Made me so angry I think my head nearly exploded when I read about it. Actually, I'm still so angry about it right now, that I'm not even sure where to start this blog post. I suppose I'll attempt to start at the beginning.
It all started when McCain started running ads saying something to the effect of "hot chicks dig Obama". Let's just think about the implications of a statement like that and where they take us. Obviously, Obama is McCain's opponent, so liking/supporting Obama is a bad decision/misguided/insert negative adjective here. So it would then follow (since "hot chicks" is not qualified with any sort of value adjective like "some", "all", etc.) that "hot chicks" make bad decisions/are misguided/or whichever negative adjective you chose in the above sentence. Not only that, but since he mentions only one gender, I can only take it to mean that not only am I not capable of making good decisions, etc, but I am also incapable of separating my hormonal responses to Mr. Obama's appearance from my viewpoints as a voting constituent of the US. Thank you, Mr. McCain. As a self-proclaimed "hot chick" I will not be voting for you since you think I make bad decisions/am misguided/or whichever negative adjective you like who is incapable of separating my sexual desires from my opinions on politics. I am just a weak woman after all. I mean, seriously, what is this? 1950?
So, after showing his true chauvistic colors (or at least endorsing the chauvinism of those running his campaign) he picks a bible-thumping, conservative, unheard of "hot chick" as his running mate. The scheming, conniving bastard. I must admit, it's a brilliant brilliant strategy. That's why I'm so angry. It might actually work, but that's an aside. The point is after his ad demonstrating how he feels about women what else could it be but a ploy to win more votes? Why does politics have to be about scheming and plotting rather than what the constituents actually want and need?
At any rate, I don't think I can stand another term of Bush-like politics and I'll be afraid for the country if McCain wins.
There are rumors, however, that Palin's teenage (unwed) daughter is pregnant. Wouldn't that be just scrumptious? The Bible-thumping, conservative, anti-abortion Christian's daughter is a clear demonstration that abstinence-only education doesn't work.
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23 comments:
"There are rumors, however, that Palin's teenage (unwed) daughter is pregnant."
She is, I think. Apparently she will soon be marrying the father- pressured marriage anyone?
Yes, I see that she is. And all the republicans are shouting that it's a private matter...erm...but apparently nothing about Obama is a private matter...like his religion.
Also, oddly enough, after McCain just got done whining about hot chicks liking Obama, apparently there's all kind of talk about how hot Palin is. Personally, I don't see it. I mean, who wears their hair like that?
"Personally, I don't see it. I mean, who wears their hair like that?"
I know, and it's like, a total dye job, plus all the split ends :)
She's a little outside the age range of women I'm attracted to!
Heh, it also appears that Sarah has a 5 month old son who has down's syndrome...presumably the result of getting pregnant at the age of the 43/44.
Thank God this woman is setting such a moral example for the women of America.
Indeed. :(
BBC Radio over here in Dear Old Blighty has been covering the party conventions quite extensively through the wee small hours of the night, and, for reasons of raging insomnia, I’ve heard a lot more of them than I’d really intended too...So, given that I’m thousands of miles away and therefore a bit underinformed and everything:
I must say, listening to the Democrats in Denver last week, I was impressed at what a decent fellow Joe Biden seems to be...One of the commentators the BBC had on remarked that he had been a Senator for the better part of four decades and yet was not a rich man, a sign, surely, of someone concerned with actually doing a job rather than riding a gravy train...Strikes me Obama may have chosen well, there...
I thought Obama struck the right note too; I particularly liked his remarks on patriotism where he said: "So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain." It would be great if the level of debate could rise above insults and ad homs, and actually involve discussing the best way to do things amongst the valid alternatives (and I’m certainly not having a go at America here, UK elections are just as bad) but if the McCain campaign is posting ads about the inability of “hot chicks” to consider the issues it doesn’t bode well...I used to like McCain, and you’d have thought, after what was thrown at him when he ran against Bush in 2000 for the GOP nomination, he’d be above this sort of thing, but alas it seems not...
