Sarah Palin’s not exactly the kind of woman I see myself hangin’ with. Oh, I’m not deaf, dumb, and blind to the appeal Palin has for some people; I get that she’s attractive, accomplished, and, up until recently, quite ballsy.
It’s just that I can’t relate to a woman who seems to have so little compassion for others.
Somehow though, despite my disagreement with Palin socially and politically, I find myself feeling sorry for her these days. I always hate to see a woman — even one I don’t particularly care for — reduced to a shadow of her former self because a man (or, in this case perhaps several) decided she needed to be reined in and Stepford-ized in order to be his partner.
And, even though I know Palin doesn’t have my back as a woman, in this case, I’ve got hers.
It’s bad enough that McCain apparently thought American women could be manipulated into voting for a man simply because he put a woman out in front of him. Bad enough that he thought American men would get excited enough to vote for a ticket simply because it plays to the timeless match-up of a geriatric man invigorated by a much-younger woman.
And it worked to a certain extent; no big surprise there. The number of women who jumped on the Palin bandwagon was – still is – staggering. And the tidal wave of men who made comments about her hot factor and stated that they found her an accomplished and ready Veep candidate was astonishing (particularly given the based-on-my-own-experience fact that the majority of men may say they like ballsy, confident, women, but they as soon as they get one, they try to pull a McCain – as in look good and keep your mouth shut).
In just a few shorts weeks, due I think mostly to McCain and his people pummeling Palin into submission, she’s gone from pit bull to pitiful, with even Katie Couric pulling her punches to avoid humiliating her on national television.
And though I hope like heck Palin never makes it to the White House, I do hope she finds her way back to being the woman she was before McCain reduced her from cocky to just this side of kooky – an absolute nervous wreck of a woman, with no sense of self.
‘Cause the only thing I like less than the idea of Palin’s politics is the idea of McCain’s minimizing the voice of yet another woman. (See his vote earlier this year against the equal pay bill that would have given women a voice/venue for seeking redress in cases of pay discrimination.)
Now, tonight, during the Vice Presidential debate, Palin will have a chance to show the world that she didn’t peak at the Republican Convention.
She’ll be out in plain view, no teleprompter; her McCain campaign burqa tossed aside. Former mayor, current governor, forever hockey mom — on the world stage.
I loathe her politics. I dislike her public personality. But, hey, I’ve got to wish a sister luck.