Sarah Palin In Verse

I was wondering what kind of mother, being an avowed evangelical and knowing that her underage daughter is pregnant out of wedlock, would choose to accept the vice presidential nomination and thus subject her daughter to a vicious and unrelenting spotlight for, potentially, the next eight years. And I was wondering what kind of mother would agree to take on the rigors of a presidential campaign and essentially put aside a four-month-old baby with special needs. Sarah Palin's convention speech answered that question: that kind of mother.

Palin was comfortable stepping in and lying through her teeth about her record and her opponent. She was at ease insulting people who selflessly try to give back to their communities--because it helped her politically. She had no qualms about parading her visibly uncomfortable family across a stage and passing her special needs baby down the aisle as a political prop.

The media, taken aback no doubt by Palin's ability to lie and smear with gusto as if it were second nature, mostly lauded the speech, leaving those of us who care about our families and our country--and not our ratings--to hope that the majority of American swing voters, at least, disagreed.

Maybe a night of such dramatically appalling pageantry could only be summed up in poetry, but I noticed that more than a few posts in the blogosphere that night included this excerpt from Macbeth's great soliloquy (later adopted by Faulkner): "it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." We can hope.

It's appropriate that I've been reading Yeats lately, whose life was haunted by a beautiful and fiercely political woman named Maude Gonne (any extension of the comparison would be offensive to Gonne's memory). "Why should I blame her," Yeats wrote in No Second Troy, "that she fills my days with misery." The poem is apropos, considering the culture war Palin is being used to ignite:

Why should I blame her that she filled my days
With misery, or that she would of late
Have taught to ignorant men most violent ways,
Or hurled the little streets upon the great...

With beauty...
That is not natural in an age like this...

Why, what could she have done, being what she is?
Was there another Troy for her to burn?

I've used excerpts here because Palin doesn't come close to living up to the rest of the poem. And while I wanted to include the final line, I apologize for implying that Palin's beauty might be enough to cause the burning of a capital. We may yet uncover a suspicious arson at the Wasilla Dairy Queen.

A more appropriate Yeats poem might be this excerpt from the lesser-known On a Political Prisoner, which, I would offer, Palin now is:

She that but little patience knew,
From childhood on, had now so much
A grey gull lost its fear and flew
Down to her cell and there alit,
And there endured her fingers' touch
And from her fingers ate its bit.

Did she in touching that lone wing
Recall the years before her mind
Became a bitter, an abstract thing,
Her thought some popular enmity:
Blind and leader of the blind
Drinking the foul ditch where they lie?

She that but little patience knew. We have evidence she was impatient, transferring five times in six years before finally managing to get a Bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Idaho. We don't know that she was ever innocent.

In his apocalyptic vision The Second Coming Yeats wrote, "The best lack all conviction, while the worst/ Are full of passionate intensity."

Thanks to Palin, the worst, as evidenced by the old, white, teeth-gnashing Republican convention crowd, now have that "passionate intensity."

Thankfully for us, so do the best this year.

Comments

[cheferic]

So the cultured poetry you copied for us acts as fuel for the culture war that you correctly said she is being used to ignite?

The " No second Troy " reference does dovetail nicely with Ariana Huffingtons ' piece entitled "Sarah Palin
Trojan Moose"

[Rnactivist]

this is not about real leadership...this is high school and we are going to elect the prom queen as class president so don't confuse americans with real important issues like the economy or how this party has been in power for 8 years and contributed to the mess were in, or how more americans are loosing their jobs or struggling....its all about sara...ain't she a pretty thing...shoots moose and is a soccer mom...and thats good enough for most americans.....

[Redrover666]

That's partly true. However, we're also interested in proven leadership experience, something Sarah has and Obama lacks.

[LCRover001]

I'm so sick to death of hearing that rubbish.

What executive experience? The same executive experience GWB had? Is that what you are talking about?

Seems to me he messed things up big time so drop that and let’s stick to who has the ideas to fix what the last person with executive experience messed up.

[curly2]

Snort. Give me a break. She has 2 years leading a state with less people than the Bronx.

And please don't tell me that being mayor of a town with less than 1,000 people counts. It just sounds pathetic.

[shelobo]

The republicans can smear people who WORK within their communites and still claim to be Christians ? Maybe the so called RELIGIOUS Republicans should read about the apostle Paul and COMPREHEND the MEANING of Pauls words' Paul consistently asks new churches not only to aid the needy in their own communities, but especially to support the people in Judaea who were in dire need due to famine and other hardships. At the heart of Paul’s gospel message is the conviction that in the sacrifice and death of Jesus, God has made us one family with Jesus as the head (Ephesians 3:4-7; 2:13-22).COMMUNITY ,organizers and activists were around even during early Bibical days ,they were called TRUE CHRISTIANS then tho..

