This VP pick really exposes the Republicans' tin ear for this sort of thing.
They are obviously playing for Hillary voters, but have chosen to do it in the worst possible way. I say this for two obvious reasons:
- If Sarah Palin were a man, she wouldn't even have been considered.
One of the sources of both pride and frustration with Hillary supporters is that she was genuinely a formidable political force. She was smart and tough enough to walk into the "boys room" and go toe to toe with the best of them. Say what you will about her, she went out there and earned those 18 million votes. This heightened the frustration when it seemed the media wasn't taking her as seriously as her opponents. It feeds the feeling that if Hillary Clinton had been judged on a truly level playing field, she might be the nominee right now. I don't necessarily agree with that assessment, but I can certainly understand how someone would feel that way.
By contrast, If gender had not been taken into consideration for McCain's ticket,and Sarah Palin was judged on an equal playing field with her competitors for the spot, there is no way she would have made it on the ticket. She didn't earn this position, she got it by token appointment, and the Republicans attempting to place this in the same category as what Hillary did this year is quite frankly insulting.
- Another powerful part of Senator Clinton's candidacy was how she came to represent the 'invisible' people in society. She was a symbol for everyone who ever worked hard to see all of the glory go to someone they considered less deserving. While I think it's a stretch to think that Obama actually was less deserving, I do think Senator Clinton deserved more respect at times.
This is what I really don't get. There are plenty of Republican women who are hard workers and have far greater experience. Women who wouldn't have sacrificed McCain's "experience" argument. Women who wouldn't have been out of the "believeability" threshold as President (although they're all wrong on the issues). It seems to me that the ONLY thing Sarah Palin has that the others don't is that she was a beauty queen. In other words, the McCain campaign didn't think the other, more experienced ones were cute enough (this is of course, how Palin is similar to Dan Quayle). As a side note, I don't think anyone believes that there is anything "invisible" about beauty queens.
In other words, this choice was made with the same amount of crassness as everything else that passes as "progress" on the Republican side of the isle. They hope to take advantage of some of the frustrations of those who were inspired by the great work that Senator Hillary Clinton did this election season, by sticking another woman in front of her voters and hoping they don't notice the difference. If there is one thing I have learned this election season from all of Hillary's passionate supporters (and despite the arguments I might have had in the heat of battle, I did learn), it is that McCain's view misunderstands feminism. Women don't want to be given the positions simply for the sake of having them, they only want what we should all expect in America: a fair shot at whatever they set their minds to. It's like the James Brown song : "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door, I'll Get It Myself)".
These are the reasons I think the choice will completely backfire, and maybe THAT will teach John McCain a lesson.
Also: I have seen a lot of speculation about how Biden should approach the debate with Palin in the line of being more gentle with her, ignoring her and attacking McCain, etc etc. I think ALL of this is bad advice. The GOP has put this woman forward as their Vice Presidential pick, and Biden should treat her just like he would treat any other VP pick--to alter his methods because of her gender would be a mistake. There is a very simple justification for this: If she's ready to step in to the office of the Presidency, she should be able to handle it.