A few days ago, as the stage was being constructed at Mile High Stadium in anticipation of Obama's acceptance speech, the Republican talking point of the day was that Obama's team was constructing the "Temple of Obama," and this was just more evidence of his arrogance and celebrity.
I argued that this was simply one more stupid attack that carried no substance. "Since they got nothing," I said to my daughter, "they yak away about everything. And most of it is simply stupid."
If you really had anything decent to run on, would you run ads comparing Barack Obama to Brittany Spears? Would you try to tie him to William Ayers, a man who was notorious when Barack was eight years old? Would you continue to send out viral emails that Obama is a Muslim, when you know you are lying? Would you complain about the roman columns in Mile High Stadium when four years ago roman columns graced the stage where Bush gave his acceptance speech?
Nothing could have confirmed my view that "they got nothing" more than McCain's absurd pick for vice president. Sarah Palin has absolutely no experience of any consequence on the national stage. Like McCain, she probably doesn't even know the difference between Sunni and Shia. She's probably taking a crash course from Joe Liebermann as we speak.
I don't think this will win over many Hillary supporters, unless they are fake Hillary supporters who were just trying to defeat Obama in the primary so McCain had a less formidable (or so they thought) candidate to run against.
The real Hillary supporters will be offended by this. The real Hillary supporters didn't just want to see any woman become president. They clearly stated how long they had waited for just the right woman - and it was Hillary. There is no way they can see Sarah Palin as the right woman to become the first President of the United States should grandpa McCain keel over.
This is insulting to women, whom McCain must really see as stupid, a cynical ploy which disrespects the American people and plays fast and loose with our national security and the good of the nation.
I have learned to distinguish between two types of women who claim to be feminists. There is the progressive, liberal feminist who believes in equality and reproductive choice, who demands equal pay for equal work, who can stand toe to toe with any man, any place, any time, as long as she is equally qualified for the job. She is assertive and strong, and politically she doesn't do things to hurt other women or children. While she always looks presentable, she would not be caught dead entering a beauty contest, because she believes beauty is inside, not outside. Her vision of equality is that she is judged not on her looks but on her intelligence and her skills.
Then there is the conservative woman who pretends to be a feminist. She espouses all the tired old anti-woman values and policies that Republicans favor, she vetoes legislation that helps people, but she plays the part of the feminist by getting a job when the kids get older. However, she is likely to be extremely concerned about her appearance, and spends an inordinate amount of time on makeup, hair, photo shoots for Vogue magazine, and generally looking as feminine and hot as she can. She would be comfortable entering a beauty contest, as Sarah Palin did. (Interesting that just a few weeks ago, John McCain suggested his wife Cindy should enter a rather pornographic beauty contest.) In other words, she acts the part, but does not live the part of a feminist.
In choosing Sarah Palin, John McCain has chosen an attractive and relatively unknown and inexperienced neophyte, someone who will get along fine with his trophy wife Cindy, and who probably won't threaten him.
We women should not only be insulted. We should be terrified that a candidate like McCain would risk our security as a nation by passing over so many qualified women within the Republican Party and picking this trophy candidate.
Hillary's supporters warned Obama not to pick any woman other than Hillary as his vice president. Since Obama felt he couldn't pick Hillary (for a variety of valid reasons including problems with her husband) he chose the most qualified man he could. No Hillary supporter could feel the choice of Biden was an insult to Hillary.
But McCain has picked the most unqualified woman he could find. Is this really going to please Hillary supporters? I don't think so. I don't think for one minute that true Hillary supporters could possibly get behind a pro-gun, anti-choice, pro-oil, pro-Bush, ultra conservative like Sarah Palin.
McCain's first decision as a presidential nominee was a terrible one, and will cost him the election.
