Some disjointed but related thoughts on the man-made storm of the moment.
On manufactured personas...
We went from W the Cowboy to W the Rodeo Clown. Now, we go from McCain the Maverick™ to McCain the Loner. Look it up, another word, a synonym, for Maverick is loner. It's all about him, from disposable wives, to expletive-laden confrontations with colleagues, to expedient flips on taxes and religious intolerance etc, all the way down the disdain for spadework--5th from bottom of Class at Annapolis. Sunni, Shii'a? Whatever.
On Celebrity...
A VP pick calculated to be an automatic celebrity. So much for the inexperienced lightweight celebrity they lovingly call Hussein.
She has central-casting looks, a son bound for Iraq, another child with Down syndrome, 3 spare kids as yet unbranded[*], a skidoo-racing hubby, Scalia-fandom, her own guns, and a penchant for caribou burgers. It's the Bio of a woman who's music to the ears of Style-section Assignment Editors and People Magazine writers.
On being [*]unbranded...
The daughter is not the point. But as standard bearer for a policy of abstinence, Palin is a damaged messenger for the GOP and they know it, even though they didn't know it till they knew it--whenever that was. McCain sandbagged the party faithful to further his career. Actually, Sarah Palin did that for him.
But think of the children! Yes, well, if only Palin had done so--McCain, too, if he knew.
It's cold comfort, I know, but when Susan Molinari and others protest to Larry King that this is a private family issue the simple response is: Family Issues exactly like this are what you have focused your party on, and used politically to trash liberal character and moral standing. You spend decades wanting to parent my family for me and now you disown your political creation in an instant?
It would be easy to go tit-for-tat here, and useless and off-point. Yes, Al Gore's big electric bill was too juicy to ignore since he was clarion of energy efficiency. So too with some on the Palin children.
Think of the children. Then, unthink of them, because it's adults here who deserve scorn and ridicule.
- Sarah Palin and her "experience" and it's supposed product, "judgment" led her to walk her daughter and family into an awful exposure. First and foremost, Sarah Palin made a choice here.
- McCain, if he knew of his VP pick's family circumstances shows a heartlessness unimaginable--the vetting and resulting exposure of a Wasilla "known secret" by the national media. How could he abet that? To whose gain? The GOPs? The young womans?
- And if he didn't know, didn't bother to vet beyond a few press releases and agenda-driven glowing endorsements....
Well, sometimes mavericks are mavericks because no decent herd would have them.
The Maverick™ shows as Loner; McSame becomes McShame.