Ummm, wow. To quote Salon’s Broadsheet, I knew Tina Fey looked like Sarah Palin. I didn’t realize she was capable of actually channeling her. I managed to see this last night before passing dead out. If you didn’t, here:
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Okay, so I know I long-ago decided I wouldn’t do full book reviews, but I posted this on my 2008 Books Page, but I wanted to repeat it here, because I just finished reading this book on my lunch break, and I’d like to share with those of you who aren’t following along with my reading project some words I wrote that surprised even me, especially now, as Election 2008 threatens the very fabric of my mental health:
Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed was a seminal book in the formation of my beliefs about politics and social justice and the dichotomy between what America promises, what it claims to stand for, and what it truly offers. That said, when I realized a few pages into this book that it was a Molly Ivins-esque series of short, pithy, humorous observations on the state of American life and politics today, I was a bit skeptical; after all, I’m not totally over Molly Ivins’ death; I’m not sure I ever will be. Still, Ehrenreich steps nicely into the void that Molly left, and though not a perfect replacement, she, like Molly, manages through good-natured humor, witty observation, and razor-sharp political insight, to convince me that I’m not crazy, and that the America I dream of and long for is not a dream that is lost forever, but rather a challenge inviting me, and the people like me, to step up and fight to claim it from the hands of the right-wing oligarchy. VIVA OBAMA.
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First off, let me say, many thanks to Brian Byrne for bringing this to my attention; I hope he doesn’t mind me re-posting. I pretty much don’t have anything nice to say about last night’s speech, or about Sarah Palin in general anymore, though I would direct you to my Twitter feed, where I live blogged large sections of it, as well as J-Money’s Twitter feed, which more than rivals mine both in hilarity and razor insight.
Even better, read this, by dooce, which perfectly describes how all this makes a lot of us here in ‘Murka feel, and which links to this AP story, which you’d be a fool not to read.
Also, to this, today’s column by Politico’s Roger Simon, and finally, to the clip below, via Mr. Byrne, whom I owe a huge, gigantic, Oklahoma-State-Fair-sized beer, and even more so, to Mr. Jon Stewart, to whom I’d donate a kidney or two if he were to but ask:
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Twitter has been the joy of my existence since Friday. Allow me to share some of the best Tweets from the people I follow about The Woman Who Would Be Veep:
from GordonShumway: Selecting Sarah Palin reminds me of when Black & Decker said they made a drill for women but it was just a regular drill with a pink handle.
from SusanW: My new measure for decision making: I ask myself, What Would Sarah Palin Do? And then I do the exact opposite. So far, it’s working well!
from emilyrm: Wow, sexist bigots are going to have a hard time voting this year!
from CityMama: "the Paula Abdul of governors"
from Sweetney: Little known fact, Sarah Palin was briefly married to Torgo from "Manos: The Hands of Fate" http://tinyurl.com/65auyq
from Sweetney: Little known fact, Sarah Palin contains a full day’s supply of 12 essential vitamins!
from jenandtonica: Ok, how about: little known fact: Sarah Palin stood me up for the Prom.
from jenandtonica: @CityMama and you know what? i wouldn’t know the woman if she was on her knees doing nasty things to my husband. never heard of her before
from foulger2: A woman who is against gay marriage AND women’s lib really isn’t a woman at all. Seriously, check for balls on this bitch.
And here are some of mine:
Little Known Fact: Sarah Palin has a full-body tattoo of the United States, and SHE WANTS TO GIVE YOU A GEOGRAPHY LESSON
Ugh, to hear a Republican give such mad props to Hillary Clinton sits so, so, so, so, so, so, so wrong with me.
Ugh. McCain-Palin rally is playing "Right Now" by Van Halen. She’s a VP nominee, not Crystal Pepsi.
Sarah Palin? Here women, have a woman! Ugh.
