Palin would be a shock-and-awe pick for VP; we’ll know in a few minutes.

Okay, I just turned on CNN, and they’re saying it’s Palin. A-mazing. That was one bold VP pick.

Palin is the ultimate Pro-Life spokesperson. If you don’t know why then do a little reading on her newest son Trig.

Great pick if it is Palin given it is a clear shot at the Dems for those who backed Hillary.

Palin “confirmed” on AP

queno, who were hoping for? Not a trick question, sincerely interested.

i’m the opposite of queuno: a republican mccain NON-supporter. and i’m also underwhelmed. hrm.

Pawlenty.

Dan,

Funny that you brought up inexperienced because it reminded me of someone else, on the top of the Democratic ticket…

I’m officially inviting you to an Obama victory party at my place on Nov. 5th. Pot luck.
I will say that I hope Biden doesn’t go mad-dog. It was a really awful thing when George HW Bush said he “kicked a little ass” after debating Geraldine Ferraro. Women in 2008 won’t go for that. But I think Michelle Obama does everything for the democrats that Palin could even imagine doing for the republicans.

Shall we have an Alaskan theme at the party?

Palin! This is so exciting — I heard she’s taking the discussions.

From Jonah Goldberg at The Corner:

“may also be a signal that the McCain camp is coming straight for Obama on the Born-Alive stuff.”

Like I said, the perfect Pro-Life spokesperson.

But, does she help win [Ohio|Pennsylvania|Indiana|Florida|Nevada|Colorado]?

queno,

I honestly had no idea who Palin was before a couple weeks ago. I then decided to look her up and was very impressed. And right now, thousands of people are doing the same thing. This is HUGE for McCain coming off of Obama’s big speech.

annegb,

Yeah, she’s being investigated on abuse of power for firing her ex-brother in law (I think). On the surface it seems like petty local politics, though it certainly could be more. I’d be more worried, but I’d think the party would have done it’s due dilligence in making sure it wasn’t going to affect the race.

I am an Obama supporter, but I think that Palin was an excellent choice for McCain. I think that some of the Democrats / Obama supporters on this site are underestimating the image appeal that Palin might have. Many voters aren’t exactly logical (read former Hillary supporters who are now voting for McCain), and Palin will play well to certain voters who are somewhat undecided. I think she is the best choice McCain could have made — at least to compete for the election.

Devyn,

Dan – seems that this inexperienced untested woman has as much experience as Obama…

less actually. She has yet to go on that European tour. ;)

But again … she’s just a VP candidate. I wasn’t aware experience for a VP was an essential part of the VP’s job. Of course, Obama must disagree.

LOL, Dan. See? That wasn’t hard. Why can’t you be like this more often?

My #37, was for #33, not #36.

Now it was the Daily Show mind you, and they were making fun of the whole “healing” that had to be done between Hillary and Obama supporters, but they did interview a few people that still seemed upset at Obama for his campaign vs. Hillary.

Q (# 22),

You mean she’s a dream woman?

Tim,

Which Dan? Do you mean me?

I honestly want the Republicans to give up, go home, and be done with it, if you ask me what I really want. ;)

But if I had to choose which VP would be better for Democrats, honestly this is a pretty good one. Here’s why.

1. McCain thinks he’s shrewd by putting a woman on his ticket. He thinks he can tear away Hilary voters (who he desperately needs). But the problem is that those Hilary voters want HILARY in office, not just some random woman. I bet that Hilary’s diehard supporters are going to be incensed that they are being used like this and will fall back in line with the rest of the Democrats. They are smarter than to be played by someone like McCain (who has a history of being rather crude to women—just do a search on what he called his wife not long ago, or the joke he made about Chelsea—yeah, you want feminists riled up? We’ve got lots to hit McCain on).

2. This utterly undercuts McCain’s argument that Obama is “inexperienced.” Just think about this. McCain is 72 years old. The chances of him passing due to old age are greater at this age. He thinks that a woman who has been governor of one of the smallest states (by population) in the nation—and more importantly, the furthest away from the goings on of foreign policy—would be fitting to lead in his stead. How can he claim this and claim that Obama isn’t experienced enough? If he cannot claim this anymore, what does he rest on in arguing that Obama shouldn’t be elected? He’s got nothing. The inexperience argument was his trump card (and I should say, based on what Devyn said yesterday, the reason why he is going for McCain over Obama).

I can see Biden beating her in a 1:1 debate on foreign policy, but other than that this seems like a complete slam-dunk for McCain.

