I like Sarah Palin. I’ve been following her since she became governor of Alaska. There seems to be a lot of buzz about whether or not she’s qualified to be VP, especially among the mainstream media. Actually, she’s a real governor of a real state! Really! She’s the most popular governor in America, in charge of almost 30,000 employees and a multi-billion-dollar budget. She took on big oil companies in her state and was able to send Alaskan citizens checks as their share of their state’s revenues, instead of just adding the money to state coffers.

So why is the media vilifying her? Is it a case of misogyny? The same thing was done to Hillary Clinton – another strong, successful female - during the primary. Is sexism still alive and well in 2008 America?

I’ll admit, Palin has had a couple of less-than-impressive interviews, when she seemed to draw a blank on a question or two. The same thing has happened to me before. Once, at a poetry conference, the speaker asked me who my favorite poet was. I love Thomas Hardy. He’s been my favorite poet since I was a teenager, but at the moment I was put on the spot, I looked like a blubbering idiot. I was completely devoid of a response. It could happen to anyone.

Look, however, at the latest headlines about Palin involving her wardrobe. The RNC spent $150,000 for new clothes for Palin and her family to wear while campaigning. Apparently, they didn’t think Palin’s consignment store outfits were appropriate. She didn’t ask for the clothes, and they will either be returned or donated to charity after the election. Previously, the media made a big deal about Palin’s tanning bed that she purchased with her own money. Heck, if I lived in Alaska, I might want a tanning bed, too! My question is, WHY would such trivialities lead the news cycles for days? And my bigger question is, WHY does Joe Biden get a pass from the media, along with Obama? The news has made a much larger issue of Palin’s wardrobe than they did of the two million dollars Obama spent on those Greek columns at his opulent acceptance speech setting.

Biden, Sarah’s counterpart, is a likeable guy, but he’s a walking gaffe machine. His mistakes are much more serious than Palin’s, yet for the most part, they are mostly ignored by the media. I’ve listed just a few of Joe’s mistakes below.



Direct quotes from Biden:

• “When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television…” (Joe needs a quick history lesson.)

• Joe’s description of Obama: “…the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean…” (Racist, Joe?)

• “You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.” (More racism?)

• Speaking of Hillary as VP: “Quite frankly, it might have been a better pick than me.” (Duh!)

• “I don’t think they (AIG) should be bailed out by the federal government.” (Hmm…so you disagree with your running mate?)

• “We’re not supporting clean coal. No coal plants here in America!” (Again, you’d better check with Mr. Obama, Joe.)

More Biden gaffes:

• It’s patriotic to pay higher taxes.

• If Obama is elected, the U.S. will suffer a major international crisis. (I HOPE this is just a gaffe!)

• Joe says he visits Katie’s Diner to keep in touch with mainstream Americans. (Since Katie’s has been closed down since 1986, I guess Joe’s been out of touch for 22 years.)

• He thinks Article I of the Constitution deals with the Executive Branch. (Silly me – I thought Article I was about the Legislative Branch! But, of course, I’m not an expert on Constitutional law like Biden.)

Biden’s out-and-out mistruths:

• He stated that McCain voted “the exact same way” as Obama for tax increases for Americans making as little as $42,000 a year. Wrong!

• Biden said, “Drill, we must,” when he has opposed offshore drilling, comparing it to raping the Outer Continental Shelf.

• He said McCain voted against alternative energy 23 times. Wrong again, according to factcheck.org.

• Biden said McCain will tax health insurance coverage, when in actuality, folks will get a tax credit to offset any tax hike.

• Joe said Palin supported a windfall profits tax in Alaska. Oops, Joe, wrong again!

• Biden claims that the U.S. and France kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon. Huh?? I thought he was an expert on foreign policy?!

• Joe is also confused about the 2005 Palestinian legislative elections and Hamas. This, coming from a foreign policy expert?

Everyone makes mistakes, but if Palin were to utter the same degree of gaffes as Joe has, she would be absolutely crucified by the media! Is it because she’s a woman, or is it because she’s a conservative? I think it’s because she’s a conservative woman. For some reason, the media sees her as an outsider worthy only of their contempt. She’s a pro-life, hunting, fishing, gun-totin’ mom who believes in small government and low taxes – everything the liberal media abhors. She’s been under the microscopic lens of reporters since she first appeared on the national scene.

Unfortunately, it’s not just the media that is obsessed with Sarah. Now there are pornographic movies starring women who look like Palin. An artist out west painted a nude portrait of Sarah, using his wife’s body as a model. It now hangs over a bar, and folks have flocked from near and far to see Sarah “unveiled.” Topless bars across the U.S. have held “Sarah look-alike” contests. There are dozens of photoshopped pictures of Palin in bikinis on the internet. Her eyeglasses are the top seller at optometrists’ offices across the globe. The ridicule and obsession are endless. Can you imagine a “Joe Biden look-alike” contest at a Chippendale show?

Male candidates are treated differently and with more respect. No one ever asks, “How could Obama be president? He has young children at home!” Yet this question is frequently asked about Sarah Palin, just because she’s a mom instead of a dad.

It’s sad that things have changed so little in the U.S. in respect to sexism. Unfortunately, it’s alive and well, especially in the presidential election.



Holle Abee

Tifton