Weekly Standard contributing editor Joseph Epstein writes in his Oct. 27th article entitled "Loathing Sarah Palin":
The liberal women I know--and most of the women I seem to know are liberal--loathe Sarah Palin. They don't merely dislike her, the way one tends to dislike politicians whose views are not one's own, they actively detest her. When her name comes up--and it is they who tend to bring it up--their complexions take on a slightly purplish tinge, their eyes cross in rage. "Moron" is their most frequently used noun, though "idiot" comes up a fair number of times; "that woman" is yet another choice. A wide variety of adjectives, differing only slightly in their violence, usually precede these epithets.
Okay, I thought to myself--aside from the "eyes crossed in rage" part and the "purplish tinge" bit, that is generally how I tend to feel when the topic of Palin comes up--so fair enough.
More below the fold...
Epstein then goes on to say:
Liberal men don't show the same fervent distaste for Governor Palin. They are more likely to say she doesn't come close to being qualified for the job of vice president and is frightening to contemplate as president. They might add that his choice of Sarah Palin is a serious sign of John McCain's flawed judgment, or of his political opportunism. The standard phrase "a heartbeat away" may come up. But then they let it go. They don't take Sarah Palin so personally, so passionately, as their liberal female counterparts do; the element of anger isn't there.
This is where he lost me because I happen to know quite a few liberal men AND women who echo the sentiments above--as well as quite a few MEN who have quite a visceral and yes, even angry response when Sarah Palin's name comes up--I really wouldn't differentiate between the male vs. female liberal responses to Palin in this regard. Most rational, thoughtful, intelligent people I know, be they liberal OR conservative for that matter, do not think very highly of Sarah Palin.
And that is why Epstein TOTALLY lost me with the following:
Some of this [anger on liberal women's part toward Palin] is due to snobbery, some possibly to envy. Governor Palin is, after all, a good-looking woman with what appears to be a happy family life who has achieved a great deal in a relatively brief time.
After reading this, my reaction was, "Oh no he DIDN'T just go there!" I then went on to finish reading the remainder of this cringe-inducing article which, needless to say, only infuriated me more with its deluded wingnut Palin-worshiping rhetoric which must be read to be believed:
Link to Joseph Epstein's article in "Weekly Standard"
Allow me to educate you, Mr. Epstein. I am not "envious" of Sarah Palin. Not for her looks, not for her "happy family life", not for her position as governor or vice presidential nominee of the Republican party. Not for anything. And neither are those other women [or men] of this country who don't support Palin. This has absolutely nothing to do with "envy".
Do you want to know why we "loathe" Sarah Palin? We are collectively disgusted with everything Palin represents--ignorance, cowardice, hypocrisy, arrogance, blind ambition, fear-mongering, race-baiting, hate-inducing, xenophobia, lack of judgement, lack of intellectual curiosity, lack of anything resembling humility, lack of compassion, humorlessness, pseudo-righteous indignation, inability to form complete sentences, that hideous phony accent,...and the list just goes on.
And as for her appearance, I think the 1960's just called, and they want their hairstyle(s) back.