Still More Paglia On Palin

Camille's back:

"How dare Palin not embrace abortion as the ultimate civilized ideal of modern culture? How tacky that she speaks in a vivacious regional accent indistinguishable from that of Western Canada! How risible that she graduated from the University of Idaho and not one of those plush, pampered commodes of received opinion whose graduates, in their rush to believe the worst about her, have demonstrated that, when it comes to sifting evidence, they don't know their asses from their elbows.

Liberal Democrats are going to wake up from their sadomasochistic, anti-Palin orgy with a very big hangover. The evil genie released during this sorry episode will not so easily go back into its bottle. A shocking level of irrational emotionalism and at times infantile rage was exposed at the heart of current Democratic ideology -- contradicting Democratic core principles of compassion, tolerance and independent thought. One would have to look back to the Eisenhower 1950s for parallels to this grotesque lock-step parade of bourgeois provincialism, shallow groupthink and blind prejudice.

I like Sarah Palin, and I've heartily enjoyed her arrival on the national stage. As a career classroom teacher, I can see how smart she is -- and quite frankly, I think the people who don't see it are the stupid ones, wrapped in the fuzzy mummy-gauze of their own worn-out partisan dogma. So she doesn't speak the King's English -- big whoop! There is a powerful clarity of consciousness in her eyes. She uses language with the jumps, breaks and rippling momentum of a be-bop saxophonist. I stand on what I said (as a staunch pro-choice advocate) in my last two columns -- that Palin as a pro-life wife, mother and ambitious professional represents the next big shift in feminism. Pro-life women will save feminism by expanding it, particularly into the more traditional Third World."

(Illustration by Terry Shoffner)

Au Revoir, Sarah


"NEW PARIS, Pa. — Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska was swiftly working the rope line Friday at an apple orchard in southwestern Pennsylvania when she met a supporter who brought her to an abrupt stop.

Amber Brown, 23, held a poster that read: “I have Down syndrome and I’m voting for you. I’m a fighter too!”

Seeing Ms. Brown, Ms. Palin wrapped her in a tight hug.

“I love that poster,” she said. “You’re a fighter and you’re beautiful.”

Then Ms. Palin hugged her again. Before climbing back on her campaign bus, she circled back to Ms. Brown and hugged her a third time."

No matter how you feel about her politics and her values, she is not going to go away anytime soon -- unless she chooses to do so.

Anyone with her ability to connect viscerally with so many people on a national stage would find it difficult -- if not impossible -- to walk away from all the opportunities that will come her way.

It will be most interesting to see what choices she makes about her future as a public person outside of Alaska. This excerpt from today's New York Times account of her return to Alaska contains a glimpse into what might be her future:

"Last week, after Senator Ted Stevens was convicted on federal charges that he failed to disclose gifts and free home renovations he received, Ms. Palin joined Mr. McCain and other top Republicans in calling for him to resign. Yet while Ms. Palin lost her bid for the vice presidency, Mr. Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in Senate history, holds a narrow lead in his bid for a seventh full term.

Asked Wednesday whether she still believed that Mr. Stevens should resign, Ms. Palin was circumspect, saying only that the people of Alaska "just spoke" on the issue at the ballot box and that "they want him as their senator." She said Mr. Stevens should decide "what happens next." (Mr. Stevens could still be forced to step down, and Ms. Palin is widely viewed as a potential candidate for his seat if he does.)"

Men Being Sheep


On this last weekend before Election Day 2008, it's worth noting that men have been showing up in large numbers at McCain rallies featuring Sarah Palin.

I don't think McCain, Obama or Biden (or Hilary Clinton, for that matter) ever had so many guys in the front row at one of their rallies. It has looked (and sounded, according to reports) at times like Saturday night at the Bada Bing.

So if "White Men" really were a major target for the Republican strategists, the Palin choice seems to have been an inspired one. Whether the sheep vote -- and in what numbers -- is another thing altogether.

(Reuters photo from a rally in Pennsylvania in October)

Remember $400 Haircuts?

If you've been worried about a major for your college-age kid, maybe he or she should seriously consider becoming a makeup artist or hair stylist -- so long as after graduation, they can network into the world of Cindy McCain and the senior advisers to her husband's presidential campaign.

Today's New York Times highlights (sorry) the $22,800 paid to Sarah Palin's makeup artist (who was recommended to her by Mrs McCain) for two week's worth of services. There was a separate payment of $10,000 to another person for two weeks of hair styling services.

It seems like it wasn't so long ago that John Edwards was severely criticized for the cost of his haircut.

I guess the cost of everything has just gone way up.