Debate Not Relate
The scariest thing I hear about the Palin nomination was that she would appeal to voters because they would be able to relate to her and she to them. I get that. There are many places where relatability is key. I am a recovering addict alcoholic and finding another group that relates to my struggles is/was key to my sobriety. When I am at school I find myself grouping with others whose kids share the same issues, interests. People tell me all the time that the More magazine article where I showed what my real body looked like in comparison to the air brushed images most women are fed, was important and made me relatable. That too is great. The problem is I may be relatable and share some of your experiences and concerns but you don't want me as president of United States. Relatability gets you nothing in a complex financial crisis. Relatability doesn't help you understand the Gordian knot of trouble in the Middle East. Relatability doesn't help you untangle the obscenity which is our health care and insurance system and relatability doesn't train the hundreds of thousands of new teachers and repair and rebuild the smashed infrastructure and schools where they work.
I couldn't hold my own for one minute in a debate on any issue with someone like a Barack Obama or Joseph Biden and neither can Sarah Palin. When the call comes at 3AM I want a mind who was at the top of their class, who has gravitas and a real intellect. I want a leader who is a scholar who can hold the history of civilization in his head and will read and learn from the past as he charts the future. Real debates, where issues are explored, are the only way, prior to an election, to get the two candidates and their running mates to share their ideas and plans for the myriad contingencies they will/might face. This isn't a test. We don't get a re-do. This is the hardest time this generation has ever faced and people are all scared about the economy, our health care and mostly our children's futures. That is what millions of Americans and I can relate to.
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
Thanks Jamie Lee Curtis, once again you've proven that you've such a wondrous head on those pretty shoulders! You make thinking women proud. I look forward to the debates with the currently MIA candidate. I think choices will out, and proofs will be made. You can coach her from now until the debate, and I just can't imagine that anybody can put enough substance in to cover what isn't there....t
Sure would like to know why HPOST refused to print my comment - Too bad - here it is again redux.
Unlike the Mccain operative who said that this race was not about issues - Americans cannot be duped by spin masters who try to cloak an inept by creating a legend. Again, I ask if Palin is American enough for America. What do we love about America, and does Palin adequately represent it with her words and deeds? Free Speech? She told critics to be quiet, even when they were asking about her Transparent governance? She is being investigated for abuse of authority in influencing the firing of her ex-brother in law. Tolerance of diversity and divergent views? Tried to fire a librarian for not censoring books that offended her. Separation of church and state? Thinks that that the war in Iraq is a task from God. We're not even talking about the Road to Nowhere, leaving her town deep in debt, making public servants sign loyalty oaths... On and On. We cannot afford to make it all about PERSONALITIES.
Brava Ms. Curtis!
Although I am a Democrat, one of the things I've always liked about McCain is his patriotism -- fighting earmarks even among among other Repubs is very patriotic.
But how very unpatriotic to choose such a neophyte as his second.
Absolutely Brilliant Jamie Lee Curtis. Bravo and well said!
PERFECT 10, Jamie.
You captured it Jamie Lee!!! When I heard Huckabee say (in relation to Sarah Palin's qualifications) that "knowledge isn't all that important" to serving in the White House I thought--haven't we tried that for the past 8 years and found out that....uh
Your "relatability" counter is excellent, the kind of thing the Obama campaign should be doing. However, I must disagree with your assessment of how Palin will fare in the one debate she will have with Biden. I think Palin will prevail because you and the rest of us will be looking for serious questions about policy to be answered in-depth. Ain't gonna happen. The questions, even if not as lame as they usually are, will be deflected with tried-and-true Rovian techniques. Her performance will be the same as at the convention, with canned attacks., and aimed at the euphemisti
sad, but true. Let us hope that America wakes up and realizes that flash isn't substance, that alot of what glitters is rhinestone.
Excellent, excellent post.
Most of you people are so out of touch with reality it's laughable. Curtis too.
Is anyone else afraid of pit bulls? I am. I respect their power and keep my distance.
I am having nightmares about what the white house will be like when John McCain dies and the Palin clan move in. I see ATV races on the front lawn, the pool stocked with salmon and huskies and malamutes roaming the grounds. It will be a like the Beverly Hillbillies meet the Roseanne Show. Maybe they will start drilling for oil on the grounds. I'm sure there will be deer decoys and targets everywhere.
I have to admit, I am an elitist when it comes to education and want my president to be a lot smarter than I am.
What a nightmare. I offer an editorial correction that improves the outlook.
"....what the white house will be like when John McCain....
Besides, Sarah would move the capitol to Juneau and seceed from the Union.
Let's see...gun-
Thank you! I said this to my mother the other day when she was so excited over McCain "the Maverick" choosing Palin, "a regular person." "Mom?? We are talking about the Vice President of the United States!!!!"
Barack Obama is a graduate of Columbia and Harvard Law with high honors. He was the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review. He is married to a Princeton and Harvard Law graduate. He attracts millions when he speaks. Joe Biden has years of foreign affairs experience and is well qualified and campaigned and debated with the other candidates. Joe Biden has an excellent record on behalf of women. They want to give our all Americans decent healthcare. They want to end this costly war and spend tax money on worthwhile humane causes. They are thinking about the environment and oil in terms of the future instead of just what we want for today. These are the people I want to be leading our country!
Well done Jamie!
Again, it is a continuation of the NeoCon/BushCo mindset.
Bush had his pick from the brightest minds in the world to surround himself with, but what did he do?
He left Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and the rest on the shelf -- he has his sights set on REGENT U.
Home of the FIGHTING FUNDAMENTALISTS!
Graduates of the law school have been among the most influential of the more than 150 Regent University alumni hired to federal government positions since President Bush took office in 2001, according to a university website.
One of those graduates is Monica Goodling , the former top aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales who was at the center of the storm over the firing of US attorneys
Quite a proclamation-"I couldn't hold my own for one minute in a debate on any issue with someone like a Barack Obama or Joseph Biden and neither can Sarah Palin."
I think Mrs. Palin will not only hold her own in any discussion with anybody, but she may well make mincemeat of those who want to drag the conversation away from the topic.
Obama and Biden are nothing extraordinary, pretty much the same as my gardener, just a lot more focused on their careers. They aren't any smarter or dumber than your average person.
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
