I Hate Palin

The next few months are going to be so annoying. The Republicans are gender baiting women. If anyone critizes Palin, women will just say that they're sexist, while she goes out and delivers righteous but unfortunately meaningless one-liners against Democrats.

Women complain about how sexist it is to talk about how she was a beauty queen and to scrutinize how she looks, but they are the ones who always comment on how "beautiful" she is. Women are the ones who pay the most attention to how people look and what they're wearing. That is the case in high school, and it's still the case in adulthood. They claim there is a double standard for women and men, but really, how you look is important for any politician. I don't think that's a good thing, but it is what it is. For example, Dennise Kucinich is just too damn short and elflike. Barack Obama is black and looks like a terrorist. We couldn't elect a president anymore if they had polio or were morbidly obese. Women themselves are drawn to Palin because of her looks. If she were a dumpy old hag, they probably would not like her, either.

Women complain about the focus on Palin's family, but Palin is the one who presents herself as a PTA hockey mom with a down syndrome baby. She is marketing herself as an average mom running for Veep, not as a policy wonk, not as some expert on anything in particular, just an average American with a great family. Women should be insisting for her to stick to the issues instead of directing all their criticisms at the "media."

Sure, I like to criticize the media, too, but these days its just become a universal scapegoat. The media just says what people want to hear. That is how the media works in the US. They are only saying what the most people are thinking anyway. If you have beef with the media, your real beef is with the American public. There's really no way around it unless you are going to advocate censorship.

Right now, the Obama campaign is responding by urging Palin and McCain to stick to the issues. They are playing down Palin, which is good for now, but I think ultimately they will have to somehow deal with her because people really love her. Like, they are into her the way they were into GWB. I think Palin is a problem where Hillary Clinton could be a great help. She is the only person who would be able to get women to snap to their senses. Now would be a great time for her to make a speech about gender and sexism. It has to be about not just equal pay and equal opportunities but raising our daughters to be as ambitious and capable as our sons. This could be a great opportunity, actually, for the Obama loyalists and Hillary loyalists to come together again.

What Obama and Biden should do from now until the election is stick to the issues, but also aggresively pitch the idea of diplomacy to the American people. The problem is that people like Palin and GWB and to a lesser extent McCain are full of bluster and bombast. They put on a good show, and so while they're not really competent once in office, they are great for campaigns. People love a righteous hero who is a fighter, does not take no for an answer, and tells off the man! Yeah, you go girl. However, while it may feel good to tell someone off, it might not be a great idea if you have to work with them everyday for the next 10-20 years. And anyway, if you tell Putin off, do you really think he will do what you say? You think he will be scared? All bark and no bite, no finesse, no credibility, no nothing. The Obama people should consciously and deliberately promote diplomacy and the willingness to negotiate. They should address the idea by name, not just doggedly sticking to the issues and refusing to jab back or else people will just say that they are scared or they admit it, etc. They should talk about it as a philosophy of governance. Then, I think they can be very convincing.