The US political contest is thus poised at a delicate and fascinating moment. It's like the key seconds in a judo bout, to see who gets the better hold and executes the throw. The liberal establishment will try to blitzkrieg Palin into oblivion by charging that she is an extremist, a nut and corrupt. If the liberal elites fail in this, they risk mainstream America seeing their attacks on Palin as attacking the American heartland. Democrats should know from bitter experience that that kind of polarisation leads directly to Democratic defeat.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24289419-7583,00.html
This domestic political story makes Palin the most successful governor in the US. Again, the double standard and hypocrisy of liberal commentators who demean all this is obvious. Did they demean Bill Clinton because he was the governor of the very small state of Arkansas? Hillary Clinton talks of her lifetime of political achievement. Much of that involves not even being governor of a small state, such as Clinton or Sarah Palin, but being the wife of a governor of a small state.
The Comments on this Austrailian site are pretty good.
andrew james of amsterdam 5:00pm today What has stunned me ever since McCain made the announcement of Sarah Palin as his running mate has been the general reaction from the media. If I hear one more time that she was a former beauty queen I will be sick. The sexism and hypocrisy have been overwhelming. I had the good fortune to see an interview with Carly Fiorina, rated by many as being one of the most successful business people in the US and an advisor to John McCain and, as she pointed out, the current darling of this year's US election is a man who has never, I repeat never, made an executive decision in his life. He has no record, has hardly ever been present in the Senate to actually vote on any legislation and ceaselessly spouts the word "change" without actually having outlined what that means and how he is going to actually break the grip of the cashed up lobbyists that have destroyed US politics. Don't get me wrong, I am a left-leaning liberal, but I like to see a fair fight. If the general media continue in the same vein then I would be truly concerned for the so-called "free" world.
Peter of Coburg 2:02pm today Me thinks you do protest to much. I've seen a lot of discusion about SARAH Palin in the media, but here in Australia the only hysterical responce has been that trying to defend her from attaks that have not (yet) been launched. Questions about her experiance are certainly relavent given McCain's health and attacks on Obama on that very issue. Interest in her daughter is understandable though tabloid, but very few, here, have drawn a conection through to how qualified that makes her for a USA VP. Of those few about half seem to have been of the "right". There is great interest in who she is since our image of the USA conservitive religous right normally has a female as submissive (if possible housebound)and unforgiving of (expossed) sexual misconduct. Obviously she does not fit this sterotype and how she differs is important to how she would do the job she has been nominated for.
