McCain's Running Mate

[teaberryblue]

Yeah, I know everyone else has already commented on this, but I was in the car and I had a couple comments no one else made.

1) Did anyone else go WTF at the part of his speech where he said that he stood for people who "value their privileges over their responsibilities" ? It was right toward the beginning of the speech. I was like, seriously? That's seriously okay to say? I don't know if it was a mistake or what, but he didn't correct it if it was.

2) Here's a little snippet of our conversation

McCain: "...historic..."
Me: "Oh, shit, he's picking a woman."

3) McCain's announcement sounded like the way a schoolteacher would pick the winner of a contest. He's all "WE had a lot of really, really good entries, but we could ONLY PICK ONE OF YOU. But you're all special and talented in your own way! Except for you, Mitt Romney, stop being cooler than I am."

4) I'm sort of, I don't know, insulted, that when we have a brilliant, amazing woman like Condoleezza Rice working for our country, he picks some no-name governor of Alaska? Like, if he wanted a woman to play token BS with, get one who is, a. a household name and b. a brilliant woman who has worked her butt off for this country.

5) I like how McCain's definition of a historic event is something the Democrats did 24 years ago? And they picked a woman people had heard of.

6) Walter Mondale picked Geraldine Ferraro because not only was she a woman, but she was at the forefront of many of the most important issues in America in the 1980s. She had chops AND boobies. If, in the 1980s, someone had felt strongly about nominating a woman and chosen someone not many people had heard of, it would have been more understandable, because there weren't many women at the top of politics at the time. Now? This is kinda inexcusable and insulting to a LOT of Republican women.

7) Listening to her talk, she kinda sounded like a kindergarten teacher?

ALSO.

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Comments

[novangla.livejournal.com]

I missed the speech itself but #4,5,6,7 were my thoughts exactly. You can't just wave a pro-life super-conservative woman around and expect all swing-vote woman to go "oh look she is a woman too! clearly I will vote for her!!" Do they really think women are that stupid?

I mean, some may be, but it's not the best message to send.

[phloxyloxy.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad that since McCain is an old fogey, there would actually be a decent chance of someone with virtually NO experience becoming our President! Yaaay!

[evil-laugher.livejournal.com]

Condoleezza is too Bush-tainted; she'd bring the focus to the war, which the Republicans might want to avoid talking about now... It's not really their strong point. Or IS that what they're focusing on? I don't know.

[rhikat.livejournal.com]

Much as it pains me to sort of defend McCain, I'm reading the transcript of the speech now and according to it, the "value their privileges over their responsibilities" bit was him saying that he and Palin will stand up to people who do that:

"...I have found the right partner to help me stand up to those who value their privileges over their responsibilities, who put power over principle, and put their interests before your needs."

However, I kind of love this line: "And I am especially proud to say in the week we celebrate the anniversary of women's suffrage, a devoted wife and a mother of five."

And by "love" I mean "Gosh, McCain and McCain's speech writers, you couldn't have tied the anniversary of women's suffrage to something like her career?"

And, yeah, doing something the Democrats did over twenty years ago is not breaking the glass ceiling.

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

Ahhh, I listened on the radio and it sounded like he said "stand up FOR" and I was like, what the fuck?

[rhikat.livejournal.com]

I've seen other people have that same WTF reaction to that line, so you are not alone!

And I am not entirely ruling out the idea that he actually did say "stand up for" and the transcript isn't accurate.

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

Yeah, he might have actually said the wrong word.

at least it's not pawlenty

[gildedage.livejournal.com]

I personally wish he had picked Meg Whitman, former CEO of Ebay. Or Mitt Romney. I think he had to pick a woman, because if he picked a rich white male, all the Democrats could just stand there and be all "Oh, look.. Republicans.. MORE OF THE SAME."

Meg Whitman was, y'know, the CEO of one of the internet/world's most influencial companies, would have a hold in Microsoft-Land/Silicon Valley (aka the West Coast). And I don't think she'd stoop to calling herself a hockey mom. And didn't have a scandal breathing down her neck. Okay, the scandal was that Palin was trying to get her brother in law (who was abusing her sister) fired, but.. y'know.

The problem, I feel, with the Republican party is that they should be embracing smart, powerful, rich women who earned their money. People can't get over the fact that Palin was once a bbbeeeeauty queen, instead of the fact that she's the governor of Alaska, in a biracial marriage, and y'know has an 80% approval rating. Don't like it! Not saying that that's a bad thing, but you do notice that Republican women always tend to be perfectly coifed and pantsuited with in an inch of their lives.

I really want the Republican party to push out all the crazy evangelicals, and get me a new Barry Goldwater so I can be proud again.

Re: at least it's not pawlenty

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I assumed it was going to be Meg Whitman when John McCain said the 'historic' comment. And then he started talking about how it was a governor, and I was like, hm, well, that's not Romney, it must be Pawlenty.

And you know I totally agree with you about the Republicans. I want some awesome AuH2O action too.

[deathrockboy.livejournal.com]

I really was expecting Romney. Even though the guy comes off as the sleaziest snake-oil salesman ever, I was thinking it was the only logical choice for McCain to make, seeing as how he's already sold his soul to the white devil anyway. As much as Romney's smiley-glad-hands-YOU'RE-GOING-TO-LOVE-THIS-USED-CAR-CAUSE-JESUS-SAYS-SO demeanor makes me sick to my stomach, bro has a ton more going for him than ole barefoot-and-pregnant-in-an-oil-rig-with-a-hockey-stick.

I don't know who is running the thinktank gone horribly wrong that was once called the Republican Party, but I need to find them if only to ask them "DID THE PAST FORTY YEARS NOT HAPPEN?!?"

[cheshire23.livejournal.com]

I like how McCain's definition of a historic event is something the Democrats did 24 years ago?

YES! <3

EDIT: Oh, and there's also the baby issue. The short version: she apparently wasn't "showing" at all when she announced that she was 7 months pregnant. Then, supposedly, her water broke in Texas and she flew back to Alaska to have the baby. (She was 44 years old and the baby was known to have Down Syndrome AND the labor was premature.) Either she was simply incredibly irresponsible or there's something to the rumors that this child is actually her grandchild.

I just find that all kinds of disturbing. You don't DO that.

[comedychick.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's an historic event because he chose a woman with so little experience? Or you know, he's just stupid. But most likely he's probably just counting on people, women in particular, not to remember/know about the Democrats doing it first.

...And I'm totally not stalking your journal *cough* >.>

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

Stalk away! <3

[sunnyrea.livejournal.com]

Christ I didn't hear that part of his speech. What the hell? 'privileges over responsibilities'!?!?! How did that get by this speech writer?

Also for Rice, a friend of mine said that perhaps they don't want anyone connected directly to the Bush administration.