Sarah Palin: A Brilliant Selection ... Until After Election Day
"Just the idea that a woman like
Mrs. Palin could make it to the White House - with the frankly fundamentalist
ideas she has exhibited throughout her public life - is extremely worrying. … Even
a Hare Krishna seems better than a fanatical Christian, right out of some
chapter of the Old Testament, who is far from the spirit of tolerance exemplified
by Christ."
It's hard to believe that excessive
sincerity was the reason President Calderon "made a mistake" when
expressing explicit support for the candidacy of John McCain. It's more likely that
he had bought the thesis that the Republican candidate would be better for
Mexico because of that Party's traditional support for free trade - and of
course, its support of the North American Free Trade Agreement. He undoubtedly
also weighed the career of John McCain: a native of the border State of
Arizona, McCain is well-aware of the issue of migration between the two countries, has
been a supporter of a comprehensive solution to this phenomenon, and is generally
a good friend of Mexico. It's likely that President Calderon, just like Carlos
Salinas during the failed re-election campaign of George H.W.
Bush [1992], has deliberately sought to exert whatever influence he might have on
Latino voters in favor of McCain. A crass mistake.
Little good will these winks
and honest gestures serve Mexico if the world continues to slide toward a deeper
crisis, both in terms of economics and energy, and above all, if the United
States continues to expand the fronts of war or the obvious confrontations in
which it is increasingly involved. It may be argued that what one saw at the
Republican Convention was just partisan rhetoric, but it made one's hair stand
on end.
Consider the case of Sarah
Palin. What I have said, even if it isn't politically correct, I say again: Woman
candidates and governors are not intrinsically better than men - which is
painfully demonstrated every day by [Argentine President] Cristina Kirchner.
The privilege of motherhood, proximity to children and differences in genetics,
hormones and ways of being treated by the world, allow women to see aspects of
society that men often overlook. Women may also tend to approach problems
differently - in a more conciliatory and inclusive fashion, but this isn't a
rule.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
The selection of Governor
Palin as a candidate for the Vice Presidency was an astute move by McCain, for
it showed every sign of being a fine case of electoral
marketing - although it's extremely worrying for anyone who can see beyond Election
Day.
First there's the issue of
McCain's age: 72 years. With advances in preventative care, being "seventy-something"
may be a decade of great maturity and the realization of an individual's talents,
as has certainly happened during the campaign of the Arizonian. And yet, it is
an age with significant health risks. Just the idea that a woman like Mrs. Palin
could make it to the White House - with the frankly fundamentalist ideas that
she has exhibited throughout her public life, is extremely worrying. In a world
in which fundamentalisms pose the greatest threat to the United States and world
peace, it's important to have statesmen who are outside that mental trap.
A religiosity in conflict
with science; a cheerleader for the theory of creationism against the evidence for
the theory of evolution; a skeptic about global warming whose speech at the
Convention sparked the chilling war cry of, "Drill, Baby, Drill"
(meaning more oil wells), without the slightest hint of change in the pattern
of energy consumption in the United States; a woman who doesn't approve of
abortion - not even in case of incest or rape. Even a Hare Krishna seems better
than a fanatical Christian right out of some chapter of the Old Testament, who
is far from the spirit of tolerance exemplified by Christ. A
fanatical Christianity capable of deepening the divisions that exist today
between people in the United States.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Despite the many fine
qualities of Senator McCain, his choice of Governor Sarah Palin shows the
tendency of candidates to sell their souls for a fistful of votes. And in this
case, he has betrayed the central theme of his own campaign, "Nation First,"
because if the nation came first, he wouldn't endanger it by selecting a woman
who might replace him at the White House who has neither the judgment, nor the
expertise, to do so responsibly.
2008 ELECTION FUN: RED STATE UPDATE - PALIN'S 'BIG SPEECH'
The entire world suffers from
the responsibilities of the Republican Administration; colossal deficits in
both the budget as well as foreign trade, derived largely from the erroneous
policy of tax cuts; the wretched oversight of credit institutions, large and
small, which has brought about the mega-crisis of mortgage loans; from the lie
of "weapons of mass destruction" which led to the invasion of Iraq
and greater instability in that region, while the terrorists of al-Qaeda get
away with murder; and from the deterioration of the U.S. system of education, which
today depends on the influx of foreign scientists in maintain its leadership in
scientific innovation.
It is a world radically
different from the one live in by John McCain during his heroic saga in
Vietnam. It is an increasingly multi-polar world that requires new reflexes
from the superpower. Things won't go well in Mexico if things go badly in the
rest of the world.
