Jacksonian Democracy and Palins Demise

When Sara Palin imploded in the Katie Couric interview it brougth up a painful question: Do we, as Americans want someone smart or dumb to run our country? We picked someone dumb for the last eight years. He made us feel safe. He made us feel like he was one of us. No one felt left out with Bush. The moron vote as it came to be known. Actually, this all goes back much further, back to Andrew Jackson. He was just a solider who became President, but what he did was he took the spoils system one step futher and put all his friends in his cabinet. Quite literally there were no politicians in Jackson's admistration and Jacksonian democracy came to be called rule by the common people. So what do we have in Palin? When Couric asked her what Supreme Court decisions did she not agree with, she had no answer. She stumbled. She talked nonsense. Suddenly the hockey mom was in the car telling junior not to forget his skates and his mouth guard and oh, you forgot your bottled water. Sara Palin had suddenly reached her level of incompentence and it was painful. It wasnt' so much that she couldnt' answer the question, it was that she didn't have the authority to say, you know what, I'm not that familiar with Supreme Court decisions, except for Roe V Wade. Instead she stumbled around because of intellectual insecurity. It was painful to watch. Now she is going to debate and maybe she will pull it out, but the cat is out of the bag and the hockey mom just can't quite get by with her sassy mouth and good looks. At the national level people dont get points for just looking good or being witty--you have to deliver something. And like the Jackson administration, people are horrified. We prattle on about rule of the common man, but we have Congress now staying up all night to pass a bailout because rule of the common man did not work out. George Bush is common in that he is not a smart man and we had decided somewhere as a nation we didn't like smart people anymore. Unfortunately for Sara Palin, the country just changed its mind and decided maybe smart people arent such a bad thing. Democracy is good in theory, but let's not get carried away. Let the hockey moms be hockey moms, and let's leave politics to someone who at least can face down Katie Couric.

FEAR ITSELF

1929. Fear itself. That rainy drizzly inaugural day in Washington with the stock market decimated and Mr. Roosevelt standing next to Mr. Hoover in those tall stove pipe hats, everything as somber as the black and white film where Mr. Roosevelt tells a crowd of black umbrellas--the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself. Quaint words once upon a time, but we know fear itself don't we? We feel it when we watch the cable channels and listen to wrestlers and has been kung fu actors tell us who we should vote for. We feel it when we can no longer decipher between news and entertainment where Larry King holds us hostage with who the Donald will endorse for President. Where have all the real people gone? We feel it when the market plunges nearly five hundred points and nobody can really have a serious discussion about the problem because everyone is busy being a celebrity. Are there any adults left in the house?Are we now victim to the Sara Palins who are as much a phenomenon for her hair and accent as her experience? Where is Mr. Obama now? Has he been swiftboated by the forces that be? Has the news media finally devoured their own? Where did all that hope go to in two short weeks? Could a woman who likes to shoot wolves from a helicoter and field dress a moose and talk about war with Russia and not even know what the Bush doctrine is really derail our best hope for change in this country? Could an old man with a rich Stepford wife really inherit the White House by proxy, hiding behind the short skirts and updo of a woman half his age who is married to snow mobile racing First Dude, a woman who tries to ban books, fire state troopers, and has her husband call people to tell them she is not happy with them? Where is that higher calling? Has it really all been sold down the river with the rest of our values? For what? A buck? Where is our Mr. Roosevelt now? We need him and we need him badly, because my friends, we are the ones standing in the rain now, and it's 2008.

Top Gun

Right into the danger zone...right into the danger zone....
"Maverick!"
"Yes sir."
"If you do another fly by with your walker then you're out."
"Yes sir."
"Another thing you never EVER leave your wingman."
"Yes sir."
"Turncoat would forgive you but I won't."
Maverick pauses, leaning forward.
"Sir we were surrounded by FRCC's."
"You mean Far Right Chrisitan Coalitions."
"Yes sir..and well Turncoat is Jewish sir and he's short and you know, is in favor of a womans right to choose."
"That may be, but first of all the FRCC's don't even know what a Jew is and you're just going to have to acccept the fact that Turncoat is different, but he's loyal and gone through hell to be your wingman."
"Well sir, I was kind of thinking maybe Youbetcha might be my wingman"
"Cadet Palin is too new. I know she's the new hotshot, but she doesn't have enough experience yet."
"Yes sir."
"Dismissed.
Maverick walks into the hall.
"What happened?"
"Don't worry Turncoat, you're still my wingman."
"Phew, thanks Mav, I won't let you down."
"Wait a minute, I have to talk to Youbetcha for a moment."
"Hello Maverick."
"Youbetcha."
"About that seminar the other day. I wanted to let you know, I really didn't think your speech during the Obama nomination was the worst Id ever seen, but I couldn't let anyone else know I had fallen for you and wanted to be your wingman. The way you handled yourself with the FRCCs was really something."
"Thanks Youbetcha."
"Well...gotta go big boy."
"See you around Youbetcha."
Right into the danger zone...right into the dangerzone.
"Mav! Mav! There are FRCCs all around us."
"I see them Turncoat."
Maverick thinking...Never Leave My Wingman Never Leave My Wingman..
"Mav! There's even more of them!"
"Don't worry Turncoat, I'll hit the brakes and they'll fly right by."
"Mav, there's something coming through the headset."
"That's Raisin McCain, Turncoat, my song."
"You have a song?"
"Big hit from country bar to country bar, Turncoat."
"Mav, Mav...more FRCC's!"
" The brake thing didn't work...listen Turncoat, I think we have make a change here."
"What do you mean?"
"Well...I think I'm going with Youbetcha for my wingman."
"Mav, what about Country first?'
"You got that wrong, Turncoat , that was Me First."
"Mav, don't hit the ejector--MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAV!"
Maverick lands on the Carrier.
"YOU!"
Youbetcha turns, tossing her hair.
"Ya, Maverick."
"You are hot, viscious, you can talk, you can field dress a moose, your married to the first dude, and the FRCCS love you. Besides, you can steer me around on stage when I dont know what to do."
"Are you saying, you want me to be your wingman, Maverick?"
"Youbetchayourassa."


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