The Sarah Palin problem: it's all about class

I’d like to start out by responding to comments in the nature of “when are you going to stop writing about Sarah Palin?” I think I’m going to write about this topic exclusively for another week, so if you don’t want to read about it, don’t read the rest of this post, and go read some other blogs for the next week.

* * *

Now, someone posted a link to a blog post which then led to a Wall Street Journal editoral which are supposed to explain why the media is going after Palin. Both the blog post and the editorial are laughably off base, but especially the blog post.

First of all, I should point out that the mainstream media (MSM) is inherently biased against Republicans, and even more biased against the Christian Right. Most of the MSM is rooting for Obama to win. But there is more to it than that. This media bias hasn’t prevented Republicans from winning five of the last seven presidential elections. Even the Dan Quayle bashing didn’t prevent George H.W. Bush from winning in 1988 (although obviously, McCain didn’t learn anything from that incident).

The arugment that the MSM is afraid of Palin because of her appeal to average Americans is laughable. In fact, leaving her Evangelical Christianity aside (Mike Hucakbee got a pretty fair shake from the media), the MSM is picking on her because she’s the least experienced Vice Presidential pick in modern times. It’s not just her age, but the fact that she has had no career of any importance prior to her 20 months as Governor of one of the nation’s least populated states.

While Palin may be well liked by the Evangelical Christian wing of the Republican Party, there’s absolutely no evidence that other voters are excited about her.

The other problem, besides Palin’s experience, is that she’s white trash. People may say they want a politician just like them, and it may make for a good comedy movie, but when it comes to voting for the person who may have to take over as president, they don’t really want someone just like themselves, they want someone who is their superior. The ideal candidate is someone who came from a blue collar background, but who overcame his proleness and now acts like a proper member of the upper class. Bill Clinton is a great example. Or, for that matter, John McCain, who came from a middle class background (career military), but then married up into a better social class. You will note that it’s very common for politicians to have benefitted from marrying up. John Kerry comes to mind. Sarah Palin married down; her husband is a blue collar worker who didn’t graduate from college. (Todd Palin may earn a decent salary as a blue collar worker, but the issue isn’t money, it’s class.)

The second problem with being white trash is, not only does it turn off the voters and the MSM, it attracts attention from the tabloids. The stock-in-trade of tabloids is writing about famous people who act low class. Once again, this is about people expecting their betters to act better than them. The tabloids ignore the rich and famous who act respectably and hone in on those who, despite their wealth, act like people from a trailer park. Thus Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears and Paris Hilton are all the rage in the tabloid media. And now, here come the Palins, with their pregnant teenage daughter, family feuds, retarded baby (upper class people never have retarded babies these days because they have an amniocentesis and then abort them), weird behavior while pregnant (Palin getting on the airplane while leaking amniotic fluid could just be an example of typical low class behavior of not caring about the health of your fetus), and even the mystery about whether Palin pretended to be pregnant (not something you’d ever imagine Hillary Clinton doing, but it’s perfectly believable that white trash people might try to pull such a stunt).

Som people are pissed at me for attacking Palin. Hey, you’re just attacking the messenger. I’m not the only person writing about this story. If I stopped my blogging today, all the tabloids would still be going after the Palin and printing all the dirt they can find. Go get mad at McCain. He should have picked a conservative (in the non-political sense) boring candidate who has already been vetted by the media. But if McCain thought that he was falling behind Obama and need a more risky pick, well he took a risk and the risk blew up in his face. That’s what happens when you take risks; sometimes you lose.

I don’t know why people are surprised about my take on this subject. My blog has always been against unmarried teenage pregnancy, against low class behavior, against women being given special special consideration (there’s no way a man this inexperienced would ever have been selected), and against the Evangelical Christian influence on the Republican party.

Comments

[rob]

"John McCain, who came from a middle class background (career military), but then married up into a better social class."

The highest ranks of the Navy have always been considered upper class.

