 "Photo:")
After the selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as the VP hopeful for the Republicans, I commented that, regardless of how this turned out, her name on the ticket would make things exciting.
Well, I am not excited anymore. Instead of the excitement that I previously felt, I now feel a bit of fear and disgust that rests heavily in my stomach every time that I hear this woman speak. Now, I have almost nothing against this woman. Sure she is narrow-minded, but so are a lot of people. She might not know much about the economy or foreign policy, but, again, neither do a lot of people. More on this later.
Those are not the things that really make me cringe.
What really makes me cringe is when she speaks. The words she uses. Words like "maverick" and "Joe Six-pack" and "Hockey Mom" make me want to weep for our political system every time I hear them, and while I wonder what kind of six-pack she is alluding to, I think I have a pretty good idea.
Yes. I get it. Palin is just like me. She is one of us. She is your average American in every way possible and can field-dress a moose. That skill will come in handy if Sen. John McCain secures the nomination, I'm sure.
Here's the thing: I am incredibly confused and dismayed by the American public's love of candidates "just like them."
Palin is trying her hardest to prove that she is just like the average American and the problem is she just might be. OK. Are you ready for this? The average American does not need to nor should be the president. I love my friends and family but damn if they should be candidates for VP. I am sorry for my "elitist" view but I want my leaders to be intelligent, experienced and superior in almost every conceivable way to everybody that I know, myself included. "Jane Six-pack" is not qualified to be that close to the presidency.
World leadership is a complicated and complex job. You cannot wink across the table at Putin and hope that things will end favorably. The United Nations is not a hockey rink. It is wholly unacceptable to field-strip and clean delegates of the European Union.
A lack of serious education in statesmanship is not something to be embraced. It is a disgrace that this woman is on the ticket and even more so that people think it is a good thing. This is serious stuff and not something to be taken lightly. All I ask is that everyone out there take a good hard look at those around you and ask yourself which one of your half-drunken 2.0 average friends you would like to be the leader of the free world. That question has already been asked once at Yale with rather dire consequences.
Be the first to comment on this article!