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    Sex(ism) and politics: Is McCain the worst offender?

    By Erin Flaherty, Shine staff | Love + Sex – Sun, Sep 14, 2008 9:28 PM EDT

    Brad Barket/Getty ImagesBrad Barket/Getty Images
    It was inevitable that Tina Fey would return to "Saturday Night Live" to play Sarah Palin. Not only are they spot on look-alikes (right down to the "sexy librarian" glasses), but Fey nailed that far north accent and carefully coached timing with her signature comedic precision. (To be fair, Gina Gershon does a pretty mean impression, too.) Placing her on a platform with Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton was genius, especially since, much to Clinton supporters' chagrin (and surely much to Hil's own), Palin keeps aligning herself with Clinton, even if their politics couldn't be more different. In fact, Palin's beliefs are pretty much the antithesis of Clinton's, and yet, when Palin talks about her (at her last speech, the crowd booed, so she is pulling back on that presentation), surely the speech writers in her camp have encouraged her to do so because part of her role in the campaign is to stealthily attract those millions that staunchly supported Hillary. And that makes me wonder if McCain isn't the ultimate sexist. Let me explain.

    This weekend's SNL sketch centered on sexism and its role in this highly charged political race. Remember Rush Limbaugh's infamous comment about Clinton aging before our very eyes (conveniently ignoring the fact that McCain is considerably older than she is)? Ah, memories. Now that all eyes are on Palin, it's her turn to be attacked by the evils of gender inequality. In fact, some journalists have even been accused of being sexist by attacking her politics in tough interviews. I'm sorry, but how is asking a candidate we know very little about the hard questions considered sexist?

    Let's review: While we're still relatively in the dark about who this person is politically speaking, we do know that she's a working mother (we can relate!), former mayor of the crystal meth capital of Alaska, currently embroiled in a lawsuit concerning misconduct, went to five colleges to get one degree and that her daughter is suffering the consequences of abstinence only sex education and pregnant at 17 (just like Jamie Lynn Spears! Again, we can relate!). Oh and she can see Russia from Alaska which makes her a foreign policy expert, thinks environmental issues are hogwash and she's a former beauty pageant contestant, (and the latter tells me that she thinks objectifying women is dandy). Palin is sexist! But seriously folks, how did she come to land so close to the White House again?

    We've all witnessed McCain's history of making lewd remarks about women (he's attacked Chelsea Clinton for being "ugly," possibly called his wife a trollop and the c-word and definitely offered her up to participate in a topless beauty contest among other gems), but in choosing Sarah Palin, McCain proves himself to be more sexist than Rush Limbaugh and Hugh Hefner combined. It was a reckless choice, no doubt, which makes me fear how he'll behave when the phone rings at 3 a.m., and I have to agree with this New York Times editorial that reasons: "If he seriously thought this first-term governor - with less than two years in office - was qualified to be president, if necessary, at such a dangerous time, it raises profound questions about his judgment. If the choice was, as we suspect, a tactical move, then it was shockingly irresponsible." Although I'm sure he had little to do with the decision, after all, it reeks of campaign strategy and he had never met her before, at the end of the day, he has embraced her. Why? Because his strategists think that disenfranchised Hillary supporters and hockey moms everywhere are stupid enough to vote for them because after all, she's a woman. No matter that Palin doesn't support choice for rape and incest victims, has questionable parenting skills and family values, favors book censorship and doesn't seem interested in green issues that will make the world a better place for our children and generations to come. She made a big deal out of sending her son to Iraq, and offered this noble message of hope to the troops: that they would be fighting "the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans." Um, excuse me, Guvna? As most schoolchildren know, Saddam Hussein and Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. Like the Bush Doctrine, Palin seems to have no knowledge of terrorists and what the war she is sending her own son to is about. Un-freakin-believable!

    McCain spent a lot of time slamming Obama for lack of experience, but in choosing a first term governor who is not versed on the current policies of her own party, he undermined his own argument. While she claims that voters don't want candidates with "big, fat resumes" as she told Charlie Gibson- who seemed exasperated by her level of incompetence during the interview- when exactly did the American public start preferring to elect candidates that they can relate to instead of those that possess leadership capabilities? Oh now I remember, it was when Bush presented himself to us as "just another good ol' boy." And by pointing fingers at more intelligent, profound leaders and calling them "elitist," that's exactly how we got into all this war, tattered economy, country in crisis trouble in the first place.

