Wednesday, September 10, 2008

LOL - Why isn't Palin shooting the wolves in McCain's new ad?

Gail Collins usually really annoys me, but this paragraph in her new column on the NY Times' site is pretty funny:
If you really want to see a strange line of attack, take a look at the wolf ad. It cuts from Palin’s face to Obama’s to packs of wolves prowling through the forest, presumably in search of vice-presidential prey. Then comes the text claiming that as Barack drops in the polls, “he’ll try to destroy her.” Given Palin’s affection for shooting wolves from airplanes with high-powered rifles, it’d be more appropriate to have them cowering in their dens while she aims her machine gun from a diving Cessna.
On a serious note, this is why the McCain camp needs to not overdo the Palin-is-a-victim-stuff with wolf ads and the like. Let women watch the media beating up on her and draw their own conclusions. They will, believe me; women know sexism when they see it. The McCain camp itself is muddying its own narrative here. Is Palin a victim or a tough-talking, rifle-shooting pitbull reformer capable of leading the Free World? The McCain camp should focus on the latter.

Personally, I feel that Palin has been treated in a sexist fashion (as documented in this blog), by many in the media, and by some politicians. However, I don't see her as a victim per se because I think she's perfectly capable of handling the sexism and defeating it (as her speech proved). She doesn't need McCain and wolf ads to help her do that. When asked about sexism by Charlie Gibson (inevitably), she should focus on a message of strength, not victimhood. McCain: No more victimhood ads!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

But keep in mind, we (that is you and I) are and have been paying very close attention. So much of what is said is repetitive but it has to be. The apathy of American voters is legendary. Some people have paid a little attention, some none at all. The message - There Have Been Unfair Attacks On Sarah Palin - has to be repeated again and again to get through to as many people as possible. I don't believe Palin, herself, will ever play the victim card.

I don't think the "lipstick" comment was sexist and may not have been intended as a jab at Palin (although that is clearly what the audience thought it was) but I do believe it was a stupid thing to say. Right now, the word "lipstick" is widely associated with Palin in the public mind. Obama should have known immediately from the response (if that was not his intent) and said so.