I'm not much of a fan of Sarah Palin's policies. However, I think that the left's and the media's (and some would ask if there is a difference) endless attacks on her and her children, and the largely frivolous and clearly political "ethics" charges, have been reprehensible. And have opened a door that should have been left closed.
So far, President Obama is popular and somewhat effective. He's been given a pass on the all too usual ethical lapses that affect all administrations, such as tax scofflaws, major campaign contributors as ambassadors, lobbyists, etc. Which is reasonable. Give him his "honeymoon" period. Let's try to fix up America.
What if in a few years the US economy remains slow, North Korea has attacked something, the Taliban is still blowing up Pakistan, his poll numbers are slipping, there is some scandal in the administration, and, God forbid, one of his daughters acts like a perfectly normal child and gets into trouble? All things that would be "normal" - you can imagine a West Wing episode.
But this time, the manure will hit the fan. The right will be waiting to avenge the treatment of Palin, and all hell will break loose. Obama's family will get smeared and dragged in the mud, to an extent far greater and far more viciously than in the past. It will be unfair to Obama and harmful to the country. It shouldn't happen. But, thanks to the left's vicious attacks on Palin, it will happen. They have sown the wind, and will reap the whirlwind, and we will all suffer.
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2 comments:
Hi,
Meaning no disrespect, but the left's attack on Sarah Palin is at most only a slight increase on prior right wing attacks on figures they see as left wing - if you remember the right's attacks on Clinton, they were as vicious as the left's attack on Sarah Palin now.
Sarah Palin herself has been an attack dog for the right against the left - that's the role of a Republican Vice Presidential candidate. Not terrible, but it does limit the sympathy I have for her.
That said, I think the left's attacks on Palin are partly the result of a reluctance to look closely at Obama. To be blunt, Obama is pretty much a centrist - he's busy saving Wall Street, changing his mind about closing Gitmo, etc. If you're a leftist, you don't want to think about the possibility that the first black president is actually a fairly conservative guy. So MSNBC has to criticize somebody, and their viewers might change the channel if they criticize Obama. No such risk exists if they criticize Palin.
In general, the focus on scandals and attacks on personalities is probably a sign that there really isn't a left in the US. After all, a left wing traditionally tends to focus on criticizing institutions not individuals, and in France {which does have a left wing} a focus on scandal tends to used by the right against the left {according to a Poli Sci book at the UCB library I read twenty years ago}.
In any event, both sides in US politics probably rely too heavily on scandal, which is exciting, and not enough on structural analysis.
Also, how do I put this, the Republican party is a coalition of three major elements: social conservatives; business managers particularly at the upper send of the scale; and the defense industry. The Mitt Romney's and George Wills of the Republican party probably hate Palin more than the Democrats do. Sarah threatens their control of the Republican base, promising the Republican base more than tehy do.
We will see what Sarah Palin does in the future. Myself, I think the media are paying more attention to her than her real importance at this time justifies.
Ray,
I agree with 99% of your post. However, I disagree that the attacks on Palin are only a "slight" increase. The "slut" remarks and attacks on the children are unprecedented. Now, maybe I am missing out on some looney far right blogs, but I don't remember repeated questioning of Chelsea Clinton's parentage, or jokes about her "'slutty flight attendant' look" or her getting groped by Elliot Spitzer of prostitution fame.
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