[dearieme]

The Left in Britain gave Mrs Thatcher hell along misogynist and snobbish lines, and she was a prim, well educated, lower middle class lass who married a prosperous businessman and passed her bar exams. It's a different country, I'll grant you, but there's something about the way The Left exempts itself from its own strictures that seems pretty international to me. Sexual harassment by the boss? The Left is unbothered if the boss is Clinton.

[superdestroyer]

I guess the string is at 25 posts in a row over someone who will never be VP. At least HS is willing to admit that McCain made a bet at long odds and lost.

The most important political question is much will Palin hurt all of the down ticket candidates. Nominating a redneck candidates does not help the Repubicans in New Hampshire, Maine, Minnesota, Colorado, New Mexcico. It probably does not help anyone running for Congress.

Maybe Obama will be so far out in the lead in polls that it will depress Democratic voter turn out in many places. Why bother to go to the polls when Obama is going to win by double digits.

The other unanswered question is whether McCain did what his staff recommend or did he refuse to listen.

[Rain And]

"... weird behavior while pregnant (Palin getting on the airplane while leaking amniotic fluid could just be an example of typical low class behavior of not caring about the health of your fetus)"

Given her, uh, local political affiliations in the wintry northern frontier, perhaps this epic journey home was to ensure that there are no questions about her son's Alaskan citizenship after the coming war for secession.

[$1 Dog]

"Nominating a redneck candidates does not help the Republicans in New Hampshire, Maine, Minnesota, Colorado, New Mexico."

Yes it does. Those places are full of rednecks. Don't let places like Minneapolis, Bar Harbor, Boulder or Santa Fe fool you.

"Maybe Obama will be so far out in the lead in polls that it will depress Democratic voter turn out in many places. Why bother to go to the polls when Obama is going to win by double digits."

The liberal/leftist media and pollsters will take care of that, don't you worry.

upper class people never have retarded babies these days because they have an amniocentesis and then abort them

Speaking as a complete nerd, I hope to see a ban on abortion before there's a genetic test for Asperger's Syndrome.

[razib]

mccain's father and grandfather were admirals, and he went to a private episcopal school. that's more than typically middle class. if the palins are lower in class than their money, the mccains were higher.

also, levi johnston's mother won't elaborate whether he is getting a GED or just dropping out of HS. i tend to agree with HS, people want salt of the earth, but *fake*, like george hw bush. he's a rich dude with old money and WASP blood, but he plays a good ole boy texan oil man.

[roissy]

HS palindroned:
"The second problem with being white trash is, not only does it turn off the voters"

you misspelled "the left".

"He should have picked a conservative (in the non-political sense) boring candidate who has already been vetted by the media."

mccain loses with a romney pick. he chose the pick that gives him the best chance of neutralizing the obama magic. you and i can lament the state of 2008 american culture (demographics?) that a romney VP pick -- an eminently qualified man of the right and stand up guy -- results in a losing hand for mccain, but that won't change the objective reality. mccain's not in this to pick the HS-approved VP nominee; he's in this to win.

"well he took a risk and the risk blew up in his face."

getting a little ahead of yourself? if this pick is so bad, why are the liberals hyperventilating?
remember roissy maxim #23: ye shall know them by their overwrought rabid reaction.

"(there’s no way a man this inexperienced would ever have been selected)"

and there's no way obama would have been selected had he been white. but tokenism is a cemented feature of the US political landscape so you either get with the program or you fist shake impotently against the rise of the tribal-dimmed tide.

[Not Kidding]

"...you fist shake impotently against the rise of the tribal-dimmed tide."

Pretty soon it'll be gunfire. I'm not kidding either.

"upper class people never have retarded babies these days"

http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/black-sheep/al-gore-iii/

[Martin Regnen]

I, for one, really enjoy seeing you devote so much space to this stuff. I'm a redneck and proud of it. I don't like my "betters" and enjoy seeing them freak out over this.

[BATF]

Posted by: Martin Regnen | September 03, 2008 at 12:32 PM

Just clicked your link. You're a redneck, no doubt. Didn't see anything about guns though. But being in Central Europe means you (hopefully) can't be too far from these guys: http://www.czub.cz/

[Joshua Holmes]

(Todd Palin may earn a decent salary as a blue collar worker, but the issue isn’t money, it’s class.)

