Picking Sarah Palin was clearly a Hail Mary pass. But the McCain campaign is tapping into an archetype that resonates deep in the human psyche. That of the unknown innocent plucked from obscurity and magnificently rising to the challenge. Hollywood has long recognized the appeal of this fantasy. Think Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, A Face in the Crowd, Dave, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. So in questioning Palin, it's not enough for Democrats to mock the smallness of Wasilla, Alaska or shout, "it's insulting," "it's ridiculous," "it's pathetic." They must make the case that given the gulf between the crises we face and her capacity to handle them, this is a truly dangerous choice. Forget Dan Quayle. Palin is more Harriet Miers -- chosen for all the wrong reasons, and glaringly not up to the task. Maybe an anxious nation can offer John McCain a do-over.
Is money the reason New Orleans has to wait three more years before even the semblance of protection is in place? What's the city supposed to do in the meantime?
What Sarah Palin shows is that once again, the right wing is adept at turning the women's movement upside down and offering us a woman who reinforces patriarchal power rather than challenges it.
The Clintons' narcissism perfumed every bit of Hillary's campaign, and it leaked down to her contributors and followers. "Were you in it for me?" was the funniest line of her speech.
If the Democrats do not spend the remaining days of their convention -- hell, the remaining days of the campaign -- in an all-out assault on the ruinous Bush-McCain policies, they will lose.
National security rated only passing mentions -- broad generalities when specifics were called for. This despite the fact that the Bush years have given us so many tragic specifics to remind the American people of.
None of my pro-Hillary female friends are falling for this obvious GOP pander. John McCain has gone from maverick to "me too" -- trying to out-Democrat the Democrats and pick up some Hillary voters. But it ain't working.
In choosing Sarah Palin of Alaska for Vice President, the Republicans have made a cynical but clever choice. At least they think it is clever.
I know that Hillary's most important work is yet to come and I know with a President Obama, her dream of Universal Health Care for all Americans will come true.
In the ad, which is being broadcast in key swing states, an announcer intones, "They're the cutest children in the world - but are they ready to lead?"
Kudos to The New York Times for giving one of its esteemed columnists an opportunity to at last strip away the tweedy right wing pretense of his position and let his freak flag fly.
It's no rare thing for the right wing to use prominent women to keep the rest of us down. But just because Sarah Palin is a woman doesn't mean she's good for women. And female voters know that.
