Lowered Expectations

Someone recently said that a couple of us Obama supporters are spending too much time talking about Sarah Palin and not enough time talking about our own candidate(s). She's right. But, Sarah Palin is uniquely (un)qualified to be Vice President or President, IMO. Sarah Palin is newsworthy. Sarah Palin is sucking all the oxygen out of the room and all of the ink for the headlines. We cannot deny the urge to talk about Sarah Palin because frankly she is the scariest candidate we've had for VP or President in a very long time. Even scarier than George W, IMHO.

But, what I want to talk about today is lowered expectations. As we've been discussing this issue, many of us have talked about the anti-intellectualism Sarah Palin is promoting.  Her dropping of every consonant from the end of a word (as Martha Stewart observed), her "Joe Six Pack" and her "Holly Hockey Mom" appeals (literally using the words Joe Six Pack and Hockey Mom) and her accusing reporters of "gotcha journalism" for asking what periodicals she reads is amazing to me.  I don't mind that she wants to appeal to Joe Six Pack. I just don't want Joe Six Pack in the Oval Office (again- 8 years is enough). I've been accused of intellectual elitism/snobbery. Darn right. I value education and intellectual curiosity.

I need to interject this because after my conversation with Karen, I realized I forgot to add it in the post originally and people might get the wrong idea.  Sarah Palin is intelligent, very intelligent. She has learned to use what she has to her advantage.  She's also ambitious.  You don't fall into being governor even if a tiny state like Alaska.  She has shown an amazing comprehension of politics.  And, like a jujitsu expert, she has learned to take the force of an attack and throw her opponent off balance with it.  She's a quick study and has crammed an enormous amount of memorization into a short period of time.  She's learned what appeals to the "common man" and is using it for all its worth. She's played the media brilliantly starting the war before it even started.  Now, if the "liberal elitist left wing media" attacks her, it's just what you'd expect because, Governor Palin told us before hand they don't like her.

Sarah Palin supporters seem to be thrilled that she just made it through the debate without bursting into flames. Yes, Sarah got by.  Sarah has mastered one great political skill.  Do not answer the questions you don't like or the ones you don't know the answer to. "Pivot" back to your strength. Some do it with so much fluidity you hardly notice.  Halfway through their answer you find yourself wondering "What was the question."  Governor Palin was not nearly that smooth.  But, maybe with a little more practice.

There are those who are so impressed with their own vocabularies that no one can understand them. You feel like you need to have a dictionary and a thesauraus just to follow along. They are not effective communicators at all. They're blow-hards. But, the best communicators can communicate with a number of audiences. My wife basically speaks two languages. When she's talking to her mother, her sister or one of her long time buddies, she switches to her homegirl dialect. When she's on the telephone, I can tell when it's one of her inner circle on the other end just by which language she is speaking. When she's talking to anyone else, she speaks something very close to standard English. I had a good friend in Lexington, KY who could speak perfect midwestern dialect when in most company. But, when he was in a sales call with a good ole boy, Mike could turn it on like you wouldn't believe. Sarah, IMO, has yet to show she can speak standard English. I don't really want a Vice President or a President who does not have a command of his native tongue. People are telling me that Sarah Palin is not concerned with appealing to the "Washington elite" or the "East Coast Liberals". Am I now to believe that the entire Republican party is made up of "Joe Six Packs" and "Holly Hockey Moms"? Have the Republicans entirely written off anyone who wants a President or Vice President with a command of facts and the ability to think on her feet?  Governor Palin's debate performance the other night showed an amazing ability to parrot back facts on queue, including delivering up the prepared line, "I might not answer the questions the way you and the moderator want me to."  One of the points of a debate is to learn how the candidate can respond to unanticipated situations.  If their only response is to repeat canned sound bites (and often sound bites unrelated to the question), that is not a good thing.  Some say this is a valid debate strategy.  It is a way to skate by, I agree.  But, it does not inspire confidence in me.  Some day she will have to answer questions and make decisions without a script.  I'd at least like a preview of what that might be like.

When discussing qualifications for President, someone said "I'm looking for character and integrity" as if those things are mutually exclusive with having intellectual curiosity and experience. Well, guess what. When it comes to President (VP), I want it all. Every job has it's own set of qualifications. When I'm looking or a doctor, in my general practitioner, I want someone I can talk to. In a surgeon, I really don't care if I can talk to him or not. I want a surgeon to be smart, precise and confident. They're often abrasive and arrogant. Big whoop. They don't need to be able to "relate". Just cut. In a lawyer, I want intelligence, a command of the law and the ability to persuade (if I'm going to trial). In a counselor, I want someone "folksy" and easy to talk to. In a mechanic, I want him to understand cars. I don't care if he speaks a word of English.

For President, I want it all. I want intelligence, command of the material, an understanding of various cultures, integrity, character, the ability to inspire, the ability to lead, the ability to deliver a good speech and relevant experience. It is one of the most unique and demanding jobs in the world. We have a pool of a couple of hundred million to draw from. So, we should be able to find somebody. Since the VP is the back up quarterback I want the VP to at least have the ability to step in and finish the game without screwing up too badly, should it become necessary. Being folksy and being well educated and informed are not mutually exclusive.  I've known some very intelligent, very folksy people.  We even had a pretty folksy President not so long ago, Bill Clinton.

Yes. For President/VP.  I'm pretty demanding.  I want it all.   I want someone smarter than I am.  I want someone more experienced than I am.  I want someone better traveled than I am.  I want someone who can perform under pressure (like in a debate) better than I can.  I don't want me for President. I want someone better qualified than I am.  For such a unique job with such high stakes, I don't think it's too much to ask.