Sarah Palin better send Hillary Clinton a big thank you card. If it weren’t for Hillary, there is no chance in heck that Republicans would have even considered her. I’m glad that Hillary was able to force Republicans to break that glass ceiling for women in their party. Good work, Hillary!

Dan, 40

Why a disaster pick? For one, at certain angles he looks like a slightly thinner Boss Hogg

http://fitsnews.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/joe-biden.jpg
http://bp2.blogger.com/_KtOEDjqBEnk/SDaBihjQF0I/AAAAAAAABBM/VKVM5UldCR4/s1600-h/Boss_Hogg.jpg

But that is just me.

Dan, I think it goes away now and hopefully things will turn to actual issues. I think we agree that would be best.

(But experience is still more important for a President than it is for a VP) :)

I expect that McCain will keep hammering on experience, the race really is McCain vs Obama after all. We’ll see how his campaign message goes.

Aluwid,

I expect the argument to shift now to judgment and age. By choosing someone so young and inexperienced, John McCain’s age and judgment will be called into question. That’s where the focus will be now. There can be no longer a debate about experience. McCain effectively nailed that coffin shut.

Dan,

You make pretty poor arguments:

If I understand correctly,
1. McCain won’t get Hillary voters because any other woman does not represent what they believe in. I find this hard to believe. I think many more Hillary supporters will be disaffected by Obama and particualrly Biden, who I think is pretty antithetical of a lot of what is appealing about Obama- youth, lack of Washington baggage, etc.

2. McCain could die of old age and put an “inexperienced” Governor of a state with a small population in charge. If you ask me, She represents one of the most complex states in the union- environment and energy issues abound, international borders on all sides, a state already affected by rising sea levels (displacement of island inuit populations). Alaska’s industries are hugely middle-class type industries. I am saying “wow” to this pick. I think McCain just took the wind out of the sails of the Dem Convention, which I thought was very successful. Palin seems far more experienced than a Lawyer-academician from the Chicago school. Just sayin…

Not to mention that McCain most likely now has a far better shot at winning the Pacific Northwest.

“It may be petty local politics, but is it indicative of how she would behave as VP?”

Unless, of course, they’re false. SHe offered the guy another job, he refused and then turned on her. Again, I’m guessing the party did due dilligence.

“The Democratic convention was all about making sure that Hillary voters stayed with Obama. I think that it was fully successful and few, if any, Hillary voters are going to McCain.”

I’m going to be VERY interested in the polls for the next few days to see if McCain makes serious gains in the female vote. I’m guessing he will. Women vote for women, blacks vote for blacks, and Mormons vote for Mormons. It’s how people generally work.

Dan Ellsworth,

Right. This is going to have be played very carefully by Obama’s campaign. They can really open themselves up if they make the wrong choices. Again, that’s why this pick is both brilliant and fascinating to me.

The only person in politics who I find more impressive than Barack Obama or John McCain is Sarah Palin. Rod Dreher was right- this VP choice is “electrifying.” Romney, Pawlenty, etc. would have been such yawners.

I thought Michael Palin was British. Is this even legal?

That is a good point, neither Palin nor Biden are likely to help in places their respective parties weren’t already poised to win.

MAC,

Biden delivers Delaware on a platter. Or should I call it a saucer? Delaware is a pretty small state.

Biden delivers Pennsylvania. He’s from there. All Palin has done is make Alaska non-competitive. Frankly, McCain can have their 3 delegates. I’m cool with that. :)

I don’t believe that any of the PUMA conventioners are going to vote for McCain, no matter who he chose as VP. Palin’s sex won’t be a factor, because Republicans don’t have a gender or a race.

When black Republicans lose, it’s for all the same reasons anyone loses. When black Democrats lose, it’s because of racism. Bill Clinton got accolades for empowering blacks by appointing them to his cabinet. Bush gets nothing. Shoot, Colin Powell no longer even has an identity unless it’s tied to rumors that he’s going to endorse Obama. Democrats call Clarance Thomas the black lawn jockey for the conservative white establishment. To the extant that the Bush’s critics even acknowledge that Condoleezza Rice is black, they make her the subject of some of the most vile racist imagery in recent memory.

The Republican women fair no better. Feminists oppose non-liberal women more vehemently than they oppose any man. In their mind, gender-traitors are the worst of the conservative lot, and they’re not above denying that they are true women (e.g., Naomi Wolfe’s statement that Jeanne Kirkpatrick has no uterus or Gloria Steinham’s statement that Kay Bailey Hutchinson is a female impersonator). No politically prominent feminist is going to rally to Palin’s support as a woman.

