Republicans think they can counteract Barack Obama's appeal by putting up stick figures. This reveals nothing so much as their lack of creativity.
When Obama ran for Senate in Illinois, those clever Republicans responded by importing the Amos'N'Andy-like Alan Keyes. It turned out Illinois wasn't simply in the mood to elect a Senator with dark skin - they were responding to Barack Obama the man, not a cardboard cut-out.
Now the geniuses in the Republican party, panicked by the overwhelming juggernaut that is Barack Obama, presidential candidate, have responded by finding the Alan Keyes of Republican women to run for vice president. What do you suppose is the likelihood of Hillary Clinton voters falling for an anti-choice, pro-gun, anti-environment woman candidate? Can you say...nil?
Do the Republicans even know any women? Because, of the women I know, exactly zero of them are stupid enough to be taken in by a gimmick like this.
Once again, the Republicans are only highlighting the bankruptcy of their approach to politics. The desire to vote for a woman is not what is driving Hillary voters. It's not that they don't like penises and will vote for the presidential ticket with the fewest of them. The vast majority of Hillary supporters supported her because of her stand on issues. I feel silly even having to type this. Anyone who credits women for having any brains at all would understand this implicitly. Only Republicans could think that the answer to their problems is nominating a candidate with a vagina.
It's always surprising how weak bullies are when you actually stand up to them.
When Muhammad Ali was tearing his way through the field of heavyweight fighters in the 60's, he seemed surprised at the lack of boxing skills possessed by the Great White Hopes the boxing establishment threw at him. After a while it seemed like Ali was simply toying with fighters like Chuck Wepner and Jerry Quarry, holding them up for a few rounds before dispatching them, so the fans would think they were getting their moneys' worth.
That's what Obama is doing by complimenting the selection of Sarah Palin as the Republican nominee for VP. He's simply recognizing the humanity of his opponent, like Ali did. But privately, he must be shaking his head and saying to himself, "Really? Sarah Palin? This is the best you can do?"
When black athletes started breaking the race barrier, generally, they were surprised at how weak the competition was. It's not that white athletes are intrinsically inferior to black athletes - but when you have a system that denies equal access to all, you end up with an inferior product, no matter what the field is. You end up with institutions whose purpose stops being whatever it was in the first place - whether it's throwing a ball in a hoop or electing officials to serve the common good - and becomes preservation of the status quo.
Once fighters like Ali and Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama win their fights, the white establishment always comes running, hat in hand, to anoint the new king. Kids reading about the rise of Ali and Mandela will see them as the good guys; the narrative of history is re-written so we can all be on the side of the winners.
But anyone who can remember the actual career of Muhammad Ali will remember the Rovian viciousness with which the white establishment fought his ascent. They tried every dirty trick in the book, including throwing him in jail, when they couldn't beat him in the ring. Talk about attacking a black man for his "presumptuousness" - Ali is the poster child of the slave who doesn't "know his place." And Barack Hussein Obama is nothing if not the Muhammad Ali of American politics.
To paraphrase Gandhi: First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then they run Alan Keyes against you.
Then you win.