Now that the Vice Presidential debate has subsided and all of the pundits and pinheads have weighed in, I thought I might add my two cents. Maybe it's me, but, does anyone else wonder how someone can be lauded and praised for simply not being the complete PR disaster they have been for the past three weeks? I found it stunning that the tragic comedy which is the desperate Republican Party actually made every effort to make the bar so ridiculously low for Governor Palin, that whatever she did last night would not be taken seriously; and to a large extent, they succeeded. Save for the falicy filled talking points, extracted from the same speech she's been giving since the Republican National Convention, her "folksy" quips and winks, the Governor was nothing more than clanging brass. The only thing worth applauding was Joe Biden's restraint. Which to his credit was quite miraculous. I could have sworn I heard the good Senator from Delaware breathing quite heavily everytime the Governor went into one of her hollow-folksy soliloquies. I also found it quite ironic, considering all of the feigned charges of sexism that have been bouncing to and fro, that no one saw the sexism in the advice given to Senator Biden from every corner of the press and the political world to basically, "take it easy on the little lady...you don't want to look like a big bully." Somewhere Hillary Clinton has to be scratching her head in bewilderment.
As I watched last night's debate and its aftermath, the Suspicious Lil' Black Man in me found a seat on my right shoulder and whispered, "hey there brother, ain't it strange how this little white woman's incompetence and mediocrity is applauded as 'folksy' or 'in touch with the heartland,' while our dear brother, Barack Obama's Ivy League education, obvious competence, and cool demeanor are condemned as 'uppity,' 'elitist,' and 'out of touch with everyday America?'" Now usually when my little friend shows up I try to brush him aside as a mere product of my own paranoia, but, try as I might he certainly caught my attention, atleast this time around. Have we become so settled in our mediocrity and narcissism that we just can't stand to have a leader that might not want to have a beer or go moose hunting with us? Or, might not look like the other Presidents on those plummeting dollar bills? But, lo the Optimistic Lil' Black Man in me found his way onto my left shoulder and whispered, "this is not your typical campaign, this is a movement and all the typical tactics, fear mongering, and witticisms will not stop the much needed tide of change."
Copyright JLI 2008
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