It’s too much to hope that this choice will further alienate politically prominent feminists from mainstream women. Like Jesse Jackson, politically prominent feminists have their extremist constituency, and beyond that they just appear on talk shows to say stuff that shores up their constituency, makes them a lightening rod for the die-hard opposition, and gets a yawn from everyone.

That said, I’m genuinely excited that McCain is going with a woman. If he wins, she will be another important role model to add to the pantheon of self-made, powerful conservative women, sitting alongside the likes of Condoleezza Rice, Elizabeth Dole, Margaret Thatcher, and Sandra Day O’Connor.

#30 Tim J., yeah, that’s what I was thinking.

#49, Dan, good point.

Does anybody remember the plagarism thing with Joe Biden when he was running for president? I’d thought pretty highly of him until then. It’s dishonest.

Maybe all politicians are dishonest. Maybe that’s the definition of politician: dishonest person seeking power and riches.

Steve,

I agree that McCain hasn’t got a lot of opportunity in Washington or Oregon, because the urban voters are so shockingly monolithic is their “thinking.” But I think once you’re outside the compounds of Seattle and Eugene, a rogue Alaskan woman will play very well with NWers. I think it marginally increases McCain’s chances – certainly it will play better up here than Romney or someone from the Minnesota would have done.

Remember what Ogre said about Washington State: “Seattle is run by PC Fascist liberals, and the rest of the state by redneck morons.”

~

This is pretty cool …

Her husband, Todd, is a Native Yup’ik Eskimo…The two eloped shortly after Palin graduated from college; when they learned they needed witnesses for the civil ceremony, they recruited two residents from the old-age home down the street.

Dan (70),

It’s true that the Wright/Rezko/Ayers stuff does not directly implicate Obama in anything, but in the election, perceptions will matter. And yes, that is also the case with the Keating 5 scandal, and McCain acknowledges as much.

by the way, I just talked with a friend of mine here in New York (a strong feminist, supporter of Hillary) and she says no way no how no mccain.

“by the way, I just talked with a friend of mine here in New York (a strong feminist, supporter of Hillary) and she says no way no how no mccain.”

Well by golly why do we even need to go through the formality of an election? Let’s just let your feminist friend decide.

Tim,

Well by golly why do we even need to go through the formality of an election? Let’s just let your feminist friend decide.

Sounds good to me. She’s a very smart woman. :)

“Sounds good to me. She’s a very smart woman.”

Another point we’ll have to disagree on. :)

Are you saying she’s not a smart woman? Dude, she’d whip your butt in any debate.

Interesting choice. I know nothing about her, but she looks like a Relief Society president (in a good way). Nice surprise.

nasamomdele,

How old are you, by the way? No one is trying to take your G.I. Joes here.

Was this really necessary? We were going so well here, now you get personal. This is why I told you to “go away” on my blog.

Dan,

I’m hoping against hope that at some point you’ll see past partisanship and see something decent for what it is. That was hardly personal compared to you continuously insulting Republicans’ intelligence or not saying “go away” on your blog, but “F-off” without the censorship because I argued against you and your personal attacks on me successfully without attacking you personally. Don’t raise a complaint here, buddy.

It is actually a valid statement. Put in more civil, it is simply an out-group bias. Sometimes people simply have nothing good to say about another group because of a percieved threat to their welfare (in this case, the success of a political party- a political party for crying out loud!).

I think Palin is a step forward for American politics just as many women before her have been and just as Obama is. I think it is trite for you to say things like “the issues should only matter!” when on this very post, you are digging feverishly for dirt on the lady’ supposed curroption, all the while being completely unable to laud the success of the woman and women everywhere as well as the Republican candidate for being so dang bold. It all seems rather childish and silly.

Uh Oh, it looks like conservatives are most displeased with this choice.

On Washington Post:

Though it was high in shock value, the Palin pick left bruised feelings among the short-list contenders who were not picked — and infuriated some Republican officials who privately said McCain had gone out on a limb, unnecessarily, without laying the groundwork for such an unknown. Two senior Republican officials close to Mitt Romney and Tim
Pawlenty said they had both been rudely strung along and now “feel manipulated.”

Poor saps.

