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

Could it be,( just me thinking) he could not find a Republican woman in Congress that would bout, down to him. But from the looks of her, she will have him bouting to her.

By Juanita Ward on 08/31/2008 12:03 pm

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lol Mugsy :)

By Buh- Bye on 08/31/2008 11:23 pm

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Oh, Fox is fair and balanced is proof ! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/politics/

By Dorothy W on 09/04/2008 12:52 pm

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Sheila, The right to disagree?Not on wowowow! But good gossip! LOL

By sibelle daubigne on 08/30/2008 11:10 am

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As far as the Republicans’ best interest, the Palin selection may’ve cost them the election, moving McCain to the far right and losing the centrist vote in the process. Only time will tell. But you had to believe that McCain was going to garner most of the conservative - or GOP, in general - vote, anyway. But what was unclear is whether McCain or Obama would get the centrists, and if McCain could lure cross-over voters from the jilted Clinton campaign. It seems highly unlikely that Clinton backers would pull the lever for a ticket that now leans so heavily to the right. So, in a close campaign, can McCain win enough of the undecided voters in the swing states like Michigan, Colorado, et al.? Picking Palin makes a much higher hill for him to climb. The ultimate answer may lie in the debates that begin in one month. Cheers.

By James the Game on 08/30/2008 11:34 am

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James I agree with much of what you say. I think the republicans know the independents are usually people that have defected from one party or the other, and many times, if they are not set on either candidate, they vote for the candidate in their old party. I think they are taking a chance here, and we will see how it plays out. I also believe that since she has a reputation of working to clean up governmental corruption, and since she is an outsider, has not had that much Washington special interest money going into her campaigns, she may get some traction. I don’t know. Much will come out. The newspapers are trying to paint her a certain way, like they tried to insinuate that Obama was a Muslim, which we all know, he is not. When HW Bush ran in ‘88 he won but he didn’t get the Latino or African American vote, and when the dust settled, they realized he won it with the Christian vote. They had not voted as much before, and now they were. So since the Republicans have let that be known, the Christians are making demands for their vote, and they listen to it. As the democrats pay attention to African American and Latino issues. I asked my neighbor (who is a republican) what she thought, she replied “Well, I think he just lost.” There are many republicans that are pro-choice, think war is the last way to go, but believe the government is over bloated and wasting their money. I don’t know if the choice has sealed the deal for the democrats, because Gov Palin could bring in more young mother vote who would identify with her. It will be interesting to see how it goes. Sixty-six more days to go. Now it is going to get crazy, and I am so tired of it.

By Frannie Em on 08/30/2008 12:29 pm

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Frannie, your points are well made and worth some extra thought. But I have to say, there are two key areas where the “talk” out there about Pelan just doesn’t process in my brain with the same conclusions. One is her reputation for cleaning up corruption in a small town and in a sparely populated state, coupled with the assertion that, since she’s an outsider without special interest money (up to yesterday, that is), she’ll get some traction for him. For me, these credentials, while laudable, are really nothing special or outstanding. There are women in many of the other 49 states who have done or are doing the same thing. The complexity and size of her Alaska governmental experience doesn’t even come close to the challenges she’d be faced with in Washington. And, just about everyone I know is a Washington outsider. What makes her special? In fact, the sad truth is, you need to be able to navigate Washington to be effective in the VP job. Like it or not, she will need to enter the inner sanctum and get dirty. There’s no getting around it. The big question, will she be out of her depth? I think she will. That’s not good. Second is the young mother vote, and the idea that so many would identify with her. How many young mothers of five could identify with being a mayor, then a state governor and now a presidential VP candidate? (And commercial fisherwoman, for that matter!) And what would Palin have in common with those mothers who are hands-on every hour of every day with their children? It doesn’t take much extra thought on anyone’s part to know that Governor and VP candidate Palin is not raising her children with her very own hands most of the time. Especially with a Downs baby, there aren’t enough hours in a day to successfully be both Mommy and Governor. She has help, and probably lot of it. The kind of help most if not all of these young mothers will never know or be able to afford. I’m a mom, one who has worked outside the home in a demanding job with just one young child, and I’m still not relating to her. There’s a tremendous amount of hype at work in these two aspects of her profile, and it’s disconcerting to me that so many are swallowing it without a question. Is it Republican Kool-Aid? It must taste very good, and make one feel very happy. (Now it’s your turn to be tired of it. Did you go to the ocean today? Go again tomorrow, if you can.)