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Six and a half years ago I walked across a stage on the Quad at Wake Forest and shook the hand of the man who, today, is the Republican nominee for President. I’m not supporting him, and I’d have to say that my respect for him has significantly dwindled since that beautiful May day in 2002 when he handed me my fakey diploma non-diploma. I don’t remember anything about his speech, but I remember that his hands were clammy and sweaty, and that I felt sorry for him for having to shake the hands of so many eager graduates.
Asked in late 1999 and early 2000, I’d have eagerly talked up John McCain to you. The candidacy and person of George W. Bush disgusted me even then, and I thought McCain a much better option for voters. In the years since, to watch the way he’s supported Bush’s awful policies, well, let’s just say I don’t think the whole "maverick" label applies.
But after the last five days, I owe him a big thank you for picking Sarah Palin as his running mate. Not because I think he basically shot his chances of winning in the foot by picking her, which I do, but because the story that has unfolded over the last five days or so has been so delicious and wonderful to behold.
Now, don’t get me wrong; this isn’t schadenfreude on my part; if anything I’ve come to like Sarah Palin more over the last few days. I’d heard her name bandied about all summer as a possible running mate, so I’d researched her a bit. Drives motorcycles, was a beauty queen and a TV sportscaster and a small-town mayor. I thought, "Yeah, if only McCain would nominate her."
Oh! And then he did! Crazy!
Then she got up and gave that speech, that awful speech wherein she praised Hillary Clinton and Geraldine Ferrarro to the highest heavens and told women they could - at last! - "shatter that glass ceiling once and for all." That went all over me, left a bad taste in my mouth because how dare the Republican party praise Hillary Clinton to the highest heavens after having spent the last 16 years making her public life as humiliating and difficult as possible? I found the choice of a woman just for the sake of her woman-ness pretty insulting, especially with Carly Fiorina going on Face the Nation on Sunday and saying with a straight face, "Women aren’t single-issue voters." Really? Then why on Earth would the Republican party expect women to vote for a ticket just because there’s a woman on it?
The more I thought about Sarah Palin on Friday, the more insulted I became. Who the hell does John McCain think he is?
But then there were the rumors on DailyKos, the ones about how Palin’s new baby, Trig (oh, don’t get me started on her kids’ names), wasn’t hers but her 17-year-old daughter’s. (The story there is gone or I’d totally link to it). I didn’t really believe the rumors, of course, but the intrigue drew me in to the story and character of her family. I learned more about her husband, Todd, the world-champion snow machine racer and her odd rise to the Alaska governor’s mansion. The more I learned the more I became fascinated with and interested by the whole group of Palins, becoming more and more convinced all the while that this woman is absolutely not ready to be the vice-president of the United States or, God forbid, should John McCain get elected and suddenly be rendered unable to serve, the President. I’ve also become convinced, more than I was before, that McCain’s pick of Palin means that he really isn’t, either, though Thomas Schaller makes that point better than I could.
So then, yesterday, the story broke that Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is pregnant, five months pregnant, actually, by this self-described "f—-ing redneck," and the first thought I had was, "My God, I wish that someone would’ve gone back in time 3 years ago when I was writing my first screenplay and told me this story, because this right here is a movie waiting to be made."
Really - it’s got everything. A former PTA mom who somehow became the governor of a large state and then was unexpectedly and irresponsibly tapped to run for the second highest office in the land, juggling a new baby, a wild family, a mother-in-law who hasn’t decided to vote for her, and, suddenly, a daughter pregnant by a none-too-bright hockey player. Only it’s not a movie - this is all really, really happening.
I’ve come to absolutely love this family, and honestly, to feel for them. How crazy life has become for them in just the span of a couple years, and, really, the last five days. Sarah Palin is absolutely not the person who should be at the #2 spot in this nation, not by a long shot, but man oh man, this election has become a fascinating study in American life and family, hasn’t it? As I said, this isn’t schadenfreude; I’m not reveling in the Palin family’s struggles, and, like Barack Obama, I under no circumstances want to see the Democratic party use this to its advantage. I’m just riveted by it and how much it all exemplifies the state of American life and politics right now. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
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Barack’s speech, like the rest of the convention, knocked it out of the park. As far as things he needed to do - I think he did it. He was specific with both policy prescriptions and how-tos. He managed to humanize himself and to attack John McCain without resorting to pettyness or identity politics. He addressed the controversial and scary issues of the day with grace and through finding common ground.