K-Lo from National Review:

“She Just Is Not Ready to Be Commander-in-Chief” [said] Pat Buchanan on MSNBC just now, about Sarah Palin. I’m liable to agree.

A reader writes to K-Lo:

As much as I loathe Obama-Biden, I can’t in good conscience vote for a McCain-Palin ticket. Palin has absolutely no experience in foreign affairs. Considering both McCain’s advanced age and the state of the world today, it is essential that the veep be exceedingly qualified to assume the office of president. I simply don’t have any confidence in Palin’s ability to deal effectively with Iran, Russia, China, etc. I certainly will not cast a vote for Obama-Biden, but nor will I vote for McCain-Palin. Looks like I’ll either sit this one out or vote for Bob Barr. Why, o, why, didn’t McCain listen to Rove and just pick Romney?

Ramesh Ponnuru:

Tokenism. Can anyone say with a straight face that Palin would have gotten picked if she were a man?

Indeed.

Joe Scarborough:

It Sounds Like a Harriet Miers Decision. Let’s Find a Woman, Whether She’s Experienced or Not.

Harriet Miers is a sore scab with conservatives. That they bring her up when talking about Palin must surely say something.

Andrew Sullivan:

Could this be McCain’s Miers moment? Some readers think so: the point at which people suddenly realize that McCain is actually less interested in governing than in politics. And willing to let personal liking and respect for utterly unqualified people trump the sober responsibilities of running a country at war, a climate in flux, an economy in trouble, and an empire close to imploding.

One more thing: this was a bit of a F-U pick, a personal, totally idiosyncratic, gut-level, aggressive piece of opportunism. Yes he can! And yes, it does underline his maverick, out-of-the-box brand. It makes me like his empathy for gutsy young women, even former beauty queens (is there footage of her contest out there?). But it also makes me less comfortable with the idea of him as commander in chief. It seems a less steady choice than Biden.

Like I said earlier, McCain scored today with everyone talking about her. But in the end, like most Hail Marys, it just won’t work.

nasamomdele,

Fine, let’s get nasty then.

On my point, I am quite right. Ms. Dole and Ms. O’Connor could not have gotten where they did without the suffering of women pressing for their equal rights. You are most wrong to question me on that, you fool. This isn’t about party politics. It is about correctly identifying what allowed women like Ms. Palin to be selected to the position she is. You cannot accept that feminists brought this to pass, nasamomdele, because to do so would mean that Democrats were right, and it is YOU sir who can’t get out of your “out-group bias.”

Now, I would ask that you respectfully disagree with me in the future, or we can continue down the nastier side like in the past. But I won’t hold my breath.

Democrat Dan- did you just endorse a one party system?:

“I honestly want the Republicans to give up, go home, and be done with it, if you ask me what I really want. “

Jordan,

#103,

No. I want the Republican party to give up and go home. Let all other parties be involved. ;)

“Alaska has a total population of about 600K. Just sayin’.”

What’s the population of Illinois? Oh wait, it doesn’t matter since Obama doesn’t run the state. He votes. And not even that.

“Corrupt Ted Stevens endorses Palin…just sayin’…same ol’ same ol’”

That surprises you? And Palin opposed Stevens and killed his “Bridge to Nowhere”. Keep trying.

Most of the people you quoted earlier were Romney supporters, of course their upset. But I doubt they’ll lose votes. Palin certainly gains votes.

nasamomdele,

hey if you think she was chosen for her “ability” then more power to you, but you would be blind to reality if that’s why you think McCain chose her.

OK, Dan.

If you were McCain, who would your choice have been? Keep in mind, you have to fairly adjudicate all reasons why people pick Veeps…

queuno,

I would have gone with Romney, personally. If I were a Republican and I wanted to run the government well, that’s who I would have chosen. I would have taken the cons of that choice along with the pros (the cons being all the things Romney said against McCain in the primaries). He is one who, as a Republican, I would trust to run the country were McCain to be incapacitated.

Let me ask you, how do you really feel about Ms. Palin running the country were McCain to be incapacitated? Do you feel safe?

danithew,

While I tend to agree, I think it says a lot more about Hillary that she “lost” in the primaries.

I don’t think the country is any more ready for a Mormon veep than a Mormon president, so I can’t imagine why anyone would have seriously considered McCain.

And Dan, I’ll take Palin over Obama. I’ll take my inexperience one heartbeat away than inexperience sitting in the high chair.

Sorry queuno, I forgot one u.