Todd Palin isn't a blue-collar worker, he's a business owner making six figures where six figures goes a long way.

[Turambar]

"mccain loses with a romney pick. he chose the pick that gives him the best chance of neutralizing the obama magic"

As much as I disagree with HS's ridiculous approach to Palin (most of which has now been discredited) Palin was not the best choice. Romney fixed everything he touches and he would have been just the sort of person we need.

From a candidacy side, Romney and McCain would have been able to write big check to the campaign themselves and he has proven to be a very loyal campaigner who went to work for McCain as soon as the press squeezed him out with no hard feelings. The "Obama magic" was fading fast with Russian tanks on the news nightly and Obama's hopelessly dopey chanting obviously was no response to problems he didnt even understand.

You can also add in that when people started to pay attention in October Obama would lose three debates and then avoid further ones.

I think the best chance now is to get Todd Palin out to events in Ohio, Il and Mn. Not showing up and waving, but snowmobile and ATV stuff. He is a legit redneck sports star who married a beauty queen and is union member, they might as well play it up.

[Turambar]

Oh and confiscate Levi Johnstons cell phone and send him on a mall tour. I think he has star power for the witless obamaites.

[Disgusted]

"Todd Palin isn't a blue-collar worker, he's a business owner making six figures where six figures goes a long way."

Josh, how many times do you need to be told? I mean for fuck's sake, get with it, man! Unless you went to an Ivy or (something close to it), work on Wall St., Law or some hip profession that requires expensive degrees and lots of them and live in certain areas, you aren't jack shit. You are a fucking nothing, a redneck, low class piece of shit. The guy has "snowmachine" and he hunts with his wife. I know more than I want to. You should be ashamed for even mentioning him.

[Matt in Maine]

HS, I enjoy your site, but I am not sold that Prole=Bad, or Low Income=Bad. I know a lot of average folks who are happy, productive, and grounded, kind of like Sarah Palin seems to be, despite the fact that everyone, (Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Sarah Palin, You, and me included) go through trials, disappointments, illness, and heartbreak. I am poor, have six healthy kids and a wife I love, a law practice that pays the bills most months, and I wouldn't trade places with anyone. I'm quite happy and content to be a redneck, albeit one surrounded by people who think less of me because I'm a redneck.

Oh, and I am excited about Palin. I have gone from who cares, whats the difference, to a McCain (actually a Palin) supporter.

[Peter]

"here come the Palins, with their pregnant teenage daughter"

Not exclusively a lower-class thing. Mostly, maybe, but not always.

--
"family feuds"

Can happen at any social level.
--
"retarded baby (upper class people never have retarded babies these days because they have an amniocentesis and then abort them)"

What about upper class people who don't believe in abortion? Also, IINM not all types of mental retardation can be diagnosed before birth.
--
"weird behavior while pregnant (Palin getting on the airplane while leaking amniotic fluid could just be an example of typical low class behavior of not caring about the health of your fetus)"

Her doctor said it was okay, and as a "veteran" of four pregnancies Palin herself probably knew that the baby wasn't coming right away.
--
"and even the mystery about whether Palin pretended to be pregnant (not something you’d ever imagine Hillary Clinton doing, but it’s perfectly believable that white trash people might try to pull such a stunt)"

Duh, Palin herself did not try to "pull that stunt." Bloggers started the rumor.

[BATF]

"I'm quite happy and content to be a redneck, albeit one surrounded by people who think less of me because I'm a redneck."

Matt in Maine,
This website may be able to help you out a bit http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/

Let me guess, you commute into Boston? I mean I'm kind of hoping you don't live in Skowhegan or anything...

[tommy shanks]

>>The highest ranks of the Navy have always been considered upper class.

Right. McCain definitely thinks of himself and his ancestors as upper class. You saw his condescension toward Romney at the Reagan Library debate, where McCain said he led a Navy squadron out of a sense of "patriotism, not profit." That was pure warrior class vs. mercantile class.

