So why'd he settle on Alaska Governor Sarah Palin?
I don't understand why so much hoopla is being made over Palin's unmarried and knocked-up 17-year-old daughter, Bristol. The Democratic Party, of which I am a proud member, is supposed to be above all that. So Republicans can be spectacularly hypocritical? No news flash there. They promote anti-abortionism with "sanctity of life" sloganeering while flaunting the sanctity of the Bible and its "turn the other cheek" aphorisms, yet they support the death penalty. What's wrong with this picture?
Let's leave the teenager out of this. I'm not a parent, but I've been around long enough to know that there is a certain point when all this family values BS is just that: BS. Once children begin school, parents can no longer monitor them 24/7, and other influences take over. Sometimes the best parents produce problem children--or rather, children with problems, since there is no evidence that Bristol is a so-called "problem child." There is nothing illegal or immoral about being unmarried, teenage and pregnant. It's just the result of bad choices. We all make those from time to time--though, granted, they aren't always as permanently life-altering.
So let's not pick on Bristol. There's so much actual ammunition to use against Palin anyway: supporting the secession of Alaska (I honestly never knew this had ever been an issue until a few days ago), supporting abstinence-only education (as if that would have helped Bristol) and teaching creationism in schools, etc., etc., etc. What was McCain thinking? Is he trying to attract female Democrats who feel left out in the cold by a Hillary-less ticket? Is he trying to attract ultra-conservatives who accuse (not criticize, accuse, as if it's a crime) him of being too liberal? And if he insists that Barack Obama is underqualified for the job of president, what does that make Palin? Is he simply handing Obama the election on a silver platter.
My verdict: All of the above. If Team Obama screws this up, there's no hope for the Democratic Party.
2 comments:
I think the reason Palin's family is scrutinized is the same reason people shredded Hillary for staying with an admitted cheater — this is no longer about issues or policy, it's about personality. And Palin saying, "Abstinance-only programs work, it's up to the family," and then failing within her own household, I hate to say it, but it's fair game. Imagine if it was Chelsea Clinton who was pregnant?
But as I said in the post, promoting abstinence-only education in schools is misguided--with or without the pregnant daughter. And the hypocrisy of the Republicans has been well-documented. And who cares if they would have gone after Chelsea? That doesn't make it right. I do not believe that a minor should be fair game in a political contest. And I do believe that Obama has claimed over and over again to be above that kind of politics. So his supporters should respect that and leave the girl alone. Palin has plenty of rope to hang herself on her own.
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