Aluwid – I don’t think any American voter has any false ideas about how wealthy the average candidate is. But we still have the problem of how many people won’t vote for a Mormon.

(I’d like to reiterate #122, but in my own less articulate, more socal style.)

DKL, I’m a huge fan, but you are smoking crack on this whole feminism-didn’t-contribute thing. Seriously.

nasamomdele,

Both you and DKL don’t get it. you state:

I don’t read DKL like you are, del. I don’t thik he’s discounting feminism as much as he’s discounting the idea that feminism is the reason for women’s acheivement in society, and even moreso that the Democratic Party has a monopoly on the movement.

Feminism opened the door for women to pursue the various dreams women could not pursue before feminism came along. It’s not the reason women achieved their success. It is the door that opened their way to opportunity.

Oh and Ted Stevens supports Palin. She even had him do an ad for her, which she recently scrubbed from her website. However, through the wonders of Youtube, here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nTX-oJUCaU

delaware rejoices: Assuming that she went through the standard three-year program, that would mean that she was admitted less than a decade after HLS first started accepting applications from women (1953).

Second wave feminism dates to the early 1960s. Feminism as we know it had nothing to do with major universities becoming co-educational following WWII.

DKL,

Feminism as we know it had nothing to do with major universities becoming co-educational following WWII.

So you wouldn’t call the women who fought for Suffrage feminists?

Dan: So you wouldn’t call the women who fought for Suffrage feminists?

That’s what’s called “First wave feminism.” I said, “Second wave feminism dates to the early 1960s.” The current notion of feminism is defined in terms of second wave feminism. Nobody who decries feminism is talking about first wave feminism (or pre-first wave feminists like Mary Wollstonecraft). Second wave feminism had nothing to do with the push to make colleges coeducational after WWII, because it didn’t exist yet.

On the one hand, it’s bizarre that you’re willing to take such a strong stand about something that you know so little about. On the other hand, it’s pretty much the way you operate in general.

I’ll tell you what: Why don’t you go learn something about feminism and then come back and we can talk about the role it had in enabling women.

Someone give me a ring when the “D & D” show is over. Kay?

Someone give me a ring when the “D & D” show is over. Kay?

“ring” and “D&D” in the same sentence—I had to read that one a few times to get the meaning right.

Looks like the scandal is going to stick. Politicians ought to know already that the cover up is worse than the original crime. And this is what you get from a candidate who was not properly vetted. Enjoy the fallout Republicans. Remember, Americans want a change FROM THE CORRUPTION of the Bush administration. Now you ask them to put in power a man who voted 90% of the time with that corrupt administration and a VP who follows lock-step with the same tactics as governor.

So I hope you guys enjoyed your one day in the sun, because you’re about to be hit by a hurricane.

McCain’s people admitting he’s only met Palin once is a little bizarre. It makes it seem like her being picked means nothing more than trying to steal a few former Clinton voters.

Republicans don’t like a taste of their own medicine. Get used to it, nasamomdele.

I really don’t think a comment about out-group bias analogized using Cobra Commando is nasty. And you ought to put in your next comment exactly where Tim complimented you and what you’ve said since then.

It’s not simply a matter of politics, as I always tell you. You cannot respect anything Republican, and it is mostly annoying and childish- thus the G.I. Joes comment. If you said something that merited otherwise, I would have chosen a more mature analogy.

I think today is just one more huge step forward for America when a Republican picked a woman for VP. I think all Americans should be proud, not only of today’s events, but of a historic Presidential race with all kinds of glass ceilings being obliterated and equality of opportunity abounding. This is what America is all about.

And the character of people shows through in their reactions to such steps forward for our society. Obama congratulated Palin today, just as McCain congratulated Obama during the convention. Some people choose to show honor and respect, even today.

But you choose to google for dirt. On Mrs. PTA herself.

Dan, you’re not helping.

“The fact she says she hasn’t really thought about the Iraq war since 2007 is a bit troubling.”

I think there is another context issue here. She did, as head of the Alaskan National Guard, visit her troops in Kuwait over a year ago, yet it’s not talked about since it wasn’t a political move.

She also has a son going to Iraq so I doubt she hasn’t given it much thought, not that a Governot in Alaska would (nor should) be as concerned with such things. Again, she wasn’t pining for the VP job so I doubt these issues were at the forefront of her mind.

after watching more hours of coverage thatn I should have yesterday, methinks the Dems are scared shirtless about Palin. hence the vicious attacks – so vicious that the candidate himself had to back off of them.

what scares them most is that Palin is a self-made woman who, unlike Hillary Clinton, is not famous because of her husband. I agree that Hillary is a stellar individual with an amazing command of policy (and not a bad speaker to boot), but I think it’s highly unlikely she would be a NY senator today if she hadn’t been 1st lady.

