My question for this edition:
Did you watch Governor Sarah Palin’s acceptance speech? What did you think of it? What do you think about her candidacy? Is she qualified and prepared to occupy the Oval Office?
My Answer:
I watched coverage of both conventions, including all of the major speeches. Before the conventions, I was “on the fence” about the candidates. I’m not any longer.
The selection of Governor Palin pushed me soundly into the ranks of Obama-Biden supporters.
I cannot find the words to describe how much she annoys me. Watching her speech, I found her tone, tenor, and overall demeanor incredibly offensive because she came off as condescending and snarky. At no time did the Democrats stoop to the undignified, almost schoolyard bully-type diatribes that both Rudy Guiliani and Palin delivered. From my staunchly feminist perspective, Palin is not advancing the cause of egalitarianism in leadership. She threatens to derail it. She does not represent me.
The abidingly brilliant Gloria Steinem summed up her assessment of Palin’s candidacy succinctly in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times: Palin is the “wrong woman, [at the] wrong time” because “[s]he is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger.”
Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It’s about making life more fair for women everywhere. It’s not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It’s about baking a new pie. ~~ Gloria Steinem
Steinem opines that McCain’s selection of Palin “is no way to attract most women,” calling her speech “down-home, divisive and deceptive.” Not uncharitable in her assessment of Palin, Steinem writes: “I get no pleasure from imagining her in the spotlight on national and foreign policy issues about which she has zero background, with one month to learn to compete with Sen. Joe Biden’s 37 years’ experience.” I am looking forward to the debates.
Peggy Noonan sees it this way:
[S]he is a real and present danger to the American left, and to the Obama candidacy.
She could become a transformative political presence.
So they are going to have to kill her, and kill her quick.
And it’s going to be brutal. It’s already getting there.
There are only two questions.
1. Can she take it?
Will she be rattled? Can she sail through high seas? Can she roll with most punches and deliver some jabs herself?
2. And while she’s taking it, rolling with it and sailing through, can she put herself forward convincingly as serious enough, grounded enough, weighty enough that the American people can imagine her as vice president of the United States?
I suppose every candidate for vice president faces these questions to some degree, but because Palin is new, unknown, and a woman, it’s all much more so.
For me, the answer to question number two is already clear: I cannot imagine her as President of the United States. She does not possess the experience, intellect or vision to occupy the Oval Office.
While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being “just your average hockey mom,” it does not qualify you to be the Commander in Chief of this nation.
If Palin wants educated, professional women to support her, she’d better get a copy of and study the job description for the office of Vice President — just last month, she admitted she didn’t know exactly what the Vice President does. And “I haven’t really focused much on the war in Iraq” is a statement that simply isn’t going to garner the support of real working feminists like me who can’t (and wouldn’t want to) get away with such lame commentary when asked about how we plan to fulfill our professional obligations — especially with so many American lives at stake.
The San Francisco Chronicle noted that “[w]hile Palin’s address contained plenty of fire and political attacks on the opposing party, it was – except for a brief discussion of energy – largely absent of any discussion or detail of policy on issues including the war in Iraq, the economy or education.” Perhaps the Republicans thought that American women would get caught up in the rhetoric and not notice that Palin’s speech was devoid of substance. To borrow one of Palin’s lines, “here’s a little news flash for” McCain, his advisers and fellow right-wing patriarchs of the Republican party: We did. And between now and November, we will be watching Palin and the campaign as a whole with great interest. So conduct yourselves accordingly.
13 Comments
I like Sarah Palin and I think she gave an excellent speech. I love that she is a woman and that she is attractive and a mom and seem to be a tough cookie who can hang with the men’s club. I don’t agree with her on a lot of the issues…but I don’t agree with any of them on all of the issues! LOL!
Jenni’s most recent blog post..9021 Ohhh They Better Not Cancel This Series Or I’ll Be Torqued
Did not watch it. I’m SO tired of anything political these days!
Grrrr. . . . my comment was just eaten 😥
I will quickly redo it.
I watched with great anticipation to see what Palin had to say. I thought she was much for polished this time around, but that is it. She was too snarky for my taste. All she did was attack Obama/Biden and tell us at great lengths about her family history – you know the one they say is off limits (which for certain things it should be). I give her kudos for what she has done in her career, but I do not feel she is worthy of the VP nomination. I think the McCain camp made a HUGE mistake taking her on board. They probably felt she was a woman with a family who has a son going to serve in Iraq and a baby with Downs Syndrome . . . great votes just for those. I also think they assumed Hillary supporters would come on board with the woman c
Personally my feelings on almost all of the issues are polar opposites of her. I can not wait to see how she will do in the debates against Biden. When the writers are not there for her it will be interesting to see how she compared to him.
TheAngelForever’s most recent blog post..Aloha Friday #12
I didn’t watch it. We have an agreement at our house. Donnie watches the stuff and gives me a list of who to vote for, lol. We agree 100% on policy so I trust him completely and I don’t have to listen to and sort out the garbage.
We are excited about Palin, though. Great choice!
Qtpies7’s most recent blog post..Game Night!
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It reminds me of the image I saw in one of the blogs of Obama’s reaction after Palin’s announcement of candidacy which was so funny. It also featured Hilary Clinton in the same vehicle with Obama behind the wheel laughing out loud.
Palin has a political rationale why she is there. Otherwise, their political advisers were not thinking of the outcome of this team-up.
I am actually excited about this election now! Finally someone who stands for something and has a backbone! I was thrilled to listen to Sarah Palin..her insite, her courage, morals, ect.. Of course she is not perfect who is? I’d rather have someone like her fighting for me/us in Washington then the other alternatives. For once I feel like I am not having to pick the lesser of two evils.. !! 🙂
Tara’s most recent blog post..Aloha Friday
Wow! So many questions! I’m trying to keep up with things here in Australia…as an American citizen, I am looking forward to voting via absentee ballot. I missed her speech. So, I rely on the internet for most of my information.
Deborah’s most recent blog post..Contest Round-Up Sept. 7-13
Addition of Sarah Palin brings new twist to this election. Certainly she brings lot of excitement to the campaign, lets see if she can bring positive result as well.
As a Baby Boomer coming of age in the ’70s I saw feminism grow and how hard we women fought to get where we are today. The selection of Sarah Palin scares the heck out of me, and will be a giant step backwards for all that women have fought for. Take care of the country? She can’t even take care of her own family. I am afraid for my daughter’s who are in their 20s~ this woman is not the role model I hope they will follow.
Wake up everyone ~ for the sake of your daughters.
Cindi ~ Moomettesgram’s Musings’s most recent blog post..Sara Evans and Libby’s Vegetables Celebrate Get Back to the Table Month
No, I wasn’t able to watch the speech but I’ve heard really good things about it. Still undecided, though. 🙂
kailani’s most recent blog post..Working for Minimum Wage
Peggy Noonan’s comments are insightful… Palin’s presence has clearly changed the face of this campaign!
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