— The Who
All the people who have been lavishly singing the praises of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin since her speech at the Republican National Convention Wednesday night — and there have been a lot of them, even some ... ahem ... in my house — opened my eyes to two new realities that mark America in the year 2008.
One: The people of this country, who are so fed up with politicians who lie, cheat, abuse their power, dishonor their positions of trust and place their own selfish welfare above that of the people they were elected to represent, are desperate to find someone — anyone — they can vote for without feeling the need to take a bath after leaving the voting booth.
And, two: I understand a little better how some charismatic nutjob like Jim Jones can talk dozens of seemingly normal people into drinking his poisoned Kool-Aid.
“Wow, this Palin is the real deal!” one person enthused after the Alaskan governor finished charming the socks off everyone in earshot. “I was undecided, leaning toward Obama, until I saw her speech. Now, I’m voting Republican.”
Which is fine. Trust me, I am at a point in this whole sordid mess where I don’t really care if McCain or Obama or Bob Barr or Ron Paul or Spongebob Squarepants is elected president. Both McCain and Obama have moved so far away from the things that got them nominated, they might as well be the same person at this point.
But I’m just amazed that so many people admit to being swayed by a speech that was (a) written for the person making it and (b) little more than platitudes and talking points geared toward bringing a reluctant constituency in line.
The fact that it was a semi-cute, pistol-packing mama delivering the goods ... well, all the better. Welcome to politics in post-George Bush America, a country so disillusioned by the incompetence of its chosen leader, it looks on the fact that one of the four people in the final showdown has darker skin pigmentation and another is missing a y chromosome as signs that the almighty buzz word CHANGE(!) is on its way.
Oh, and just in case those of you among the smitten had somehow forgotten, Sarah Palin is not running for president. John McCain is ... you know, the guy who wants to hold the office so badly he’s come out against legislation that HE sponsored just to please a few of his party’s nonbelievers.
A man so intent upon convincing the so-called “Christian right” — make that disgruntled Christian right — that his heart is in the right place, he actually started back going to church recently to show he’s no longer among the backslidden.
Not that the Democrats are offering up a much better choice. Obama came riding into town a breath of fresh air, promising to change business as usual in our nation’s capital. Since, he’s all but abandoned his early promises to be a “green president” and to end the tax breaks and loopholes for the super-rich, evidently because being eco-green and angering the money men cuts into his never-ending supply of cash-money green.
Palin comes with personal baggage ... and let me say right here I have no intention of even bringing up her family’s well-documented personal issues. But I would feel a little better about all “the media should not intrude on her family” pre-emptive whining if she hadn’t paraded the subject of the media’s scrutiny out in front of a 40 million-person audience to win sympathy spin points.
It’ll be interesting to see how what will no doubt be a brutal campaign will weigh on Palin ... or, for that matter, on Obama, McCain and Obama’s running mate, Joe Biden. I predict one of the four’s going to pitch a major, tide-turning hissy fit before it’s over.
Suggestion to Ms. Palin: Avoid the debates, keep your family locked away and just keep reading those speeches. America, it seems, is ready to fit you for a nice crown and tiara. Me, I’ll catch my dog-and-pony shows at the circus.
E-mail Carlton Fletcher at carlton.fletcher@albanyherald.com.