McCain has set a dual trap for the Dems. First, if they attack Palin too harshly, they will evoke the unrest of some independent voters (not all of them women, btw – see Devyn S. for example) who supported Hillary. Second, if they hammer too much on her inexperience, they will inevitably draw the experience question back to their own candidate (which is more difficult for McCain to do explictly at this point).

That said, the main point of picking Palin is not to siphon off Hillary supporters. (the we-will-not-be-manipulated chorus of hardline Democratic women completely misses the point.) Rather, it is much, much more about awakening the slumbering Republican base, which is generally unenthusiastic about McCain given his history of nonpartisan wanderings. She energizes them more than Pawlenty, Huckabee, or any other GOP “true believer” could have.

#129 True enough DKL, but your original comment did not distinguish between 1st/2nd-wave feminism (nor was it obvious from context). So I guess that we agree that feminism can be at least partially credited for the opening of opportunities for successful Republican women.

That said, I completely concur that the modern feminist movement is maddeningly reluctant to celebrate accomplished women who do not share their agenda. Condoleeza Rice is but one contemporary example. Sarah Palin may be the next…perhaps she already is.

seems to me that we could go on for paragraphs and paragraphs about this, but it boils down to the fact that you were talking about second-wave feminism, which was not immediately obvious. vitriol? I think not.

anyway, I think we agree that so-called “second-wave” feminism of the 1960s cannot take credit for progress in women’s rights made in the 1950s (including the opening of professional schools).

and, from your last comment, we agree that it is uncontroversial that so-called “first-wave” feminism can be at least somewhat credited with such progress. which is of course not to say that Wollstonecraft herself was banging down the doors of postwar Harvard, any more than that she personally led the U.S. suffrage movement.

sister blah 2: those qualifiers (e.g., “politically prominent”) were absent in many of your earlier comments in this thread.

Actually, I’ve been more careful using those qualifiers than you’ve been describing my comments. I bring up feminism in comment #73. In the first mention, I leave off the qualifier, but I use the term “feminism” two more times in that same paragraph with the qualifier.

sister blah 2: Even with qualifiers, it still seems rather disingenuous to go around on the one hand conceding that feminism being helpful is “utterly uncontroversial,” and on the other hand saying it is unhelpful — and when called on it hiding behind a definition of feminism that is, as far as I can tell “those feminists who aren’t helpful.”

You’re equivocating on the word “feminism.” It meant something different in the first wave than in the second wave. The first wave of feminism was as different from the second wave as 19th century slave emancipation was from the civil rights battles of the 20th century — many who opposed slavery were still racists by today’s standards, including Abraham Lincoln. I conclude that it’s not quite fair to speak of feminism in the context of Democratic liberal politics and pretend to be also discussing first wave feminism.

I’ll be specific: It’s my contention that 2nd wave feminism, insofar as it had to do with sexual equality, was a lagging indicator of the state of society (even the ERA was passed by more than half of state legislatures, ultimately suffering a similar fate to the Child Labor Amendment, the 1920s-era amendment that would have constitutionally prohibited child labor). Moreover, the “women’s political issues” advocated by that agenda were nothing more than a warmed-over list of liberal policies that have never enjoyed disproportionately strong support from women (especially married women).

sister blah 2: Get over your distaste for Steinem!

I take her to be typical of politically prominent feminists. Your conclusion that I have some kind of fixation on her is just strange.

It is even worse on Biden.

Remember the talk about him as the poor kid from Scranton?

Only thing is his dad was the executive of a company, sales manager of an auto dealership, co-owner of an airport, etc.

And, Biden himself attended an elite private school for high school.

Seems the poor upbringing stuff was another story by Biden to mislead folks. Surprise.

You can review the story here.

Now this is getting sweet. From TimesOnline:

“We may be seeing the first woman president. As a Democrat, I am reeling,” said Camille Paglia, the cultural critic. “That was the best political speech I have ever seen delivered by an American woman politician. Palin is as tough as nails.”

Just rereading this, now after the election. I note how correct my analysis was… ;)

You know nobody likes you, right Dan?

Not really, I just don’t like Dan.

that’s ridiculous.