Dee Dee Myers on McCain’s Vice Presidental Candidate Sarah Palin
Read Dee Dee Myers on Sarah Palin in Vanity Fair. It’s condescending to women AND men when a greenhorn like Palin is picked for a position they aren’t qualified for–a position which admittedly puzzles Palin, especially after making “experience” a primary issue in McCain’s campaign. Myers writes:
Clearly, McCain thinks Palin will help him among women, particularly those disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters who are having so much trouble “getting over it.” It just shows how clueless the McCain camp actually is. Unlike Clinton and Ferraro, Palin hasn’t been a strong national voice on women’s issues. She hasn’t been at the barricades, fighting for women’s health, equal pay, economic security. And she certainly hasn’t had anything to say about the national-security issues that are also important to women across the political spectrum. Does the McCain camp really expect pro-choice Democratic and independent women to be swayed by a sleight-of-gender?
While I think McCain’s Palin pick was meant to show that he is a “candidate for change,” secure maximum media coverage, and to reassure Republican women voters that McCain isn’t a man who doesn’t like women, I’m sure his campaign is hoping that they might get a few votes from the Clinton discontents. But Myers is right. Palin is no Hillary Clinton. It’s ridiculous for anyone to believe that McCain will pull in dissatisfied Clinton supporters simply because she’s a woman. Clinton supporters support Clinton because she has decades of experience fighting for universal health care, child protection, pay equity, women’s health issues, labor rights, and because of her foreign policy acumen. Above all, she is a feminist. Palin has a history of supporting causes that have cut into gains women have made in many area–choice being one of the most important, and she has no foreign policy experience whatsoever. Palin is no Hillary Clinton. How condescending that McCain’s campaign would even think Clinton supporters would suppport a candidate like Palin.
Like most women, I’m excited by the idea of a woman in the White House, but why not the best woman? There are many accomplished and experienced Republican politicians available. Why not Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson for instance? She’s experienced and well-versed in foreign policy, homeland security, and all facets of domestic policy? Is a few days of media coverage and solidifying his base worth picking someone so inexperienced?
I hope Palin proves Myers (and me) wrong. If nothing else, if Palin shows the talent and skill necessary during this campaign, her future in politics is bright, even if McCain loses, and I’d like nothing more than to see more women in positions of power, even when I don’t agree with them. However, high offices should never be decided strictly on gender. That does a disservice to everyone.
Thanks to Political Voices of Women, here’s Jack Cafferty’s opinion:
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Wow - thanks for the video clip, Myrna. Talk about lowering the threshold for what qualifications are necessary. I don’t know but do you have to be a natural born citizen for VP - because even Arnold would be a better choic.
This is not a step forward for women. It is a ploy that actually insults our intelligence. To think that we would be swayed by this attempt to pander to us is demeaning. She is not HRC - not even close. She is not the person I want to be sworn in the day after McCain becomes incapacitated whether by illness, coma or death.
Yes, women all look forward to seeing a woman in the White House but not as a way to placate us. Hell, if that was all it took, just send us all a diamond ring or take us on a cruise or buy us an effingg steak dinner.