[Dan Morgan]

"The other problem, besides Palin’s experience, is that she’s white trash."

HS, this is just wrong to say. You are being extremely unfair to this woman and her family. Teenagers have sex all the time, and some get pregnant. That hardly makes a family white trash. And regarding her husband - marrying a blue collar worker does not make you white trash.

She has a bad brother in law - so she is white trash? Give me a break.

Regarding getting on a plane with leaking amniotic fluid, her doctor okayed that. Women have a desire to be in a known setting and with their doctor and family to deliver their babies. An upper class New York woman could have made the same decision.

[PA]

"I am not sold that Prole=Bad, or Low Income=Bad."

That's Half Sigma's pet obsession. I once asked him here, "who are your peeps?" I meant that as a serious question. He's not the SWPL type. But he is also genuinely repelled by the Wrong Kind of White People.

He likes something vaguely known as "people with middle class values." Which in fact also describes most "Proles."

[JewishAtheist]

Or, for that matter, John McCain, who came from a middle class background (career military)

What Rob said. Calling the son of an admiral anything other than upper-class is ludicrous.

[Happy Hour]

"He likes something vaguely known as "people with middle class values." Which in fact also describes most "Proles."

Maybe that is why he spends his weekends in front of a computer writing about this kind of stuff. Like I said, I like his site and he seems like a decent guy, but he doesn't seem to get out much.
I had mentioned that it looked like he spent Labor Day weekend stuck up in his place and how he should have been out and getting tipsy and meeting females. The way the week is going, it looks like he'll do the same this weekend. I am urging, no begging, him again to spend this weekend out drinking and talking to women. He lives in NYC! There is a bar every 25 feet!

[Pablo]

What color trash are you? It's not money, after all, it's class. And you don't have any.

[APH]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG1vPYbRB7k

At 4:05 Sarah Palin talks about her son's tattoo of a Jesus fish...

That should be worth at least another HS post...

[MLK]

I agree with you that what is animating the opponents of the Palin pick is class.

From the moment the news broke I knew it wasn't enough for this election cycle that we had done gender and race. We were going to do class, American-style.

But your asserted dichotomy is forced and false. The real one is between middle-class values and mores on the one hand, and the assault to them from both low and high. The rich and poor have long been very similar in excepting themselves from middle-class strictures.

Needless to say, the left has rationalized these pathologies.

Take the Kennedy family. While in elite, they're behavior is "low-prole" under your rubric.

[bbartlog]

'he took a risk and the risk blew up in his face. That’s what happens when you take risks; sometimes you lose'.

Intrade doesn't seem to mind the pick (small bump).
Fundraising numbers suggest the pick is popular with a lot of people.
For polling, it's a little too soon to say.
In any case, it's a little soon to say McCain has lost. I think you are projecting your own class obsessions on to the electorate as a whole.

[slwerner]

Turambar - "Romney fixed everything he touches and he would have been just the sort of person we need."

No! Romney WAS the person we NEEDED! But, it turns out that, for all his success (and good looks) Republican voters just didn't so much interest in his candidacy. His primary appeal was to pragmatic people, who are going to make a more thoughtful choice on who they will be voting for. I though Romney would have been an ideal executive to lead this nation – more of an insightful CEO than a rhetoric-driving politician. And, I’d have loved for McCain to have pick him for VP.

But, there’s this nagging entity out there, commonly referred to as REALITY, that has a role to play aw well. Romney, despite what you and I (and HS and others) can see in his obvious capabilities, just didn’t have a wide-spread appeal. And, those pragmatic voters he did appeal to were more than likely already among those who were going to vote for McCain anyway (they could already understand the problems of an Obama presidency). So, picking Romney would not have gone very far in attracting more voters for McCain.

As for myself, I’m not religious, pro-life, nor would I considered much of a prole; but, unlike HS, I do not fear and loath such people. Rednecks don’t scare me. I have no interest in NASCAR, tractor pulls, nor snow-mobile races, but I certainly don’t care that some other people do – let them have whatever kind of fun they choose to enjoy; live, and let live.