As for Sarah Palin, personally I do think there is a difference between a candidate’s religious views (which I think should be as much fair game as any of their other views) and their children (which I do think (with Obama) should almost always be off-limits and a private matter). That said, I do think her views range from the downright bizarre to the actually offensive...Can her and McCain really win it???
Mark_W
I am deeply puzzled as to the message that McCain is trying to send... that he trusts totally inexperienced hypocritical women as VP?
For many, many years, I have thought that Joe Biden was a good politician - intelligent and witty. I would be very worried indeed for the world if this woman ended up as president.
I am not familiar with your reference to hot chicks liking Obama?? Is that what you got from the Paris Hilton ad? I think that ad was trying to say that Obama is something new, exciting, and flashy but lacks experiece or anything of real value to this position.
Palin is hot for an older chick from Alaska. She was runner up for Miss Alaska one year.
Anonymous,
Simply because you were not aware of the ad does not mean that it does not exist. A simple google search would have led you right to articles about it, but since you apparently have no time for google searches, I have done it for you. Here's one of the articles about the ads:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/08/hot-chick-dig-o.html
Anyway, that makes your comments regarding what you thought I was talking about irrelevant, so I will disregard them.
As for your comments about Sarah Palin, I'm not sure what your point was. Maybe you could elaborate.
Thanks for stopping by.
Mark,
I agree that Obama and Biden seem like good men. And I definitely wasn't offended by your remarks regarding the nature of our elections. I quite agree! I think most people are tired of the nature of our elections, but at the same time, they force it to be that way. People here tend to be very very polarized on the hot issues, so if the candidates don't pander to them, they just won't vote at all, write someone in, vote for the independent or vote for the other candidate out of spite. And obviously, our media only exacerbates the situation.
Anyway, I actually liked Biden quite a lot when he was running in the primaries, but I knew he had no shot for the nomination. I was thrilled when Obama picked him as his running-mate.
As for Sarah Palin's privacy regarding her children, I think this is a tricky matter because it does have something to do with her faith. If I were a Christian and my Christianity were going to play a part in who I chose to vote for(ew, that sent shivers down my spine), I would have a lot of questions regarding her daughter's pregnancy and how much of a role her faith actually played in the raising of her family. I mean, if she can't even instill those values in her own children, what's she going to do when trying to convince anyone of anything? I don't know, maybe I'm just totally off track.
Anna,
I don't know, maybe I'm just totally off track
No, I don’t think you’re off track – although I tend to think, in general terms, that the children of politicians should always be “off limits” (especially in cases, such as this one, where they are actually still children) nothing is ever completely black and white, and I agree, for the reasons you mention, that this is one of those tricky grey areas where it’s not obvious and does need thinking about…Also, of course, politicians themselves often bring their children into things (say, if they’re trying to present themselves as a “regular hockey mom.”)
Personally, I still think Palin’s views on education should be attacked without reference to her daughter, partly because it’s hard to be sure exactly to what extent her daughter’s pregnancy is directly linked (if at all) to her mother’s faith or education policies, and partly because I worry that if candidate’s children are regularly dragged into things, potential candidates will be wary of standing for these important offices, leaving the field to people like, well, Sarah Palin...
Also, I think (though it’s far from easy to always keep the distinction) that there’s a difference here between Sarah Palin’s privacy, which is what you mention in your comment above, which is one thing (she’s chosen freely to run for a very important public office and so must expect, as you say, a thorough public examination of her views and deeds), and her daughter’s privacy, which is what I was trying to drive at in my comment, and which is a different thing (she is not running for anything, and so should really [though of course it’s never going to happen in the real world] be subject to no more media interest that any other 17 year-old...)
Mark_W
I have nothing but contempt for people who use the words "hot chick" to describe a good looking woman - is that really the best people can come up with?
Nice post Anna, I see you have your uncontrollable lust under control, despite being most lovely and pulchritudinous you can still stop your self from diving into an sex fuelled frenzy every time you see Obama!
This whole election business worries me greatly - why would anyone want to vote for McCain and Palin? If they get the Presidency I do not hold out much hope for America at all and I thought I was the eternal optimist!
