And I think we can all agree that while Joe Biden might have a great set of gams, we'd all much rather see Sarah Palin do the cha-cha, even if it's not for the same reasons.
I'll be the first to admit that Mrs. Palin did a fine job in the vice presidential debate last night. As many pundits are saying, she certainly did exceed expectations...those expectations being that she would finish the job of imploding the Republican ticket with her rambling, incoherent anti-answers and lack of political knowledge.
So yes. She succeeded in appearing to be well-versed in political talking points while not coming across as lost or meandering. What she did come across as, however, is insultingly folksy and falsely charming.
Let me assure you, I come from a very 'folksy' background myself. I grew up in a tiny town (technically deemed a village) in rural mid-Michigan, a town which has an official population of 882, as cited by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2000 - five years AFTER I graduated high school and moved away.
When I was growing up there, there wasn't much to do outside of school sports. You had to drive 20-30 minutes to get to the nearest 4-screen movie theatre (where I had my first job) and half again as far to reach a run-down shopping mall in Flint.
I literally grew up in a barn. A pole-barn. OK, I didn't spend all of my formative years there, just a few whilst my stepfather built a more typical house on our property. Property which was in the middle of a dense woods - I had to be driven almost two miles to my bus stop every morning.
I knew everyone in my high school, no matter what grade they were in. I knew a lot of kids who went out cow-tipping and snipe-hunting. We all wore clothes five years behind the fashion trend.
And even today, being one of the 'elitists' living in Los Angeles, trying to make a living in the entertainment industry, I'm still very close to my mother, an avid outdoorswoman who enjoys activities such as snowshoeing and hunting, but who also writes for a - gasp! - newspaper.
I'm rambling. What does all this have to do with Sarah Palin?
I'll tell you what. I come from just as 'common' a background as Mrs. Palin, if not arguably more so. As does my mother, who is closer in age to the governor than I am. And yet neither of us employ this "golly gee" and "doggone it" verbiage that the erstwhile vice presidential candidate seems to cherish.
I'm a regular Jane. I work hard to make a living. I'm lower middle class. But I don't need to be cajoled as if I'm a simple-minded 'hick,' what with all the cutesy 'Darn it all!'s. I felt talked down to. You're probably asking, 'But what about Biden? With all of his high-falutin Washington demagoguery, didn't you feel belittled?'
My answer is, quite the opposite! I like when someone speaks to me in an intelligent manner. I like feeling as if I'm learning something from them. And seeing as how these two people are running for the number two position in the nation, with the possibility of ascending to numero uno, I would certainly HOPE to GOD that they displayed a high level of intellect. I'd LIKE for someone smarter than me to be in the White House! For a change.
And what got to me more than all of the Pollyanna colloquialisms was the incessant winking. UGH!! I was writhing, I was so annoyed! If a woman winks at me that often, I know that either she's being condescending to me, or else I'm in the wrong bar.
Clearly, I'm voting Democrat this November. Was my mind changed by this debate? Absolutely not. I was already an Obama girl, though not one with a tacky You Tube video. But Joe Biden did win me over. I didn't really know much about him before last night, and hadn't seen him speak very often. I found him to be a smart dude with a direct way of speaking, a man who knows where he stands and isn't afraid to get a little emotional when talking about his family.
A candidate who reeks of being - shall I dare say it? - truly genuine.
Unlike some hockey moms I know.
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