And, HS is quite mistaken that Sarah Palin’s appeal runs only to evangelicals. I don’t know any evangelicals, but I do no quite a few professional, educated conservatives who had no interest in voting for McCain, who, this past weekend, were quite happy to see his VP pick, and who expressed that they now intended to vote for the combined ticket.

I don’t fully understand their motivations, but, perhaps like me, they are capable of thinking beyond socio-economic “class” and can consider other attributes a person may have. Palin certainly has faults, but she is definitely a Washington outsider – a huge plus in my book. She is the one who stopped the idiotic “bridge to nowhere” (which, since it was outside of Manhattan (aka, nowhere), HS believes no one cared about) – another huge plus. She stood up to a Thin Blue Line that was protecting a cop who had committed felonies (remarkably, liberals are now apparently against do so).

Palin was never my choice – I thought Jindal or Pawlenty could have attracted the conservative base as well – but, switching “horses” in the middle of the race has never been a good idea. And, Palin is certainly pissing-off the lefty’s – yet another huge plus.

"I don’t know why people are surpised about my take on this subject. My blog has always been against unmarried teenage pregnancy, against low class behavior, against women being given special special consideration (there’s no way a man this inexperienced would ever have been selected), and against the Evangelical Christian influence on the Republican party."

1. Unmarried Teenage Pregnancy. Yes, this is deplorable. But it is hardly limited to the lower classes. Affluent women get abortions or use effective contraception. Now I don't agree with the rightist-GOP position that abortion is always bad - I think it's a matter of personal choice for the woman. In this matter I am more in tune with the Democrats, whom I generally despise. But here I think they are correct - it's not legitimate for the government to dictate moral choices to citizens. In fact, I think all reproductive services, including abortion, should be free and readily available (and yes, I would pay higher taxes to support it). These services are already easily available to affluent women, so why shouldn't poor women have the same? The last thing this country needs is more low IQ babies born to poor women. Having said this, I admire The Palins for having the courage of their convictions. If she were just saying she was against abortion to curry favor with the right wing, she easily could have sent her daughter off somewhere to have an abortion quietly and no one would have been the wiser. But they decided that Bristol would have the baby, and I respect them for that.

2. Against Women Being Given Special Consideration. Again I agree. There is no way Sarah Palin would have been picked were she not female. But this sin is certainly not limited to the Republicans. Do you think Hillary would have gotten as far as she did if she were male? And what about Obama? Did his race have nothing to do with his rapid ascension? Unfortunately, this is just the way the game is played nowadays.

3. Against the Evangelical Christian Influence on the Republican Party. Once more I mostly agree. Just as I am against the influence of the trial lawyers, the union bosses, the wacko environmentalists, the race baiters and the radical feminists on the Democrats. It seems that both parties are heavily burdened with unsavory influences, which is why I don't like either one very much.

HS, I think you are becoming an inverse Marxist. The old-time Marxists were always obsessed with an individual's class and class background. If someone was proletarian, well, that was good, but if he or she wasn't, then there was always a whiff of suspicion, no matter how exemplary that person's behavior. Do you remember the movie "The Hunt for Red October"? In an early scene, the captain of the Red October, Marko Ramius (Sean Connery), mentions the another submarine's captain, whose name is Tupolev, to the political officer of the Red October (whose name, interestingly, is Putin). The first thing that Putin says about Tupolev is, "Descended from aristocracy." HS, you are our new inverse political officer. When someone mentions Palin, you can say (with a scowl instead of a smile), "Bah! Descended from proletarians."

So when it comes to dysfunctional families, I'll stick with Palin, warts and all. You can have Giuliani, a serial adulterer whose children won't even speak to him because of the way he treated their mother.

[Peter]

"She is the one who stopped the idiotic “bridge to nowhere” (which, since it was outside of Manhattan (aka, nowhere), HS believes no one cared about) – another huge plus."

It should be noted that Palin supported the bridge during her campaign for Governor. She only started opposing it after the public outcry began increasing and the federal funding arrangements became less advantageous from Alaska's standpoint.

