The nomination of Sarah Palin to stand one heartbeat away from the most powerful person on the planet has scared the living crap off many decent, thinking people the world over who see her as ignorant, manipulative and outright dangerous. On ther other hand it has (or so it is claimed) inspired many others, who see themselves represented by this hell-raising, fire-breathing, gutsy teleprompter reader. She's one of them! She's speaking to them!
In looking at Sarah over the past 5 weeks ("How long have I been at this??"), I experience a mixed bag of feelings, alternatively shifting between utter contempt, scorn of the 3rd kind, and heart-warming, hugging pity -- a Kum-Ba-Yah moment sort of thing.
There are times when my contempt for her balloons -- for what she says and the way the presents her ideas. That "blessed ignorance" that she leverages, her improper grammar (English not being my first language, I can' but notice that), her endless repetition of slogans, sound bites, her perpetually perplexing platitudes, all make me feel as if last night's dinner is well positioned for a fast rewind on me.
But then I feel sorry for her. I truly do feel sorry. I've been there in a sense. I too have attempted to sound smarter and better prepared than I am. I too have found myself at a loss for words and simply kept quiet, as if hoping the question would go away. I too interviewed for a job well above my level saying to myself, "If others bullshit their way into high positions why not me". I've been there, Sarah, darn right I have. (I feel like hugging Sarah, my sister in a struggle where guts and determination will make the difference: the world belongs to those tough enough to grab the devil by his tail!) I too haven't blinked and have mouthed the Trifecta of preparadness: Willing, Able and Ready.
Enough pity for Sarah. She's scripted. She's ignorant. She's fake, a real phony bullshit artist, snake oil saleslady, full of Crapola and "Mierda". I refuse to believe that she actually says "betcha" at home. Or that when speaking to the First Dude, her sentences will include "Darn", "Doggone" or any of the folksy terms of endearment that have spiced her speech. I think it's all prepared and even forced upon her by her handlers, that mediocre team of operatives and manipulators.
Doggone. Betcha. Darn, as I write this, I'm wondering what they are doing to this mother, daughter, wife. That hairdo, the winking, the shrill-high pitch, that look, ignorance tattooed on her forehead (bold letters and a couple of typos) I feel sorrier for her now than ever before. Sarah Palin, come to papa, let me hold you. Baby just close your eyes, and everything will be all right. Sweetie, you'll leave politics, you'll go home, with Bristol and the baby, and those children who don't seem to go to school, you'll never do this again, shush, hush, hug hug, kissie on forehead and go to sleep.
And as I respond just as any decent person would with a child in need, hoping to bring her some sort of solidarian comfort, the kind that only another human being who's been there can, my thinking process stops. A thought pops again into my mind: how stupid she really is. Who the fuck does she think we are? Did she really believe for one second she'd fool us? That the women in this country who've had to fight for everything they have would say, "Yes sister, you may not agree with us, our goals, aspirations, desire and determination to progress, but by virtue of your gender we'll give you our support". Did she believe that we agreed with her crazy shit???
And then, I realize that the problem is not Palin. It's the so-called Maverick. So shame on you McAint. For throwing this poor woman to the sharks -- making her the laughingstock of the world, providing a never-ending source of materiel for comics of all sorts. Shame on you, Maverick Man for thinking we as a nation are so stupid that we did not draw any lessons from 8 years of another folksy, ignorance-professing snake oil salesman. His name is George Bush and he's left a major mess behind. Fuck you MacAsshole, we're not falling for this shit again. Darn right. Oh Charlie!