first hand experience. Unfortunately, the average American would not have the education to get past your second paragraph. An example of the sorry state of our country. I am raising a young daughter, who I teach daily that her current goal is to go to college and not consider marriage or motherhood until she’s in her 30’s ( obviously, she will earn her high school diploma). I truly fear that as Sarah Palin would be a heartbeat away from the presidency, that the example of “womanhood’ she and her family present will be in direct conflict with all that I am, I teach and I pray for my daughter’s life and future.
Beet, you’re right on.
My husband is hot for Sarah Palin – I could not for the life of me figure out why. Yesterday, he said, “People like her because she’s a mom of five. She’s like some sort of fertility goddess we’re all supposed to worship.”
I, as a mother, do not believe that SHE is ANYTHING like ME. We both have a uterus, that’s it. I don’t know how to describe it, really, except to say, I feel like I’m a REAL mother, she’s just sort of a pretend, half time mother. BTW: Hilary could never have shown a nurturing side – she would have been eaten alive – but it’s some how o.k. for Palin to be nurturing as a complement to McCain.
I think that if we want change or a least something to look forward to it would be OBAMA hes ok, but if we want the same shitty country that we have now thanks to BUSH we should stick to McCAIN, Palin shes being tough just to show that even tho shes a woman her feelings they don’t control her, but to tell you the truth I don’t know anything about her, one thing that really bothers me about her is that she shows so much interest for mentally challenge people/kids just cuz her baby is like that but if it wasn’t like that she wouldn’t fucking care at all
Palin is a nurturer? You have been watching too much CNN and FOX.
The female pitbull went back to work 3 days after giving birth. Is that what you call a good mother? Give me a break.
She is a christian moron that will wind the clock back just like Bush. She will send the country to war killing every muslim she can find and put you deeper in debt even more than your 400 Billion you are at now.
In many ways I hope you guys vote her in. You will collapse just like the Soviet Union.
How come you’re getting spam again while messages are still getting mediated?
Also, I agree to a point, but I second Klipper and Donkey Punch; I’ve lost faith in the American masses to act at all rationally and Palin is no nurturer, she just plays it on tv.
very well said and prolly very true!!!
Very good post. I am sad to say you are right. I don’t vote that way, and I hate this women but I do agree most Americans don’t think things through (Bush, anyone?) She doesn’t feel nurturing to me though, she feels cold, distant and scary because I know what some republicans are capable of. The destruction that she wants to create is just too much. But I see where you are coming from
I wish Obama were a masterful orator. Unfortunately that’s just not the case. Go watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxxxGUeZtno
and then ask yourself if someone who self-admittedly can’t even put together a coherent sentence when short of sleep should be answering the phone at 3 am.
I really really hoped that the Democrats would put a quality candidate out this election cycle. I’d rather see an election between two fantastic candidates who I really believe have the best interests of the country at heart, rather than the choices we’ve been stuck with this year. If the Dems had bothered finding someone even mildly centrist, who could actually unify the country, they’d have the election in the bag – McCain is not widely loved on the right. Instead, the Dems made the same mistake they made in 2004 – they picked the most liberal member of the Senate to top their masthead, someone that it would be difficult for most people to vote for.
And anyone who is deriding Palin for going back to work so soon after the birth of her child, when she’s got an amazing support system in place to help her out, is trying to push the ‘women should be barefoot and pregnant’ meme without actually saying the words. A good woman recognizes her strengths and limitations, and I think Palin is doing a good job of knowing her own. And she’s done a good job of surrounding herself with people who love and support her, which is where she has Hillary beat in spades. But then, the people around you are a reflection of the person you are.
nice one BEET
Sarah Palin scares the political daylights out of me. She would do this country great harm. But the average bear/US citizen really isn’t very bright and a fair amount of people seem to have fallen for her bullshit “I’m a woman/mother just like you or your mother, sister, etc.”. She’s June Cleaver with a semi-automatic rifle people! I hope they figure it out before the election…
she’s what we call a REDNECK!!
beeltejuice, you’re assuming that the average bear/US citizen doesn’t want June Cleaver with a rifle.
And frankly, that ‘the average bear/US citizen really isn’t very bright’ attitude is a big part of why the Democratic party is in trouble right now. It’s a short distance from there to saying that US citizens aren’t smart enough to govern themselves.
It’s people like you who buy into the hype about this hateful whore that scare me the most, beet. Get past appearances for once in your life!
John McCain is senile and Sarah Palin has no grasp of the issues (she just spews out the party line rhetoric, no matter what it happens to be at the moment).
One thing is for sure, this is going to be a very interesting 2 months.
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLMAO!
John McCain is a liar and a bully. It looks like he’s found his “soul mate” (as he, himself, so eloquently pointed out).
@tvf – You just made my point. If they want June Cleaver with a rifle, then they really aren’t all that bright. It has been my experience that people have the ability to think for themselves, but many, for whatever reason, chose not to. And, yes that is a sad state of affairs. Maybe I just run into the minority, I certainly hope so. And it’s not just the Democratic party that is in trouble right now, it’s the entire nation. Putting McCain/Palin into office would only exasperate the problem.
This is why Americas voting system annoys me so much – it is just a popularity contest. A lot of people should really grow up.
Average Americans don’t want to analyze anything. They want sound bites and talking points. When McCain puts out an add claiming that Obama wants to teach explicit sex education to kindergarteners, that’s what the people believe. It doesn’t matter if McCain is telling a disgusting, offensive, LIE (Obama actually supports age-appropriate education for kindergarten students to warn them against sexual predators).
