FrICTION                                      Election 2008

Obama Wins Debate  Maxed Out Moms McCain Addresses Funeral Directors  Joe Six Pack and Wendy Wine Cooler McCain Flip Flopper

Judging Amy Brenneman, feminist and for Obama

Sarah Palin's Fitness Program Who Does Hollywood Support?  Palin & Dinosaurs VP debate Newsweek & Palin

John McCain the maverick hero, and why Sarah Palin is bad for you and America

Those of us working on this website span the political spectrum from secular, progressive liberal to conservative evangelical. A month ago, when we conducted an office straw poll, we were divided about 50-50 between Obama and McCain.

All of us, even the most ardent liberal, had a lot of respect for Senator John McCain. It is impossible not to like and admire the man. His sacrifice and military service to this country cannot, and should not, be questioned. John McCain is a hero. He suffered for five awful years in a prisoner of war camp. Far from destroying the man, this created in him the desire to serve his nation in public

office, which opened a new chapter in McCain's life, a chapter we also admire: John McCain, the political maverick.

McCain often riled the Republican leadership, championing such controversial issues as immigration reform, campaign finance reform (for a long time he had a more consistent record than Obama on this issue), and the need to rewrite Washington's rules and practice on earmark spending. We even liked how McCain took a stand against extremist evangelicals, who were threatening to exert too much power over the GOP.

We hated how McCain was smeared during George Bush's election campaign in 2000, when the Bush campaign spread a dirty rumor that McCain's adopted daughter, Bridget, was the result of an out-of-wedlock affair. That was shameful and hurtful of the team headed by Karl Rove.

John McCain was such a highly regarded senator and man that many Democrats, even left-leaning Democrats, considered voting for him as president. That trust placed in McCain came crashing to the floor when he appointed Sarah Palin as his running mate. John McCain the maverick and man of principle ceased to exist. We were introduced to McCain the opportunist, McCain the

desperate and cynical Washington insider, McCain the dirty tricks campaigner, a man prepared to abandon all the good that he has stood for in order to get elected. 

What can we say about Sarah Palin? It needs to be repeated again and again and again that this woman is not ready to be vice president of the United States. It has nothing to do with sexism. We would love to see a woman vice president. We would vote for a woman for president if the right candidate came along. But Palin has no relevant experience. 

Palin is not qualified for the job. Her extremist views put her at odds with the spirit and hope of America, its tolerance, its desire to build community and build bridges from small towns to inner cities, from north to south, from black to white, gay to straight, from blue collar to white collar. The selection of Sarah Palin abandons all of that hope in favor of evangelical extremism, a narrow-minded way of looking at the world that divides America into us and them, insiders and outsiders, the loved and the despised. 

Palin sees enemies instead of partners, problems instead of hope, Sarah Palin is bad for you, Sarah Palin is bad for America's health.

What is anti-elitism?

by Zack Pine

Anyone listening to the speeches at the Republican convention will have noticed the insults hurled at elites. When seen through the eyes of a Palin-Republican, elite is a bad thing to be. But what and where are the elites she hates and blames for the country's ills?

For Palin-Republicans, anyone who went to a good school and has an excellent education, for example Hillary Clinton, is part of the elite. Anyone who has any in-depth knowledge of how government, i.e. Washington, works is an elitist. Anyone who has worked in Washington for more than a year is an elitist. Anyone who has read a difficult book, enjoys literature, and drinks wine is an elitist. Anyone who watches arthouse or Europeans movies, anyone living in New England or on the East Coast north of Baltimore is an elitist. Anyone, and everyone, in Hollywood is an elitist. Anyone in a creative profession -- artist, writer, journalist, poet, novelist, photographer -- is an elitist. Anyone interested in the environment, in biological diversity, in climate change, in organic farming and healthy food is an elitist.

Anyone who loves complexity, who loves to mull over the issues, who sees gray areas, who seeks compromise with people unlike themselves is an elitist. Anyone who has served in the armed forces is most definitely an elite member of society. 

Anyone who appreciates diversity, who welcomes a variety of religious and cultural practice is an elitist. Anyone who has an open attitude towards sexual orientation is an elitist. Anyone who thinks there are very few easy answers to difficult questions is an elitist.

An elitist, and elites, as defined by Palin-Republicans are not bad things to be. They are, in fact, part of the lifeblood of this country. Let's celebrate education, diversity, and good conversation, not slam it.

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What must the GOP be thinking now? Get Out Palin