If I might opine a bit about the events of the past week: what a great convention! Loved Michelle Obama's speech, appreciated Hillary Clinton's speech, was pleasantly surprised by Bill Clinton's speech, and was totally inspired by The Man himself. Most of the other speeches were what I expected. As Jon Stewart put it yesterday, the "Alabaster Chorus" of old white guys (Kennedy, Warner, Biden, Kerry, Dean, Gore, et al) offered us the right pitch so that things stayed in tune. Of course, the commen-haters remarked on how low on substance the convention was, a perception that was only bolstered by the open-air music festival vibe that preceeded Obama's speech last night. Well, UNITY Fest aside, I was impressed and was all fired up when I went to bed.
This morning, I was still on my mile high when word leaked that John McCain might defy conventional wisdom to select an unknown female candidate for VP. I got excited--was this really going to be a challenge? Without HRC, were the Dems about to be hit by a page from their own "I'm Every Woman" playbook? Who knew that there might be a woman on McCain's radar? Had we totally underestimated the GOP as anything other than an elite Gentleman's Club or Senior PGA Tour?
So, I spent all morning scouring the news sites for the final word that McCain had, for once, made a bold move. Confirmation came and I eagerly tuned in to watch the announcement on CNN. After he droned on about his wisdom and judgment, he introduced...
Sarah Palin, a first term governor of Alaska. She's a young mother and has a couple of years of executive experience in a solid GOP state. She's pro-life, pro-guns and probably will christen the spot where the first oil drill will break ground in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge. She is a former beauty queen and small business owner. She embodies everything that the GOP represents in terms of family values and patriotism. In a word, she is perfect!
But she is as exciting as vanilla pudding. After watching her on stage and hearing her speak for five minutes, I wondered why I expected more from her or the GOP. She couldn't have been more predictable. With Cindy McCain as the rich, glamorous wife, Sarah Palin is the nerdy little sister. Maybe that is a sign of progress.
Not really. In the clubhouse that is Presidential politics, a female candidate will have to hold her own and then some. There will be the inevitable comparisons to the other candidates' wives. Her wardrobe choices will be endlessly scrutinized (skirts only, lest she be associated with HRC's Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuits). Her children will be compared to the other candidates' children and grandchildren for cuteness. She will be patronized by inane questions when she's forced to appear on Dr. Phil. She'll have to submit a cookie recipe to Woman's Day magazine. She'll be patron saint of the Mommy Wars--unlike the wives, she'll actually have a job in a McCain Administration.
I was willing to endure all of that until I heard her speak. Her remarks confirmed my worst fears--that she is merely the female version of every other bland man passed over for the job. Sarah Palin is no maverick, which is too bad. I was actually looking forward to the VP debate between her and Biden...I imagined her delivering a memorable self-deprecating zinger in response to some unfortunate Bidenist mistatement. But because she is a good Republican, Sarah Palin will not be speaking much for herself. The GOP is big on message control, so no one is allowed to stray too far off the talking points, not even the President.
Furthermore, it is ironic that the first woman in line to potentially serve as Madam President won't get there on the momentum of her own ideas. This was an arranged political marriage--a shotgun wedding of convenience. She might have been the perfect choice for Vice President, but shouldn't the job have been offered to someone who actually wanted to be President some day? I can't claim to know her ambitions, but surely she didn't aspire to be John McCain's work wife for the next four years!
So I'll be watching next week to see if this May-December political coupling has a chance, who gives the bride away, and what she'll be wearing.
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