    After "getting to know her" a little better last week, there is no doubt in my mind that Governor Palin is fit to win a Miss Congeniality contest. People are clearly fascinated by her. But knowing that this ill-equipped Manchurian candidate is potentially a heartbeat away from being President of the United States of America, and part of that has to do with the inherently sexist idea that women will vote for another woman because she's "just like us!" makes my skin crawl. Maybe I'm missing the point. Perhaps Palin was simply brought in to capture the powerful evangelical Christian vote. Maybe it's a bit of both. But if they wanted to go after the deeply religious, couldn't they have found a pious candidate who is more prepared for the vice presidency? And with a 72-year-old presidential candidate, make no mistake that there is a very distinct possibility that if the McCain ticket makes it to the White House Palin could likely find herself in the Oval Office. (Insert creepy, maniacal laughter here.)

    Ummmm, on a lighter note, here's that clip from SNL. It's hilarious. [Ed's note: Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, and we welcome commentary from all sides. For more Palin coverage see: "The Hotness Conundrum," "Why we're perplexed by Sarah Palin," "Get her to the church on time" and "Will she help him win?"]

     

    92 comments

    • Angelica
      Angelica  •  3 years 7 months ago
      MacSun how about you actully reserch about McCain,Palin,Obama, and Joe......and Palin isnt fit to be VP...but w/e its ur choice....but i would like to point one thing that really gets me fired up....its the fact that Palin is soo PRO-LIFE and doesnt want any abortions made cause its a life.....but she could kill a defensless animal for the heck of it....a baby and an animal are the same...they both LIVE,,,,they both FEEL PAIN.....so why should abortion be so bad if she kills animals just to stick them on the wall's....oo yea its cause they are so pretty she wants to look at them when ever she can.....heck you dont see me shooting people i think are pretty to stick them in my room
    • JoKTM
      JoKTM  •  3 years 8 months ago
      Hopefuly the interview with Palin will open up peoples eyes about the vice presidential canidate.I doubt it though because people will see her as being bullied.If you are a running mate you should be able to answer the hard questions.McCain put the spot light on his running mate were as Obama kept it on himself.McCain supporters should blame him for her being asked hard questions.
    • Isis
      Isis  •  3 years 8 months ago
      dziggy, I love your comment! I'm sorry Erin but I love Hef and I don't think he's sexist he's just incredibily smart!!! McCain is no more sexist than you are! The thing that gets me is the liberals are always the ones who say "women can have it all, and do it all", and now they've flip flopped themselves by now saying she basically should be barefoot, pregnant and at home with the kids!!! LOL
    • Snow
      Snow  •  3 years 8 months ago
      This article proves that "women" and feminists are completely scared of both McCain and Palin! Good. It's about time stupid liberal females get a dose of reality.
    • luiesmom
      luiesmom  •  3 years 8 months ago
      Mac
    • Angela
      Angela  •  3 years 8 months ago
      Between Mac, adamskkr, and Sue S., it's pretty obvious that most conservatives don't even care about FACTS. They're too lazy and too stupid to bother learning anything about the republican candidates, and they just make things up about the democrats. This is why teachers look out across a classroom, shake their heads and say, "UNBELIEVABLE."
    • WilliamM
      WilliamM  •  3 years 8 months ago
      Rational people will not "slam" you for an opinion---even if one thinks it's wrong or ill-founded. That's reserved for those who bray things which they insist are not opinions but "truth", or "facts", laced with bitterness and vitriol, fallacious assertions and allegations which they cannot or will not back up. Though of course one may try to argue you OUT of an opinion. :)