McCain certainly pulled an interesting - if not also a blatantly pandering - by choosing Sarah Palin, but now that things are off and rolling I’m going to just try to enjoy the fall and not get too mentally ill about the whole thing. The way to accomplish this, of course, is for no one to say the words "Flag Pin" to me.
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Once again, the Democratic National Convention hit it out of the park. Bill Clinton, whose reputation with me has been tarnished in the past year - I know, right, what does it take with me? - delivered exactly the speech he needed to both to win over his and Hillary’s supporters and to redeem his legacy somewhat after his campaign gaffes in the spring. He messed up good while he was in the Oval Office, yes, but he really was a great president and the country was better off with him in power than the guy who came after him.
Beau Biden’s introduction of his father was deeply moving; when Obama’s term is up, I say we nominate this guy.
Then Joe BIden got up to speak, and despite a few small mistakes and one "Freudian Slip" that was absolute gold, he gave what has to be the best speech of the convention so far. It was heartfelt and passionate, and it hit just the right notes on foreign policy that it needed to. I think once people hear him talk about how to redeem America’s leadership in the world, it will, at the very least, be a choice that most will have to think long and hard about. I can’t wait to see what Obama and Biden will do once in office. Great things, I’m sure. Anyway, here are the speeches:
Also, if you’re at work or somewhere where you can’t be taking up valuable time listening to speeches, the MP3s of the big speeches of the Convention are available for free download at Audible.com. Just click right here. (Sign up required but worth it).
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As if there was any doubt, let me reiterate: I didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton, but it made me a little sad not to, because I really think she’s brilliant and that she’d have made an excellent President. I just happened to think the moment, now, in 2008, called for the particular brand of leadership, thought, and inspiration that Barack Obama offers, and I stand by that choice.
I’ve never understood the intense hatred that’s been leveled at Hillary Clinton since the early 1990’s. On many more occasions than I can count or remember, I’ve listened to someone rant about her, and when I asked, "Why do you hate this woman so much?" I received a blank stare, the person unable to tell me why, exactly, Hillary Clinton filled him or her with such revulsion. A few of those people at least respect, if not support, Hillary now; at the very least I think it’s unwise to underestimate her.
The people for whom I have little respect are the PUMAs, and I think that Hillary’s speech at the Democratic National Convention last night helped to rebut most, if not all, of their gripes and to make Hillary’s support of Obama - pragmatic though it may be - very clear. As far as I’m concerned, she knocked it out of the park, and, like when she gave her famous concession speech in June, I was a little sad that this wasn’t her moment, that 2008 wasn’t her year, no matter how much better a candidate I think Obama is. Here’s the speech; well worth watching. And in case you’re wondering, yeah, it’s likely I’ll be doing this all week.
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I hope you watched Michelle Obama’s speech last night; PBS’s coverage was particularly good; unlike CNN, they didn’t let their anchors blather on through every speech but let the speakers speak, and only cut to the anchors when nothing else was going on. Anyway, if you didn’t see it, Michelle pretty much hit it out of the park. I can understand disagreeing with the Democratic platform, but how anyone couldn’t at least admit that this is a pretty impressive woman is beyond me. There are 3 videos here, and it’ll take a little while to get through it all (and my apologies for all the annoying MSNBC cutaways), but it’s so worth watching:
Let’s hope the rest of the convention is this good.
Oh, and iTunes? Remember how in 2004 you offered all the speeches as free audiobook downloads? Yeah, I still have that whole convention on my iPod; let’s get on that for this year, hm?
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…but in bars, not at work.
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