The Bad Sarah

Bonnie Fuller has a piece in the Huffington Post about Sarah Palin that I wish I'd written. That woman is scary (Palin, not Fuller....well, actually, Fuller is a little scary, too, but for reasons related to women's fashion magazines, not international politics).

I think my least-favorite story about Palin is how, while she was mayor, Wasilla billed rape victims and their health insurance companies for the cost of the rape kit used to gather evidence. And no, they didn't change burglary victims and their homeowner's insurance companies for fingerprint kits used to investigate those crimes.

My theory about her nomination is that McCain believes that he can attract the independent and undecided votes himself (remember...he's a maverick!...not in Bush W.'s pocket at all! No sir!!), but needs someone to turn out the socially ultra-conservative voters in large numbers. By picking inexperienced Palin, he gets that running mate with far-right credentials, but without a lot of political capital she could use to challenge him. So he can run a more middle-of-the-road Republican administration without a powerful Cheney-type VP meddling in his policies.

No idea whether he's correct, but boy do I hope he's miscalculated. Having Palin one fluttering heartbeat away from the presidency is more terrifying than another four years of Bush Jr. Although you could argue that by voting for McCain, we can get both!

 

Same old same old

So how many times today have you heard some variation of "Holy crap, what if we'd/they'd nominated him? McCain would have the election on a platter!"?

For some reason, I find that I am shocked by this whole thing, despite myself. I thought I was cynical enough that this would be just another idiot politician acting like a complete moron...business as usual. But no, I'm actually feeling a certain degree of betrayal. Not on the level of Elizabeth Edwards, obviously. But I had supported this guy and thought he'd make a good president. Yeah, not so much anymore.

I even feel a little betrayed by Elizabeth, actually, if she really knew about this back in 2006 and that's not just spin. Did she really hit the campaign trail with him, knowing about this huge skeleton in his closet? It pains me to criticize her, obviously. But what was she thinking?!

So John and Elizabeth Edwards campaigned knowing what happened to Gary Hart, to Bill Clinton, to so many idiots before him. He would presumably have accepted the nomination if he'd won it, all with this mess lurking just below the surface to blow the Democrats out of the water completely. How arrogant and stupid must the Edwards have been to think that this wouldn't come to light?

So now what? For Edwards, he becomes an minor footnote in history, one of a growing list. For the rest of us? I guess we all have just that much more reason for cynicism.

My, I'm cheery today, aren't I? Next time, something more fun.