      There's an old Latin saying: De gustibus non disputandum est, "There is no disputing tastes", because tastes are personal choices, not objective fact...
    • GiTa
      GiTa  •  3 years 8 months ago
      i hope americans would just stop being self-centered and remind themselves that they are an important force in this world - even more so after the Wall Street meltdown - markets worldwide crashed - so their leader, that is the US President, determine the fate of others outside US - imagine, you could just go and bomb us anytime you want - you, the taxpayers, can't really do anything about it. Palin's speech scares me because she derided concern for the environment. Please note the irony that the Republican convention was rescheduled because of a hurricane, and we're getting more of those hurricanes because global warming trends has warmed the surface of the ocean - and important chain the creation of hurricanes. if mcCain's elected, somebody will have to drill these things to Palin, in case she became the commander-in-chief. Right now, she is a little more than an ignorant public officer - that sounds too irresponsible to select her as a US president.
    • Quixotic Cowboy
      Quixotic Cowboy  •  3 years 8 months ago
      Your basic premiss is equivalent to asking, "By selecting an arguably underqualified candidate, are Democrats racist?" Neither is the case, get real. Palin and Obama are pretty equally qualified for the offices they seek.
    • MyTake
      MyTake  •  3 years 8 months ago
      Obama has a lot more on the ball when it comes to experience than Sarah Palin does. My biggest concern about Sarah Palin aside from her lack of knowledge on domestic and foreign policy is that she has no diplomatic skills. Barack Obama does. Her ineptness on most of the major topics was exposed by Charles Gibson and there will be more to come. With regard to the news media, I hope they question Sarah Palin's qualifications and all of her political stances. In this day and age, ANYONE who is running for office is fair game when it comes to their qualifications, background and where they stand on the issues. Only a fool would think otherwise. The American people deserve to know what that person stands for - especially in a critical time like this one.
    • farra
      farra  •  3 years 8 months ago
      She is not going anywhere and did nothing to fight for the position that she will never see... so who care I guess McCain is a right thinking women will vote for him just because of her... If I were going for President I would have Bruce Wilis as vp...
    • Larry Vipond
      Larry Vipond  •  3 years 8 months ago
      He certaily is! He's also dishonest.
    • cindy
      cindy  •  3 years 8 months ago
      Hey, Erin. Just keep writing this liberal made-up crap. It just makes people realize how ridiculous, absurd and bias writers like yourself can be. Writing a story like this takes a little integrity. Maybe you should try another profession, like manicurist,, child care, restaurant host etc. Something that doesn't require cajones.
    • NIGHTMARE
      NIGHTMARE  •  3 years 8 months ago
      More worthless drivel from the left as usual.
      Whats the matter dems, afraid a strong woman from the right will wind up in the White House instead of that nazi tramp hillary?
      Please wake up you morons and keep obama bin biden out
    • A Yahoo! User  •  3 years 8 months ago
      Sorry, but I can't take stock in someone whose political opinions are based on Saturday Night Live....
    • roy
      roy  •  3 years 8 months ago
      When I think about how the world has changed over the last 20 years I know it is because of people writing things like this. Why do people feel they have the right to belittle people they have never met. You have no idea how anyone other that yourself sees Governor Palin. I had my doubts at first when Senator McCain chose her but as I have been reading and watched interviews I have come to see why. We need people like her in the white house. Where have you been the last two presidents. The same old policies and the same results. It is time to change things up and look for real people, like us to speak for us, work for us, and help us. We should be reaching out and learing more of the truth instead of reading things where people make judgement and speak nothing good of her. I believe working mothers are the strongest people in the world. I respect her that her family isn't perfect. That is one of the things I liked the most. She isn't someone who hides who she is. She accepts that things happen and she faces the problem. In my eyes she will make a wonderful Vice President and possible President.
    • Darth Hydra
      Darth Hydra  •  3 years 8 months ago
      Hell yes. If you have a Brain in your head, it shouldnt have taken you 2seconds even to figure out why he did what he did. I dont care if she has 12 kids. She is on the ticket to win over Hillary Supporters. And if they are that dumb, then so be it, but I hope to God Almighty that they see straight through this scam. Hillary is a Liberal Democrat. If you support her you support Barack Obama. Not Sarah Palin. Sorry But Whether you have a penis or vagina is not the question at hand here. Its that fact that our economy sucks and its Bushs stupid fault, he put us in ecomonic debt, and killed 4,000 of our fellow citizens regardless of there right to serve or not. That is not Pro-life, Pro-life means saving and being conservative when it comes to peoples lives no matter if they are already here or just being conceived. As a Roman Catholic myself, I think Palin is a little out of wack when she said this war is a deed of God. Bull$*%#.
    • lindsay
      lindsay  •  3 years 8 months ago
      dziggy.rm you are horribly mistaken. Liberal Democrat women do not think she should be Vice President because she is a woman. It is because she is woefully unprepared to be a heartbeat away from being the President of the United States of America. From being the most powerful leader in the free world. It is sad that Republican's will continually ignore all of the things that are said and stick on that fact. If Sarah Palin had been running for President in the primaries, she would have lost in a landslide- and now, when it became clear that McCain needed help she's suddenly perfect. I will not support her not because she is a woman with young children, but because she is the worst person for this hugely important job. Any woman who votes for her because she is a woman and does not look at the issues is doing the United States and the world a disservice.
    • Dark Heart
      Dark Heart  •  3 years 8 months ago
      Sara Palin is hot. I think everyone would be much happier if she would leave politics, and go into the porn industry. Come on, I know you'd drop a fifty to see her naked on film.
    • night owl
      night owl  •  3 years 8 months ago
      I DON'T THINK McCAIN IS SEXIST, I JUST THINK HE IS UGLY AND STUPID!
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