Sarah Palin repeats the same lies over and over again, but people will believe them because, “she’s a tough lady”, “she’s a mother”, “she’s a christian”, “she’s purdy”.
It’s all garbage, but if it’s tied up all nice with a bow, people will buy it and take it home.
I completely agree with you, Beet.
I hated Hilary, but love Palin.
The McCain party has my vote.
LOL! I’m much more of a Daddy’s girl :)
Beet, you make a good point, although I hope you’re wrong and people don’t vote for her because she projects a ” mother-bear” image. (Doesn’t she shoot bears, by the way?) I don’t watch television so I haven’t had the opportunity to fall under her spell. I just know I’m opposed to her views, as I’ve read about them.
TVF, I don’t think questioning Palin’s going back to work 3 days after giving birth (if that’s true) is the same as wanting women to be barefoot and pregnant. If she really knew her strengths and limitations, maybe she would have fewer kids. I’m not saying only a mother can be a good parent, but really, why keep having them if you don’t want to care for them? I really don’t get that. That won’t keep me from voting for her–everything else she stands for will–but it certainly doesn’t make me think of her as a “mother figure.”
I think that you put this into beautiful perspective! Well said!
tvf you are absolutely one hundred percent right and I agree wholeheartedly.
She reminds me of Nicole Kidman’s character in “To Die For”. I find her very scary and don’t see the motherly warmth in her, but others might.
However, I think you’ve made a good point Beet, let’s just hope for the sake of us all that this madness ends here, eight years has been eight years too many. Anyway, her appeal would wane once in power. When more bloody and pointless wars and ignorant and hateful policy keep coming your way, the fake image of a caring person won’t comfort anyone anymore. Appearances are just that, we need someone who can actually make things better.
Beet! you are Stupid!!!!
Sorry folks,
http://news.yahoo.com/s/cnet/20080824/tc_cnet/83011357831002416338
Obama’s support of George W and Cheney’s FISA bill shows that he’s *anything but* hope or change.
You can hate Palin or anyone that dares label themselves a republican all you want, but Obama and Biden are *not* a change for the better – they’re not even a change at all.
Bonus reading? Look into each one’s voting record. Obama couldn’t be less about change and what’s better for our country, whereas Daschle and McCain saw eye to eye on many things since McCain voted on a per-issue basis.
Wow. Issues. Must be such a foreign concept to you dems, but whatever, keep hating on Palin on a completely non-issue-related basis.
McCain’s ahead in the polls to. Put that in your bongs and take a puff!
You know the past 8 years have been abundant with very serious issues and yeah the issues will always be here. Beet I love ya but this is coming from a woman that hops on a plane to go visit a friend! I’m not saying you haven’t earned that lifestyle but for the people that are working just has hard as you,under different circumstances and can barely keep food in the fridge and gas in the car, this year has been pretty dismal. We’re glad Obama is preaching for change.
“We vote from our hearts, not from our heads — especially at a time like this. Americans may have thought they wanted some abstract notion of change, but that was before they realized they could have a mother instead. World issues are scary. Mothers are not.”
I mean, seriously what the fuck is wrong with you?
Beet! You are Stupid
Spot on! I think you’ve nailed why she appeals….
@ cj you said: why keep having them if you don’t want to care for them? REALLY? I’m not a huge Palin fan but that is a completely bull shit thing to say. No one says that about a man in office. You can be a (hard) working & caring mom & still work outside the home. And I’m not really even talking about Palin at this point, just working moms in general. AND I happen to be a stay at home mom. My m.i.l. has 5 kids & is a RN & has been since she was 20 & my f.i.l. only worked part-time when my husband & his sisters were growing up. They kept having kids because they wanted them & the arrangment worked out well for them. Just like it seems to be for Palin & her family!
“Put that in your bongs and take a puff” – oh how original!! My god, you are a genius!!!! That’s it – all democrats are pot smoking hippies – what a complete effing moron you must be.
I have enough of this ignorant shit. Bye bye! *removes from favorites*
Only 60 years ago, here in Italy, every woman wanted Benito Mussolini as a father, as a lover, every young man believed in him, every one was LOVING him, and every one was so happy when he declared war as an ally of Germany. Families sent their children to the army, even the Pope raised his arm doing the roman salute in front of Benito Mussolini.
War was not scary with a father so strong, he valued so much FAMILY, GOD, FATHERLAND!! you only had to:, “credere, obbedire, combattere” (believe, obey, fight).
Always the same old story, and it amazes me that so many americans whose fathers died for freedom in the world (and i do not know how to thank them), many americans are falling for exactly the same rethorics.
I am not saying tha McCain/Palin will start a fascist dictatorship but, to me, from outside, thay seem so distant from the real american values that i simply do not understand.
But maybe USA must fall, like the Roman Empire did so many years ago
They also had an Eagle as a symbol.
Good luck
Anyone voting with your ‘heart’, please don’t bother. Voting with ones heart got us 8 years at the special olympics.
I think that it would be a good idea to do some research to see if John McCain was ever involved in any of those “Tail-hook” type parties in the early sixties before he became a prisoner of war and saint. Those were the parties in which Navy officers got drunk and sexually assaulted women either at the parties, or, just passing by the rooms where the parties were held. McCain seems like the kind of swaggering asshole (pre-sainthood of course) who would have participated in one of those drunken, grab-ass events.