By Susan B on 08/30/2008 10:48 pm

She “HAS THE REPUTATION OF CLEANINT UP”? —-she’s being investigated for abuse of power….lots of people in her podunk state hate her. She went on a popular radio program and while her opponent—a cancer survior— was called a bitch ”a cancer’ etc Palin LAUGHED—repeatedly. She is a tacky scumball idiot—here’s the tape: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/31/palin-laughs-as-opponent_n_1227… And here she is with that godawful 60s hairdo and HER DEAD BEAR ON HER SOFA IN THE OFFICE. WHAT DECENT WOMAN WANTS A DEAD BEAR ON HER SOFA. SHE IS A RED NECK CREEP. Grandpa is canceling the RNC opening in THE NOTHERN PART OF THE COUNTRY…because of a hurricaine in the south. He is canceling it because he is a joke and the part of the country with brains is furious. http://www.grizzlybay.org/PalinBear.jpg If he’d been so concerned about drowning people before he wouldn’d have been eating cake while New Orleans drowned. HE HAS NO SENSE WHATSOEVER. Two idiots together. And the BEER heiress wife of his said on TV that THE BATON TWIRLER has foreign policy experience because Alaska is near Russia!!! Right, and I guess Miss KMart Special has POW experience because she is standing next to McCain the Fossil.

By No Way-No How -No McCain on 08/31/2008 6:05 pm

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Cool down, Suzanne. I’m upset, too, by this insulting choice, but there’s a long way to go and you want to make it to the home stretch. The information about who Palin really is and how sleazily she operates in Alaska is beginning to surface. I spent an hour yesterday and another today reading the major Alaska newspapers, and believe me, they ain’t all proud of their Sarah. So, relax a bit…the vetting is just beginning.

By Maurine H on 09/02/2008 5:04 pm

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James, I’ll talk to my neighbor who is a walking litmus test of Republican sentiment. I shall report back.

By Buh- Bye on 08/31/2008 11:21 pm

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For some strange reason I received this e-mail, Alias: Litmus test hmmmm Acid or Alkaline? Repubs I’d probably say Acid :-)

By Frank Peterson on 08/31/2008 11:39 pm

I’m sorry, I did not compute that. Received email what?

By Buh- Bye on 08/31/2008 11:44 pm

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Apparently about something James posted.

By Frank Peterson on 08/31/2008 11:47 pm

that didn’t clear it up for me either. has this something to do with email alerts? (btw, which have never worked for me.)

By Buh- Bye on 09/01/2008 12:00 am

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Sheila . . . I agree. . . I agree that each person has the right to their own opinion and is able to freely voice them - for that is what democracy is all about. But there is something about what you have written that truly bothers me. I agree that what is done is done and the huge outpouring on WOW and on all the media was after the fact. And now that it is done, in the ballot box the choice will be made, and we will all be able to express our choice there. I think this is elementary to all of us — and of course, we agree, Sheila. What upsets us - the world of people who have spoken up - is that the world has turned upside down in a single moment, on a single choice. You agree that it was ill-made. I already know that behind the scenes at the McCain back room that feathers are flying, firings are in process, and what might - and I say - MIGHT have been the Golden Goose has been denuded — or just about. But Sheila, for those of us - independents or Republicans - who were in the process of intelligently considering the choices in the weeks to come, what looked like a choice has turned into a brick wall. We may not have thought this if we had a presidential choice in his 50s, but - while you are not near that age yet and do not understand what MAY happen to someone over the years after 70 as some of us closer to that age do - now, with this VP choice as an even maybe to succeed him - we can’t take that chance. This is not the world where we could see great chances for our hopes and dreams. This is no longer the world where every move, thought of move even, in the world scene is fraught with danger. I am afraid that “good” is not good enough. New ideas count, but experience and understanding is crucial. YOu want to be scared out of your mind? Then envision a newcomer to even have the remote possibility for making our choices for us. We had thought we were going to be able to walk into that ballot box and, after weighing the pros and cons we would punch the ballot and walk out feeling confident we made the choice for us. Those of us - and there are many - who were straddling that line - have had the word “choice” knocked out from under us. We cannot afford to gamble on McCain now. Mc Cain put all his eggs in one basket, and now the choice is gone — and the goose is cooked.

By joan larsen on 08/30/2008 11:34 am