[Redrover666]

Everyone is proud of Obama for being a community organizer. Though, it hardly stacks up against governor.

[Tavi]

Obama is a Harvard Law School graduate, a law professor, a state senator and a U.S. Senator. To characterize him only as a "community organizer" is disingenuous and idiotic.

[LCRover001]

GWB was governor for alot longer than Palin and it is his messed up policies that need to be changed, don't hear much difference between McCain and Palin's suggestions than what we have been doing under bush so drop the BS experience Palin has because it is the same experience Bush had.

[All in All]

What more can I say, Sara Palin seems to believe that Her children are & will be better off without Her around as much......

I wonder how much time & Parenting does it take to rise a child, let alone five of them in a way that would help them to grow into the Adults that their Parents would more then likely want them to become & be in the future.

[shelobo]

We the taxpayers will pay for Palins childrens nannies,nurses and daycare.I am a middles class Parent,had three chilren ,and one is hyper active and is grown now ,I NEVER knew what it was like to watch a soap opera,vist friends ,go shopping attend public events ,because my son was so disruptive so I couldn't even try working within my community or hold a public office .He wasn't a special needs child ,but he was a 24/7 JOB ! Daycare was out of the question ,because other parents were afraid he would harm their child. A special needs child IS a 24 hour commitment ,you don't put the child into some one elses care ,the child is YOUR responsability .I saw Palin hold her infant ONCE during the GOP Convention and that was for the PHOTO OPS , AFTER the convention ended !I'm sorry the using of ANY child as a POLITICAL PROP IS WRONG !This is what America has came to ,USING a special needs infant AND a unmarried pregnant Teenager to gain a political office ? The Spears girl was CRUCIFIED by media commentators and her parents were labled as lousy by commentors like O'Rielly and Hannity ! Hypocritical media commentators had a hayday with the Spears child !So what makes Palin any different than the Spears parents http://gripedujour.wordpress.com/2008/09/03//

[spankies space]

Republican women should volunteer in those capacities.

[nick1936]

Go Back and read Rush the Junkie's and Bill O"S statements on young girls getting pregnant and who's fault it is.

[rj610]

what i can't believe is that the major move that the religious right made concerning teenage pregnancy, pre-marital sex, sex out of wedlock, etc., etc., has not been fully honored. I think that is one of the major shifts in beliefs that i've ever seen in my lifetime. Who would've ever thought that the religious right would not only accept those things but actually glamorize it. parading that f---in redneck in front of world and saying look at this great guy, he's owning up to his responsibilities as a father. Look at this wonderful 17 y/o girl. she's going to have this baby. What 16-17 y/o boy doesn't now want to emulate this stud they're parading around. What 14-15 y/o girl isn't looking at this and saying, wow it's wicked cool to get pregnant. i just hope they all have governor's for mommy's so that they will be taken care of. Because one thing that didn't change with the religious right is that they have no plan to help these teenagers who become pregnant...they just tell them they must have their babies and then let them on their own to raise them.

[mbindy]

My theory behind all the negativity towards Palin is that when asked I would guess that 90% of Mothers and/ or fathers would decline the opportunity to be vice president, given her family situation. Christian doctrine is God first, family second, then jobs and friends.

[MOMFORCOUNTRYFIRST]

You female liberals are a joke. You've been pushing for woman to have it all - career and family - and now when one is bucking for VP all of a sudden you don't think it's such a great idea. Why? Because she's not one of you? I don't hear any conservatives crying that she can't handle it. Give it up. My girl has smacked your boy down. The Gallup Poll shows this. Keep up liberals, the more you squawk, the more you divide.

[CherylJosie]

Palin seems to have a vanity problem.

Somehow she feels it is OK to sack a cop solely because he was once an in-law, and she also feels it is OK to ban books from the library. Oh yes, she also thinks it is OK to lie about her record on the bridge to nowhere.

Now I know she has certain views on life that are extreme, but that is OK. Extreme views are not the issue; it is the way she acts upon them that disturbs me.

Maybe her past as a beauty queen has gone to her head. Maybe she feels that she is more deserving than others simply because she has a pretty face.

I have noticed that many conservatives seem to think they are better and more deserving than others simply because they are wealthy or because they believe in God or because they are politically connected or because they are popular.

Is it ultimately true that the right runs actors and beauty queens and millionaires only? Is it now a beauty pageant / popularity contest they are running, instead of a presidential election?

