Sheila Nevins | 08/30/2008 9:17 am

Sheila Nevins: Why Palin Is a Great Choice

WOW ladies take a breather. This is a wonderful choice. It is a clear choice and that’s what America stands for. The issues that Palin represents though reprehensible to me - represent a constituency and a voice. American democracy represents the right to disagree. It also represents majority rule. The cards are on the table - race, abortion, gun control, stem cell research, taxation, godliness - you name it. There’s no fudging here - no middle of the road. rhetoric. Americans will declare their absolute preferences. And a woman will stand for this. Being a woman doesn’t mean agreeing with the WOW dames. Palin may not be in whom we trust, but there is an odd equality in the sheer selection. Women can be as arbitrary and right wing as any man. And for those of us for whom Sarah Palin’s beliefs belie our deepest convictions. So be it. The great truths lie in an honest ballot box. Vote and live in America or flee if you must. Great choice in the divide A civil war without bullets. Three cheers for clarity.

What Other wOw Women Are Saying About Sarah Palin:
Whoopi Golderg on Sarah Palin and Joe Biden
Joan Ganz Cooney: The Choice of Palin Is Irresponsible
Marlo Thomas: They Don’t Understand Women

Read more about: John McCain, News, Politics, Sarah Palin

379 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Gee, I was beginning to feel paranoid. I just tried to put up a link to the Huffington Post for a blog piece by Jane Smiley in the Jane G. Cooney discussion but it wouldn’t take it-twice. So if anyone is interested click on the “Huffy Post” link on DeB’s comment, go to the home page and read the Smiley piece, which is a little way down on the left side of the screen. It’s titled”Make her Whine” and it’s not refering to HRC! (Also, some DailyKOS bloggers are now referring to Palin as “Cheney with a uterus.” ) MEOW!

By Marcia L. on 08/30/2008 3:41 pm

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“Cheney with a uterus” !!

By DeBúrca obj on 08/30/2008 3:48 pm

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Good—VPs attend a lot of ceremonial things like state funerals. As for state governor, maybe she picked up a few more creds?

By Star Lawrence on 08/30/2008 4:07 pm

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Cheney with a uterus? I laughed. I know it’s hard to imagine because we have short memories, but there was a time when VPs didn’t run the show, whichever gender. Point of order: Can a uterus be a neocon? Just asking.

By Star Lawrence on 08/30/2008 4:10 pm

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18 mos as state governor of a state with a population about the size of San Francisco isn’t much cred. Also, after McCain clinched the nomination he said that the most important decision for a nominee to make was to choose a running mate who would be ready to take over as president if need be. Do you think this choice indicates that he has stuck by this statement? Odds are high enough with McCain due to his age and his health history to make this pick very alarming.

By DeBúrca obj on 08/30/2008 4:30 pm

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DeB—Actually 100K+ smaller than SF—i.e a ‘small’ major city. More than 8x smaller than NYC for instance.

By No Way-No How -No McCain on 08/30/2008 8:11 pm

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This is getting depressing. Have you heard any predictions worth believing about what is happening as far as the race goes?

By DeBúrca obj on 08/30/2008 8:28 pm

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Deb I don’t understand why it is depressing to you if you are voting for Obama? This may help Obama. You know who you want. He is moving forward with a huge and better equipped political machine than the democrats had in ‘04. There are many repubs that wanted Mitt Romney and that didn’t happen. They are the ones that might be depressed. You seemed like you were happy about the choice of Biden. So what is the problem?

By Frannie Em on 08/30/2008 11:47 pm

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This WILL help Obama on one front. The reasonable voters. But there is the wild card of the extremist right wing fundamentalists who are swooning over the thought of getting this woman who is a member of the “Feminists For Life” organization (not feminist btw) and is closely connected with the Dominionist movement. And with an election this close, and very questionable voting machines, I am very scared. We got Bush once under highly questionable circumstances and even a second time, so I am not naive enough to think even this crazy choice of McCain’s is enough to help Obama get a wide enough margin to protect us from tampering and a huge fundamentalist turn out.

By DeBúrca obj on 08/31/2008 8:48 am

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DeB I don’t know much about Palin, but I know this about this process. There will be many things thrown back and forth especially at the beginning. Take all the garbage about Obama and Islam. I didn’t participate in that, nor will I participate in making assumptions about her beliefs. Sheila Nevins called them ‘reprehensible’, instead of just saying “I don’t agree”. Those types of words make for extremism on both sides. If the process continues to be looking at the other side as extreme, then we will continue to get extremism, and there will be no reasonable thought. If you want to promote reasonable thought, like Sen Obama does, (he is a great example) then don’t use extreme language about every issue. More people will listen to you. In the last 20-30 years redistricting took place by state legislatures to insure their votes in their areas. Both sides did it. It has made it possible for incompetent people to be elected over and over again. What has also occurred is that now, in order to get elected you have to be very right or very left. When those electorates get into state government they are so diametrically opposed that they can never agree on anything, nothing gets done, and things just get worse. There is not much moderate or reasonable thought. We have to have it. There was a wonderful young woman - She must be in her late thirties that wrote a book about the redistricting, and how it has destroyed and is destroying our system. I am going to try and google to find. Voting machines - There was a local news program that addressed that and it seems that many states have worked diligently to correct the issue. Calif has 12% of the pop of the US, we use ink dotters and the ballot is scanned. No chads, just a good black blot of ink. The good old fashioned way with a paper trail. Californians made an issue about it. What does your state do?

By Frannie Em on 08/31/2008 1:11 pm

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I have not said one thing about Palin that is not factual. Her credentials and lack thereof, and her affiliations with FFL and what it stands for. Extreme is making stuff up, ie. Obama being a muslim. Tearing her apart, would be making fun of her hair or clothing style. As far as voting goes Illinois allows us a choice of computer ballot or paper, I choose paper. But this is not the case with all states. Also, this pick of Palin as far as the fundamentalist vote goes and with McCain now obtaining the enthusiastic endorsement of the likes of James Dobson… is the equivalent of having a Gay Marriage Amendment put on every ballot in the country. Add to that the racial undertones of the election and there is a very good chance that McCain could get in. Even a 50/50 chance is way too close for my comfort. Because remember, the ONLY official job requirement of a Vice President, is that they take over should the president be unable to finish the term. As much as I wouldn’t like Joe Lieberman or Mitt Romney, I would not think of either as a threat to our national security. But this woman with her lack of experience, her journalism degree and her extreme right-wing ideology would be a disaster for this country should she end up in the Oval Office.

By DeBúrca obj on 08/31/2008 1:35 pm

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DeB I understand.

By Frannie Em on 09/03/2008 12:34 am

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I just read today’s gallup poll say’s Obama is up 8pts.

By DeBúrca obj on 08/30/2008 8:50 pm

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DeB My point exactly. Obama is up. Why all the drama?

By Frannie Em on 08/30/2008 11:48 pm

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Also, I don’t expect the media to actually report on this woman. Us political geeks in here are getting lots of information… while the cover of my local paper The Chicago Sun-Times is a huge photo of a smiling McCain and Palin with the caption “The Maverick Chooses a Woman as VP” !! I can’t go into the many levels at which that headline is bad journalism, but I do know that that is the main impression most voters will get.

By DeBúrca obj on 08/31/2008 8:52 am