My Problems with Palin

This was going to be an extended comment on Policraticus’s post, but I figured it would be too long. Anyway, here are my thoughts:

• I thought the speech was absolutely dreadful, and fully expected a panning. I was utterly flabbergasted the commentariat gave it a vigorous thumbs up. Were we listening to the same speech? I heard style over substance, personal narrative over policy, the virtues of ignorance over education. It was an utterly vacuous speech. It did not discuss policies, it did not provide a coherent theme, it did not even attempt to inspire.

• Being a mother of five children really has no bearing on one’s suitability for high executive office. A shout-out to spouse and children is par of the course, as is the customary post-speech hug-in, but building the first part of your speech around the fact that you are a wife and mother–what is that supposed to prove? Also, I found it a little offensive that a baby who is only a few months old is being passed around like a trophy, and that a pregnant teenage daughter is paraded on stage with the gum-chewing kid who had his “I never want kids” message recently scrubbed from myspace. When Obama said family was off limits, I think that should apply to exploiting one’s own family for political gain, knowing your opponent cannot comment.

• Where there any policies mentioned at all, aside from the need to drill the country to suck out every last drop of oil, and to achieve “victory” (whatever that means) in Iraq?

• One word that was not mentioned: abortion. Isn’t she supposed to be a pro-life icon? Isn’t that why she was chosen, and isn’t that why she is so popular? This is like Obama not even mentioning the Iraq war in a keynote speech! It speaks volumes about what the McCain campaign thinks of the pro-life movement.

• Did she mention torture? Well, she said that McCain went through “torturous interrogations” which is more than most speakers could bring themselves to say. As Andrew Sullivan pointed out, as Bush and Cheney have approved many of the techniques used on McCain, to say he was tortured would put them in a bit of a bind. But Palin did say something ominous. She mocked Obama for wanting to “read terrorists their rights” (or some such words). So, she is implicitly approving the lack of legal protections for detainees, which seems to be code for Bush-Cheney torture techniques (it’s certainly the language Romney and Giuliani always use).

• Some of the attacks on Obama were fair game– his position on Iraq, his policy shifts etc. But what in God’s name was the point of mocking somebody for being a community organizer, especially since many people who choose this course of action are motivated by their religious beliefs? Has altruism truly become a dirty word (unless you wear a uniform and wield a weapon)? Some other attacks were disingenious (Obama’s tax plans benefit 95 percent of the population, while McCain’s are focused exclusively at the top) and others were dumb (the “Greek columns” look suspiciously similar to Bush’s 2004 backdrop). Overall, whenever she criticized Obama, the tone was one of snark, with very little substance.

• She misrepresented her background, especially on special interests. She proudly claimed to have opposed the infamous “bridge to nowhere” in Ketchikan, but that is clearly not the case. What does this say about her?

• She also gave no indication of being versed in national policy, especially foreign policy. The attempt to exude gravitas by mentioning a few big words fell flat.

• Overall, this is Rove 2.0, the kindler, gentler Rove. The tactic is the same: run on character, not policy. Portray your blue-collar persona as somehow more virtuous than your educated and nuanced opponent. Mock mercilessly. Fire up the base. Nothing new here, not in tactics, not in policies. It’s Bush all over again, but with a feminine charm. Tell me again why this was supposed to have been a good speech?

I’m imposing some rigid commenting rules on this thread. If you wish to comment on this thread, state first whether you liked or disliked the speech, and then explain why. Anything that ventures off topic or gets into personal attacks against me or other commenters will be deleted.