I think I was aghast when I first saw the list of candidates from both sides - I was shocked to think that any one of them could become the leader of a very powerful nation, I would not have known who to vote for had I been an American citizen.
But, I have warmed to Obama a bit here and there, I especially like his attitude towards science and I also have respect for Joe Biden from what I have been hearing and reading of late - out of the lot of them I think Obama and Biden are the best people for the job.
Good luck to them and I hope they make it
Hello there Anna Banana,
If John McCain knew that Sarah Palin's daughter was pregnant before picking her as VP, as a politician, he would go up in my estimation. Who is going to attack this woman? She seems to be everything for everyone. She might be as nutty as a fruitcake but she's definitely going to be a political correctness nightmare to attack.
She certainly matches Obama for television appeal. That is the most important box for a politician to tick in the (post)modern era, not that I necessarily support this.
Politics at the higher level is simply about winning at all costs, there's no ethics involved. Can an ethical person run a country?
In the UK we have our own hilarious popularity contest in which your chances increase with how much hair you have. The male candidates, that is.
I'm looking forward to the rest of the contest, after all, whoever wins this will be our President too.
Rune,
I agree that it was a brilliant ploy, but I suppose I was hoping that we might actually have two candidates this time that are decent human beings. Turns out my hopes have been pretty much dashed what with Obama pandering to the religious and saying that he believes Jesus died on the cross for him, etc. So yeah...showing the naivety of my youth, I guess.
Although, I would like to add that they may (both?) be decent human beings, but seeing as there apparently is no way to win without "stretching the truth" about some of your views in order to be a crowd pleaser, there may not be any other way to go about it. Blegh! I'm getting an ulcer thinking about it.
Anna-
I suppose it boils down to this: ignoring the pandering they do to get elected: what are the candidates promising to do once they're elected? Judging it by that is probably the most ulcer-free way to go.
Quetz,
I think you're right, although ulcers may still occur (e.g., to pick UK examples, manifesto promises on university fees and EU referendums seem to have become moveable feasts...)
In a way, I'm sort of glad that the UK now has less of global influence than was hitherto the case, since it means that my own hopeless ditherings about which way to vote have less of a global consequence...
:-) [sort of..]
Mark_W
Jonathan,
It's not deciding who to vote for that gives me the ulcers...I already know that...it's the sad state that our country seems to be in that gives me the ulcers. I also feel like this election is more important than most because depending on who is elected our country could progress, or we could regress into something resembling the 1950's. Although, being as young as I am, I'm not sure whether I only feel this way now because I care more than I ever have or because it really is more important.
Anna-
It's probably a combination of the two.
Ah the naivety of youth, you should hang on to it as long as possible. There's nothing wrong with it. In fact, I suppose, it highlights the problem at hand. We have become so used to cynicism, that it has taken over. Speaking for myself, I don't think that it's the best way to live.
Politicians can't give you what you want because well funded special interest groups, big business, religion, have a disproportionate influence on the process.
Also you have that very strange way of voting for your President.
And, (he says, starting a sentence with and) it's a sad state, but if you can't at least pretend to be religious (I'd go as far as saying Christian), you won't be President.
However, it's worth remembering that you can vote, express these opinions, etc. That's something worth protecting.
Anyway, Miss Banana, can I link your blog to my blog?
If you say no I'll have to ask Sarah Palin. :/
Rune,
I hope to hang on to my naivety for as long as possible. ;)
And of course you may link to my blog...I don't think Palin needs any more publicity than she already has. Not to mention, you wouldn't want to link such a marring of the English language to yourself if nothing else. :)
Hi Ana
I don't see you on the RD site anymore. That is a shame as I enjoyed reading your comments, is there a reason for that? Did somebody p*s you of?
Yep, I feel sorry for Palin's daughter, it is very young to be stuck in a marriage that is forced on you. She will find she is a completely different person when she is 25 to the 17 year old she is now. My mother was married at 17, had 3 boys by the time she was 20, 5 children before 30, and always bemoaned her lack of youth.
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