I think it's often difficult to remember that the *majority* of voters are people who struggle to make ends meet, who have turned to church and the bible, if they weren't already members and readers, for comfort and reassurance in times of economic and foreign upheaval, who watch tv news and read local papers, and who *believe* what they're told, both from the newsdesk and the pulpit. Whose teenaged kids are eligible for the front lines in Afghanistan and Iraq, those kids having gone through middle and high school with no public sex education, and the parents are often reluctant to broach the subject themselves. As a parent, I know how very tempting it is to avoid those talks. So if the kids aren't getting adequate info in class, they're likely not getting it at all. Which of course results in teen pregnancies before marriage.
McCain is a war hero, a father figure who has survived *four bouts of cancer*, so God must really want him here on earth for a reason. And Palin is just a mom like us, who has kids who are in the military, fighting for God and country, a baby with Down's, which surely transforms her into something approaching sainthood, and a daughter who's pregnant. She really is just like us.
This is the McCain/Palin ticket *most* voters are going to see. It's the ticket that's being promoted, and will be promoted. Let the Democrats have their education and privilege, they think they're so smart. They're *not.like.us*.
Dubya won because he was folksy and approachable and non-threatening, even charmingly bumbling, like "us". Voters--heartland and Bible Belt voters--don't like candidates who are "not like us."
Please, God, no Fred Thompson dropping to his knees and bellowing "Sarahhhh!" during his address tonight.
Dude, I would pay ONE MEEEEEEELLION DOLLARS to see that.
The McCain people are disputing that Palin was ever a member of
the Alaskan Independence Party. But others are still insisting it's true.
Secessionist Palin Story: McCain Camp Pushes Back
My fave is this statement:
And AIP's Lynette Clark still insists that the governor was a member. "This is like a cat covering up crap in its litter box," she said.
no Fred Thompson dropping to his knees and bellowing "Sarahhhh!" during his address tonight.
I'd give good bandwidth to watch that on YouTube. And just imagine the remix possibilities.
It's now looking somewhat brilliant. McCain picks a woman who could appear on Maury if she wasn't a governor, and he can say "How sexist and anti-family of you to challenge this woman who's just trying to look after her children."
The thing I don't understand is when the Democrats got all of this "intellectual" and "not like us" reputation, as I was raised as the Democrats being the party of the people and (really important to my working class family) PRO- UNION! So it was frankly a shock for me to realize that democrats are not the Party of the Working Class, as was taught to me by my family.
Kennedy was obviously smart, so that's suspicious, and then all these university professors and student types come down on the Democratic side with all that civil rights stuff. Then people like Al Gore throw all those numbers around and use big science words and acting like they're smarter than "us".
Edit: I've noticed for quite a while that people are more impressed of success through connivery--ie, street smarts--and dumb luck then through the application of smarts.
Oh- and I realize that I was just as bad thinking that Democrats were uniformly "good" because my family said so, but I was young! I still get this little twinge of surprise, especially as my uncle still goes on and on and on about how if I work unpaid overtime I am screwing up life for all union members, working people, and Democrats!
The best description I've seen yet for the whole Palin thing is "a Tennessee Williams play has broken out at the RNC."
OMG. I love this.
Fred Thompson dropping to his knees and bellowing "Sarahhhh!" during his address tonight.
BWAH!
I'd give good bandwidth to watch that on YouTube.
Me too.
And just imagine the remix possibilities.
Best thing I've heard today.