[Mover]

"Somehow she feels it is OK to sack a cop solely because he was once an in-law"

the word is he is a spouse abuser and has tazed his children

[SunFresh]

Both of us have some explaining to do. I have to reconcile my desire to be a successful mother with a successful business woman. I'd chose motherhood over successful business woman any day.

How do you reconcile Sarah Palin's neglect of family with your socially conservative values as stated in the Bible, Titus 2:3-5 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

[Zoidie]

Wow...... ANGRYMOMFORCOUNTRYFIRST?

Wake up sweetheart, in ten years your country will be OURS..... the future is coming.

[RealHRCFansVoteObama]

Seems like you're only supporting her because she claims to be one of you. For years Rush and Phyllis and Buchanan have been decrying the effects of working mothers on family and society, and now they support a woman who embodies everything they have been railing against?

I can't figure out just what they see? Her gross incompetence as mayor (left the town $22m in debt)? Her support for pork? Her cozy relationship with Ted Stevens and the Alaska Independence Party? Her abuse of power? Her desire to teach creationism in the schools? Her support for abstinence-only education (which has succeeded so well in Wasilla)?

Actually, when I look at those facts, I get it. She's exactly like them. A total hypocrite.

[Mover]

What is "one of you"?

We are all basically the same. Parents who actually care about their children are the same as all parents who actually care about their children. You do the best you can to lay down the rules and set the example, but sometimes it doesn't work out the way you'd hoped.

So, what happens then? Give up? Say that everyone is bad? Say that the other side is bad?

I don't think so.

You go on loving your children and try to do what's best for them.

That's what Mrs. Palin is doing. What is wrong with that?

[gisellestwocents]

I disagree with trashing Palin on anything other than truthfulness and the issues. She's in denial about her family problems. THE PALIN FAMILY IS NOT OKAY and they're not going to be okay until mom takes some time off and regroups. BUT she's been offered the VP slot and that's a hard one to take a pass on. There were some shakey days initially, but now SP has been virtually deified and is to be given "deference" from the press, so they're happy campers -- for now.

I personally think that she's running on empty, being used and exploited and at risk of implosion. I just really don't think that she's thinking straight right now. And if she truly is a christian, she needs to get back into the book.

Pray for her, because if she does implode;we know who'll be at fault, but guess who'll be blamed.

I believe that God is watching. People just don't understand the implications of that.
.

[ultrakitty]

anyone who claims palin shouldnt be running because of family obligations is sexist.

If you dont like her policies or qualifications that is very different than criticizing or demanding she act in a certain mother mold.. What is wrong with Daddy Palin watching the kids??
Men not capable? then you are sexist on both males and females!

[quest44]

I was wondering who would be the first to bring out the sexism card on this one ,lol. This was why they chose Palin in the first place ! She can say and do as she pleases but nobody better question her judgement and experience because we will pull out the sexism card .BS !
I am a mother of 6 children I raised and its a full time job .I would have never considered leaving my children with a older child or baby sitter to take on a job as demanding as being VP which would call for long hours and days and sometimes weeks away from my children.I brought them into the world to nurture and love and they are my responsibility not someone elses. Having two children with problems already one a pregnant teen and a 4 month old baby with special needs makes it even more important to be a hands on mom for these children .Sure she has a husband but he also has a job .I should think she would have finished her first job raising her children before trying to take on a job that will limit her time with her family .You think ?

[GSMRaleigh]

I agree. We wouldn't pose these questions if it was a man who's wife just had a special needs child.

There is no reason Todd Palin can't be the caregiver in this relationship. Although, it doesn't appear that Todd is doing much caregiving right now.

[Tavi]

I don't think so. A man with 5 children, one pregnant and one disabled, would be seen as having neglected his family. He would be seen as having abandoned his wife with 5 kids to watch while he pursued his political ambitions. Lots of political candidates have kids, but you name me one other major party candidate with 5 kids, 2 of whom need special attention? Romney had a bunch of kids, but they were all exemplary and healthy.

And think about it -- wouldn't any man with 2 kids in trouble sit down with his wife and family FOR MONTHS and think hard before throwing his hat in the presidential arena? Wouldn't he give deference to his teenage daughter's privacy and feelings before subjecting her to unknown media scrutiny and criticism? Wouldn't a man whose wife just gave birth to a Down Syndrome baby be seen as horribly selfish for hitting the campaign trail FOUR MONTHS after the baby's birth, leaving his wife alone to attend to all four kids?

We would absolutely pose these questions to a man in the same situation. PARTICULARLY if he were a self-professed conservative Christian who pushed for abstinence-only education. He would be getting hammered right now. It's absurd to suggest otherwise.

