Who really has “It” and what is “It” exactly? “It” is something undefineable that makes you pay attention, look up and listen, watch and behave:
Bush has “It”. So likeable even if I don’t agree with him.
Arnold (California’s Governator) has a super dose of “It”.
Clinton had “It”, still does really. Just ask my middle aged female friends.
Obama has “It” too. He is like a favorite son who makes a mother beam with pride.
Cheney doesn’t have “It”. (Unless you happen to like Darth Vader)
McCain lost “It”. (Even if he got “It” he would have told all his friends)
Barney Frank (the Ernest Borgnine of Congress) really doesn’t have “It”.
And sad to say Hillary doesn’t have “It” either. (Sorry, honey)
The charming, gracious, attractive, and capable Republican “It Girl”, Sarah Palin has “It”. This persistent, almost unfair questioning of Palin is way more than she expected. I laughed when I heard about her nomination saying, “She doesn’t have a clue about what’s coming.” The press has been relentless in their pursuit of dirt on her and I don’t think it’s going to stop anytime soon. Even after the election – win or lose – she will be hounded like a starlet with no underpants. It’s just too juicy to ignore!
I have to admit that even this liberal heart begins to feel a little bit sorry for her as I recall my own feelings of inadequacy in extemporaneous speech as a high school junior. My fellows (boys I dated) went on to become lawyers and such. But I am reminded that she is running for VP and should have a better grasp.
She jokes about being “Joe Six Pack” and how now everyone should know that even they too could be vice president or even president! EXCUSE ME!!! I don’t want Joe Six Pack in a position of that much power. I want someone greater than the common man. I want John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, or Abraham Lincoln. While we’re at it, I don’t want Joe Six Pack as a doctor performing surgery, a lawyer defending me in a court of law, or an engineer designing a high rise building in NYC.
Don’t get me wrong. I love Joe Six pack. I would buy him a drink, teach his children, shake his hand and look him in the eye with respect. I appreciate Joe Six Pack as my mechanic, tree trimmer, oil rig worker, electrician, or plumber. But if he’s going to draw a knife on me, send me to war, or decide if I go to prison or not, I want something more. Someone more capable than myself. Someone better than me.
I don’t want Sarah Palin. But she is cute and I would date her.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Dannis 10.03.08 at 4:30 pm
I agree in general, but I don’t really have any sympathy for her. Since McCain picked her (apparently at random) without any vetting whatsoever, it is the duty of the press to find out who she is and what she believes. I hardly consider questions such as “What newspapers do you read?” or questions about Supreme Court decisions to be Gotchas. For someone who wants to be vice president, she’s woefully lacking in common knowledge. She did better in the debate last night than I thought she would, (very low expectations there!) but it was more a matter of parroting back what she was taught in her days of preparation in Sedona. She’s a good little sock puppet, but that’s about it. Her idea that the vice president needs more power is pure Cheney. God, what a miserable role model!
ELleryCelery 10.04.08 at 5:49 pm
Americans seem to want telegenic leaders with charisma, who can also kick ass and take names. We’ve given up the political machinery that used to groom – yet hobble – politicians, moving them from Dog-catcher to Mayor to President.
We don’t seem to care for smart leaders; we figure the “kitchen cabinet” of inspired, effective executives and advisers will really “run” the country. Each age gets a President the people or the power structure want. Washington was tall and won the Revolutionary War; Lincoln was the voice of the new-powerful Midwestern Republicans, but called an ugly baboon. Truman was a tool of the Missouri political machine; he balanced the “patrician” image of FDR. Kennedy was sexy, the “last hurrah” of the Irish power structure, and financed by washed bootlegging money. California conservatism brought us Nixon, then Reagan; the new, clean, non-lynching South gave us Clinton.
Young, female Palin was, I believe, chosen as the symbol of ordinary conservatism: an effective balance for McCain. Obama, too, chose to say, “trust me, I’ve got Biden, an old, white, political liberal behind me if things go bad.”. Palin lures despondent feminists; instead of answering hard questions, she just uses the debate as a commercial to talk to Americans, bless them all…, and blows a kiss to and repeatedly winks at the debate crowd.
Tell the truth now; who doesn’t want to be snow-bound in a cabin with Ms. Palin for a few weeks, especially if she doesn’t open her mouth to talk about anything substantive? Palin in the White House is a moose of another color.
P.S. If America really wants a maverick, choose between James Garner and Mel Gibson!