[rightsaidfred]

HS, you didn't factor in Palin's good looks. Attractive women get exempted from the criticisms you list.

When voters look at R. campaign posters, they will see an old white guy and his trophy wife. When they look at D. campaign posters, they will see an old white guy with his AA intern. I'll give the edge to the M-F couple, and if so, I think superdestroyer should contribute $100 to this site.

"She only started opposing it after the public outcry began increasing and the federal funding arrangements became less advantageous from Alaska's standpoint."

She sounds attuned to the voters. Good for her.

[Cameron]

Half Sigma, I think you misunderstand your party. How can you think that someone is high class would appeal to Republicans more than Palin? Perhaps in the Northeast but the Northeast is the stronghold of the Democrats these days.

Reagen, Carter, Clinton and W. Bush have all won elections recently with southern (prole) or cowboy acts. H.W. rode Reagen's coatails but was never well-liked because he was too patrician.

The Republicans are the party of the South. The Mid-West will decide the election, and low-class white voters will decide the Mid-West. Hence the Palin pick.

[whiskey]

First off, Palin's "one big thing" in her political career nearly as long as Obama's is "stewardship of public funds" i.e. not wasting money from taxpayers.

It's basically her entire schtick, but it works. The Public in Alaska (brutal because of the oil money patronage) loved her for it. It fits right in with McCain's anti-pork stuff.

Second, this is not about class but sex. You're totally wrong about this.

GUYS LOVE PALIN. Why not? She's a Lara Croft figure come to life. Snowmobiles, hunts, fishes, worked a fishing boat, as crew and captain. She's everything guys like: Deadliest Catch, NRA life member, etc.

PARTICULARLY the marriage to the Blue Collar motorsports guy, who has a Union Card and part ownership in businesses.

Now, WOMEN HATE THAT. Marriage to a guy like Palin? PLEASE. They'd rather be cheated on by John Edwards while dying from cancer. At least HE has power/status. Or a single mother.

Women hate guns, fishing, more than one designer yuppie baby at age 38, or "cool" African adopted kids. They want a Brad Pitt, not a Todd Palin. Women want designer dresses and fashion and power and the executive jet, chef, and security detail (that Palin got rid of because they were "wasteful.") They certainly don't want Alaskan outfits, or working with your hands, etc.

Again, MEN LOVE PALIN, WOMEN HATE HER.

It's as simple as that. Heck read Roissy's blog, he covers the same thing.

Why do you think the women (and mostly feminized-gay men) in the Press reacted so viscerally? Because it was an insult to their values and status as attractive women. Why do you think every Redneck guy fell in love with her?

Advantage: McCain since he brings the redneck vote home, which will be a decisive advantage. Women (excepting white married blue collar/white collar women) would not not vote for McCain anyway, they'd vote Obama since he's the "hot" candidate of the Press, famous people, and has power/status/prestige as RockSTar in Chief.

But white men generally didn't like Obama anyway, and this cements that issue.

The Culture Wars are really just Women's preference for status and political correctness. Everything you say about class applies to them, and is opposite to Men. If you've ever watched the NFL, you'd understand.

[David Alexander]

"Todd Palin isn't a blue-collar worker, he's a business owner making six figures where six figures goes a long way."

no college degree = white nigger

There, somebody had to say it.

"At least HS is willing to admit that McCain made a bet at long odds and lost. "

McCain will win the election with a ten point lead in the popular vote.

[redneck country boy]

"The other problem, besides Palin’s experience, is that she’s white trash."

My God, you are an asshat.

You live in the City. You live the good, classy, elitist, blue-blood sort of life (well, you would if you didn't spend all your free time rotting in your little box, in front of a glowing box, unable to even get laid) (but still wanker classy); from that perch you lift your nose at the rest of the nation's flyovers: let them eat f'king cake.

But when you really step back and look at yourself, there's some possible problems...especially if there's an economic 'adjustment', or an oil crisis...you're stuck in the largest overpopulation center in the nation. What happens to NYC, or any of the other few dozen overpopulated burbs when the food stops coming in from the redneckvilles where it's, you know, grown? If you think you will even survive any sort of major worst-case scenario catastrophic economic meltdown or fuel stoppage (that shuts your City off from incoming foosdtuffs) well, guess what? You won't.be.so.snooty.then. Dress a dog for dinner, you would.

