From the Mind of Meegs

I kind of like Sarah Palin. Or at least, I want to. She's spunky and personable and she's got the chance to go where no woman has gone before. That last point isn't everything. If it were, I would've voted for Hillary.  But it is always nice to see a woman with the potential to open doors for other women--especially doors that should've been opened a long time ago. But I digress. And as far as her knocked up daughter goes, I think people should just mind their own beeswax (though, if the Republicans really want people to stop gossiping about her family, they could always stop trotting them out at every opportunity).

One chief complaint of Republicans has been the notion that Obama gets a free pass from the media. They've asserted that he gets softball questions, glowing profiles, and various other forms of preferential treatment. At one point in time, that may have been somewhat true. I'm self-aware enough to admit there was an atypically long candidate honeymoon period. But that ended long ago, and the problem with their carping is that no one--and I mean no one--has gotten a freer pass than Sarah Palin, at least to this point.

Palin gets a free pass on her "reformer" credentials. They're running her on a platform of anti-pork fiscal conservatism, ignoring the fact that it turns out she was for government waste before she was against it. Now, I won't begrudge her that flip-flop. If you hold a foolish position, then a flip-flop is the wisest possible decision you can make. Too bad this nuance escaped them four years ago when John Kerry was running.

Of course, if they admit all this, then they'll also be admitting the bill of goods under which they sold us four more years of George Bush and his plan to fast-track this country toward cesspool status. Instead, they'll just pretend the flip-flop never existed. And so far, no one's had the stones to call them on this. Not the media, nor any members of the hypocrisy-blind party.

Palin also gets a free pass on her suspect religious beliefs. Now, I don't really give a rat's butt what religion any of the candidates hold, per se. If they're going to enact policies that will benefit our country and our world, then we'll be copasetic. Whether those policies are informed by their religious beliefs, or by their shrewdest of political instincts, or by the little green tree slugs in their heads that told them to do this--whatever. But when a candidate's religious beliefs--or beliefs of any variety, for that matter--suggest that he or she is either (a number 1) lacking in judgment, or (b number 2) likely to be in favor of detrimental policies, or (c number 3) both, then perhaps we start to wonder.

Let's all travel back in a time a few months to that magical era when Obama had to answer about 86 million times for statements made by Jeremiah Wright. Now, the seed of the Wright controversy was not wholly without merit. If it comes to light that a candidate might have some ill-founded beliefs on race (suggesting that s/he might enact ill-founded policies on race were s/he to be elected), then that's a problem. Fine then. Ask away.

The problem really came in when it became clear that Obama did not agree with Wright's statements. The problem really came in when it became clear that the threads tying Obama's beliefs to Wright's beliefs were basically non-existent (unless, of course, you only form relationships with people with whom you agree 100%). The problem came in when, despite all this, the issue did not die. There's no evidence that Obama was even present when Wright made his statements. There's no evidence that he made any sort of endorsement. Quite the contrary, in fact. And Wright is just one person, albeit an important one, in the culture of his church.

Palin has her own set of peculiar beliefs. Her church is affiliated with the Third Wave movement. In layperson's terms, Third Wave is a brand of spiritual triumphalism that believes its adherents are being empowered to rise up, overthrow some bitches, and rule the world. Perhaps we would not want to put this sort of person one heartbeat away from the role often referred to as "Leader of the Free World"? Moreover, Palin herself has been seen speaking from the stage in support of the programs this movement uses to train their foot soldiers (unlike Obama, who was never seen speaking on stage in favor of Wright's beliefs on race). And these are institutionalized, ongoing programs (not excerpts from one sermon).

If you're really interested in what sort of garbage ideas these people run on, just rent Jesus Camp and watch their tubby camp director lead young children in a hysterical chant of "This means war! This means war!" I'm not entirely sure I want that sort of person to have any input into educational policy for our children. Are you?

If Palin no longer agrees with this crap, then fine. Again: if you hold a dumb belief, then flip-flopping makes you smart. If Palin has seen the light on this topic, I'd be happy to hear her regale us with tales of how and when she realized that spiritual warmongering is a load of horse hooey lacking even a shred of religious support or the barest measure of common-sensicalness. Maybe that can happen right after she tells us about how and when she realized that building a Bridge to Nowhere is probably a dumbass idea too.

Oh, wait...sorry, forgot. We can't admit that, can we? Why is this not troublesome to anyone in the media or in Palin's own party?