[MissingAmerica]

It's amazing that Palin is being used to get the womens' vote, when her thinking is so unlike that of any women I've ever known. I heard some working mothers interviewed on CNN comment that if Sarah Palin could juggle 5 children, she can handle the VP slot. Since when is the United States a juggling act? Since when is bearing 5 children a requirement for potentially the highest office in the free world? Further, if she had been good at juggling 5 children, her daughter wouldn't be pregnant and she wouldn't have a nanny taking care of them! She would subject women to endless breeding and servitude, yet she works out, hands the kids off to a stranger and struts around like she's God's messenger (which apparently she thinks she is).

Now we have an evangelical hypocritical moosehunting soccer mom who went to 5 schools in 6 years to get a Bachelor's in Journalism, and a 72-year-old 4-time cancer surviving POW who graduated from a military academy 3 from the bottom of his class of over 890. What a winning team is that?!

[MOMFORCOUNTRYFIRST]

Hmmm..MissingAmerica? Where did she go? Right here honey. "unlike that of any women I've ever known"....oh for pete's sake. Were you serving your hubby a beer with his dinner when you typed this? The women on CNN that questioned Palin's ability to serve our country in the capacity of VP are liberals. They don't like her because she is not one of them. Also, I think quite a few mothers can relate to teenage pregnancy and I don't believe they would consider themselves over scheduled. BTW, she's a hockey mom. Soccer mom doesn't do her justice.

McCain/Palin '08

[Zoidie]

WOW .... very angry person.

[stayinsouth1981]

I do not like her because of her lies about her record, fundamental beliefs, her history of placing her ego first, "transparency" that might as well be coffee and my fear of what these nuts will do to our country. If you want to ignore McCain's record of voting along with Bush 90% of the time he voted, that is up to you. When you get 4 more years, don't come crying to the rest of us. I prefer to watch what someone does and not listen to what they say. How did being a POW make McCain an advocate for the veterans? It didn't. How does Palin being a woman make her represent me? It doesn't. She is nothing like anyone I have ever wanted to be. She shares no goals in common with me. If she is so pro family, why didn't she share her joy with everyone instead of hiding it with a smile and a cute scarf? Last on my list, I do not appreciate supporting Alaska's give-aways with the extra money oil companies must charge to cover her state's demands for money money money. If you can't see the double talk, you should be adjudicated as being mentally incompetent and restricted from voting.

[arthur2008]

What kind of mother would sacrifice her a traumatuzed teenager's best interests for electoral advantage? What kind of presidential candidate would do the same?

[worldparty]

What kind of mother is Sarah Palin?
The kind who's going to be Vice-President of the United States.

[10cats4me]

Mother needs to go home and be a mother. I think her family needs her. Bristol needs her. Lover, cherish, and protech your family instead of putting them on exhibition and exploiting them.

[mamae]

this Palin woman is a trip.
She has no regard for her baby are her daughter, she is only thinking of her own selfiish self,her ego has to be the size of the moon.She is using and degrading her childrenand the Republican party and John Mccain is using and degrading her. Her husband needs to grow a spine.

[biotechwoman]

I come from a catholic family of 5 kids. My sister is profoundly handicapped. My mother was working as a journalist for a very prominent television news program and gave up her career to take care of my sister. She did this for 40 years--up until the day she died.

The Republicans NEVER did a damn thing for our family. My mother had to fight to allow my sister to attend a regular public school, have access to buildings, get healthcare...the list goes on.
My father was a Barry Goldwater Republican and never believed in any handouts. He died with 80,000 dollars in debt with medical bills.

If you think for one second that McCain/Palin are going to do ANYTHING for disabled individuals in this country, you are SADLY mistaken. It will NEVER happen. Sarah Palin CHOSE to give birth to a profoundly disabled child with Down's syndrome. She not only committed this most selfish act, but now she expects the rest of her famly and society to bear the burden of taking care of HER disabled child. And, she lies to others making false promises that she will help the disabled once in the White House. DISGUSTING.

[zoozey]

Thank you for sharing this. You are absolutely right. Again, the right wing misses the point when they start slamming us for being what they think is "anti-career woman." It is they that are the hypocrites. They have maligned the large families of Blacks and Hispanics for years, used them as the butt of jokes. But now they are having babies in bulk; but it is ok for them. It's only ok if you are readying for the Rapture it seems. The kids are trotted around like little Christian soldiers and props for God to see.

Palin's total disregard for the baby after she went into labor and still set off on an 8 hour flight told me all I need to know about this "mother of the year" martyr for the right.

[Mover]

What have Democrats done for you?