Not saying that's going to happen, but remember this: if something does go crazy wrong, those redneck country boys will survive. City elitists, not so much, or for so long.

[John Smith]

HS,

I applaud your willingness to call bs when you see it even from a candidate you support. This demonstrates your independence.

Regardless, watching the Huckabee speech and comparing it to that of Mark Warner or Al Gore or any of the top Democrats, the Republicans really do seem to be a less intelligent party. Perhaps in that sense the Palin choice isn't so off base.

[Boss Hogg]

"Regardless, watching the Huckabee speech and comparing it to that of Mark Warner or Al Gore or any of the top Democrats, the Republicans really do seem to be a less intelligent party. Perhaps in that sense the Palin choice isn't so off base."

Repulicans are both more educated and wealthier on average than Democrats. This is a firmly established fact. The democratic base are inner-city blacks who achieve an out-of-wedlock birth rate approaching 90%.

[OnceAgain]

Hey HS, I love your stance, I think you really "get" it. I grew up with British culture (former Brit colony) and you understand the subtle nuances of class like few Americans seem to.

I also like how you're able to criticize and "call BS" as someone said, when you see it, even in the political party you support.

[Janious]

It's totally about class, and about "image". The thing is, lower middle class people (c'mon, "white trash" is unkind) LIKE other people like them, just like people of every class. They do not feel comfortable around the Obamas (or the Romneys).

There are more lower middle class voters in America than upper middle class voters, unfortunately. This is why George HW Bush had to pretend to enjoy pork rinds and Randy Travis tunes. Folksy wins.

You can call her fans and defenders Palindrones. I just coined that. You're welcome.

[roissy]

"You can call her fans and defenders Palindrones. I just coined that."

actually, no, you didn't. see above under roissy. keepin' it patented.

btw, palindrone means to go on and on in fevered apoplexy about insubstantial gossip involving sarah palin because you disapprove of her choice of hobbies. it is not a good word to describe her "fans". for that, palinclone is better suited.

[Rain And]

Me, I'd just like to palinbone.

[Kelly]

Interesting take on the reaction to Palin. Sorry, but she does strike me as low-class even though I wouldn't go so far as to say that all people in low-income brackets behave low-class or the converse for the rich.

All I could think of when watching that convention is that they looked like a bunch of troglodytes.

The dumbing down of America has gone full circle with her pick and yes, some people will totally be able to relate to her kinda like a "Jerry Springer" type Veep.

[polly]

to rob:
"The highest ranks of the Navy have always been considered upper class."
Um, no.

The highest ranks of the catholic Church are the highest ranking class, the first estate, not the military enlistee POW. Second estate are the landed gentry and monarchs, third class, the people (i.e. military, all the rest of people who take orders from anyone else). This is the actual tradition of class ranks historically. When people become educated and rise though the ranks from lower to higher registries of the third class, breaking the barrier into land ownership, they are still going to be lower second class no matter what unless they become bishops in the catholic church. Military rank without family in the the second or first estates make for not much more than upper-level third class.

"Speaking as a complete nerd, I hope to see a ban on abortion before there's a genetic test for Asperger's Syndrome"

Nerds have Schizoid Personality Disorder, not Asperger's Syndrome

[harrison]

Look at the issues. Palin is a hypocrite because she's all about "family values," but has none that are respectable. But besides all this, I would really like to see the Republicans wake up to the real issues our nation faces instead of playing games and attacking Democrats. One side is speaking about problems and solutions while the other is making us try to believe that they, being corporate patsies, can relate to the rest of us. The economy, treasury, war, environment, overpopulation, and medical care issues are what's really important. The McCain ticket promises more of the failed Bush program based on oil and distractions such as gay rights and abortion, which is a shame for me as a conservative. Real family values means trying to protect the future for our children; a future that Bush and friends have squandered.