Palin debate

[hnpcc]

Does she seriously not know what an "Achilles heel" is?

(This made the news here. If I could find an online copy of it, I'd link it).

I mean, it was a very wanky job interview question, but even so.

Comments

[valamelmeo.livejournal.com]

I haven't had a chance to watch the debate yet, but my grandmother was gushing about how smart and competent Palin came across...which would have been honestly scary, but now my mind is more at ease.

I appear to be the only one in my family who knows the difference between socialism and communism, because my sister is convinced that all Democrats are communists, and my grandmother thinks that raising taxes to fund a national healthcare plan will plunge us into another Great Depression. My honest assessment is that my grandmother is a closet racist (though my grandmother is exactly the sort of person Palin's nomination was designed to target: religious traditionalists), and my sister is confused and badly educated. I haven't had a chance to talk to my dad about it yet, which is odd, because we often talk about politics.

I'll stop hijacking your journal now, but I hope that at least gives you some idea of what some minimally-educated conservative folks think (my sister isn't religious, just hates taxes and communism).

[hnpcc]

gives you some idea of what some minimally-educated conservative folks think

It is interesting seeing the difference between what similar groups here and in the US think - cultural differences really do come into play. Australians seem much less agitated about the taxation issue but there's a lot of concern about "immigration" and a lot of very similar anti-latte belt-ism[1]. There's also a very big rural/city divide, which comes into play in very strange ways and often creates bizarre bedfellows. The religious side of things is less pronounced, although we do now have a religiously based conservative party (Family First). Australia (again, for historical reasons) is a lot less concerned with socialism and unionism (until recently a large proportion of Australians were members of a union) - and who cares about Communism? That's so 1980s. ;-)

To me, Palin comes across a lot like Pauline Hanson - she appealed to similar groups, and for some similar "anti-intellectual" reasons ("Please Explain?").

Having said that, I'm still amazed that Palin didn't understand the question. I asked Dean, and after answering literally ("it's where your tendon joins your heel") he gave the correct answer and then demanded to know why I was asking "shared services job interview questions".

[1] I've never understood why "intellectuals" are supposed to drink lattes. I drink cappuccinos, myself. Then again, there's a good case for me not being "intellectual".

[valamelmeo.livejournal.com]

Here the divide is mostly Populism vs. Socialism. Rural and less-educated folks prefer more "folksy" sorts who promote "small town values". Politicians you'd like to have as your neighbor. The Populists died out as a party several decades ago (their biggest beef was with the gold/silver standard and the introduction of fiat currency, just to give you an idea of how long ago), but as an ideology it has been the basis of the conservative movement for quite a long time.

My grandmother elaborated that she likes Sarah Palin because she understands what it's like to work for a living, and "has a degree in journalism", which apparently in her day actually meant something (never mind that it was actually broadcast journalism, which is a completely different animal). To people like that, a bachelor's degree in something practical and job-oriented (like business or education or journalism) is good, but anything fancy like Obama's law degree is fancy-pants rich-boy stuff that makes him out of touch with the plight of ordinary working people.

They're intimidated by education, and don't trust anyone who doesn't seem to have failed at anything. Which means they wouldn't elect Jesus President if he was running. Which so far I've been polite enough not to point out.

[hnpcc]

Which means they wouldn't elect Jesus President if he was running.

*snerk* given what Jesus most likely looked like, they'd also be insinuating that he was a Muslim terrorist...

[valamelmeo.livejournal.com]

At the Republican Convention, Palin made a jab at Obama's work, to the effect that being a community organizer wasn't a real job, and somebody who thought it was must be hopelessly out of touch with normal people. But wasn't that pretty much Jesus's job description?

And yeah, Jesus would most definitely be on the no-fly list.

[hnpcc]

Oh dear me. Of course someone who works at the coalface in disadvantaged areas would have No. Freaking. Clue. what middle class normal "real" America is thinking. Hell no. How could they?

I do find it kind of... strangely amusing that so many of the far religious right who claim to love Jesus above all else would shun him like the Black Death if he rocked up in person on their doorstop. Mind you, I come from a culture which regards Christianity as an inherently socialist religion and can't understand this Prosperity Gospel bullshit stuff at all...

[valamelmeo.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's easy to explain. They value the writings of Moses and Paul (and the book of Revelation) over the actual teachings of Jesus, and on top of that don't actually read the damn book. Well, apart from following along with whatever bit the sermon is about.

Have you seen the video of some pastor praying over Palin to keep witchcraft from affecting her? It's almost as hilarious as the 1984 pageant footage that's cropping up on Youtube (her "talent" was one of the easiest flute solos I've heard since 6th grade).