Friday, October 3, 2008

Two cents, for what it's worth

Just a few points about last night's debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin:

Sarah Palin did exactly what I expected her to do last night. I did not expect her to "crash and burn", and honestly, I didn't feel like watching another train wreck. After the Katie Couric debacle, I am sure Palin went through a crash course in VP 101. So, her ability to auto-pilot her way through the debate was no surprise.

I've read that she is a "good" debater, albeit a snarky one, in my opinion. In the 2006 Alaska Gubernatorial debates when asked rhetorically what positions in her administration would there be for her opponents if she were to offer, Palin suggested that former Governor Tony Knowles would make a good chef.

Her ability to toss zingers at her opponents to me isn't a sign of a "good debater". It's like faling back on curse words when one has a limited vocabulary. Yes, I know all politicians have and use quips and barbs. They make for good sound-bites. It seems though when Palin quips, she comes off as being catty. Even when she is trying to inject personal sincerity, like when she mentioned Biden's wife who was killed in a auto accident, adding, "Her reward's in Heaven, right?" it comes off like a non sequitor. Or at least an oddly placed thumb.

Maybe Palin thought she was bringing light-hearted banter to the table when asking Senator Biden at the start of last night's debate, "Hey, can I call you Joe?" (like, what else would she call him, yeah, don't ask, I can imagine). But the chummy, cutesy banter falls flat for me. When she "talks" to the American public, denoting them as "Hockey Moms and Joe Six-Packs", it shows that she really is insular to the rest of the country, and I don't mean location-wise. Does she really feel a need to slap on some stupid label on the people she is trying to reach, as if that makes them more tangible for her? It's ingratiating and patronizing.

Obviously, I have a problem with Sarah Palin that goes beyond politics. It's visceral, guttural and most likely not logical. When she keeps on harping, "I'm just like you!", all I can think is how much she isn't like me. Or anyone else I know, for that matter. I don't know who "Joe Six-Pack" is, whether he's a beer drinker or likes to hang out at the gym a lot...either way, that isn't my husband, or my dad, or my neighbor. Hockey isn't a practiced sport in my area, but if "Hockey Moms" are anything like "Little League Moms", that even distances me further from feeling any connection.

Oh, was that me waxing stereotypically? Just going with Palin's line of thinking, that's all.

In all honesty, I don't want a President or his Second in Command to be like me at all. The only connection I want to feel is one of security knowing that the persons that were elected by the people, work for the people, and that once elected, know what the hell they are doing.

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