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Faulking Opinions - Sep 1, 2008 - Printable Version
- DON'T
by Robin Buckallew
Well, contrary to expectation, John McCain has turned out to have a substantial amount of political savvy. The recent announcement of his Vice Presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, managed to trump the Democratic National Convention, and drove talk of Obama’s acceptance speech nearly off the radar. For the first day following the convention, which would normally have been dominated by discussion and analysis of Obama’s strong, rhetorically exciting speech, all the news could talk about was McCain-Palin. For most of the summer, people had been writing off McCain, and there had been almost no news generated. Let’s face it, he isn’t the sort to generate summer excitement, not when there are so many other sizzling things to talk and think about. Now, however, he’s turned around, and put the Democrats in the biggest spot they’ve been in since Florida 2000. The astuteness of McCain’s choice cannot be overstated. First of all, by selecting a woman for his running mate, McCain has made a bid to attract those Hillary voters who were disenchanted with what they perceived as the sexism of the primary race, and who have spent most of the summer pouting over the Obama victory. The Democratic Party has assumed that all those voters would, in time, turn back to the Democrats, with no other satisfactory place to go. After all, the GOP platform isn’t exactly woman-friendly. Instead of spending time reassuring the Hillary voters that he would be strong in support of their issues, Obama has mostly thrown out a few rhetorical sops toward the feminists. He has been consistently pro-choice, but that really isn’t enough to placate angry women who have a lot more issues on their plate than just whether or not abortion remains legal. Let’s face it, the majority of women who were voting for Hillary Clinton are never likely to face the need to have an abortion, and most of them were looking for something else. For some of them, these are simply issue matters which do not require a woman to address, and could be dealt with by Obama or any other individual who cared to take a stand on behalf of equal pay for equal work, shattering of the glass ceiling, and domestic violence.
Other women were looking for something else – a symbol. A symbol of the ability of women to break the glass ceiling. A symbol of the ability of women to lead this country. A symbol that women have, at last, become truly accepted by a male society. Obama cannot fill this role; Palin can. Although there is little about the McCain-Palin ticket that would lead me to think it would be a good choice for a feminist voter, the image of McCain as accepting of female leadership is going to be a powerful one for those women who are still licking their wounds over the sexist pontificating that was directed daily at Hillary Clinton. Obama has demonstrated, unequivocally, that a black man has what it takes to be the President of the United States; whether he wins or loses, people have looked at him and seen a potential President. He’s been taken seriously. Now, there are many women who would give their eye teeth to have a woman within a heart beat of the Presidency. In politics, image is everything.
Let’s not forget, Governor Palin has some other plusses on her side. Her disabled child will tug a great many heartstrings. Her Inuit husband could place a Native American in the inside circle for the first time. These are going to be powerful images, and the Republican party is going to play them up for all they’re worth. While it has not been demonstrated that a substantial number of people vote based on the Vice Presidential candidate, most nominees don’t take a chance. They select someone who will complement them, who will fill in the gaps in their resume, or who will defuse certain criticisms. Obama selected Joe Biden, a choice that, whether consciously or not, will serve as counterpoint to Obama’s perceived lack of experience, while simultaneously assuring white males that his is not going to be a presidency in which they are shunted aside in favor of “special interests”. McCain has chosen to court the soccer moms, the security moms, and the disenchanted Hillary voters. He had a substantial problem connecting with women voters, and he filled in that gap. In addition, Palin is popular with the religious right, which has hesitated to give McCain the enthusiastic endorsement he needs.
Meanwhile, the Democrats are stuck in a mighty PR problem. Already I have seen evidence that there is going to be a temptation for Democrats to engage in the sort of sexist slurs they decry when they are directed at Democratic females. Democrats are already making cracks comparing Palin to various famous people, especially movie stars. Already, there are hints of the very same sort of cracks likely to come from the left that were directed at Hillary Clinton from the right. The Democrats are going to be tempted to indulge in all sorts of cheap shots. They may try to paint her as a bimbo, as a gold digger, as a “movie star”, or as any number of other things that are all too often used to cast suspicion on the qualifications of a woman for holding an important job. For those Democrats who are revving up the smear machine, I have one word for you: DON’T. If you wish to have any chance of electing Barack Obama to the presidency in November, do not stoop down to the low level of which I know you are capable. Refrain from indulging in your worst instincts. This is just what McCain is hoping you will do, and if you should, he will be merciless. If the Democrats go after Governor Palin in the wrong way, McCain will never have to show his hand by playing the race card.
The most important thing for the Democrats at this point is to be noble. Be more high-minded than you want to be. Acknowledge the brilliant stroke of genius that put McCain temporarily in the driver’s seat. Concede graciously that he has made an elevated choice that outmaneuvered the Democratic National Convention, and outshone the brightest star in the sky, Barack Obama. Let him take your queen, but don’t sacrifice your king for the sake of your wounded feelings. Put aside all your base instincts, and focus solely on the record. When McCain points out how she has “fought the oil companies”, be sure that you have the facts on hand to show how she has supported drilling and steamrolled over the environment. Her record is not good, and can be addressed without a trace of sexism. Any other line of attack will be painted as even blacker than it really is, and will only serve to alienate women voters who have been loyal to the Democratic Party, but are now feeling hurt and abandoned. It is time for Obama to abandon the rhetoric, and put some hard-hitting feminist issues on the table. It is time to address the glass ceiling, to point to the Republican Party platform and note where it fails, and to demonstrate why, even with a woman on the GOP ticket, the Democrats are a better choice for woman voters. Reach out to women in a real way. Address their real concerns, not just the issue of choice, but the issues that they encounter every day on the job and in the home. Many women are feeling very insecure right now, and the Democrats have done very little to reassure them. McCain has just given them a symbol; is Obama ready to do more? And, if he feels the time is not right in the public mind to do anything more than symbolic, may I make a slight suggestion? I think Hillary Clinton would make one hell of a choice for Supreme Court justice.
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