The Pit Bull with Lipstick
By Paul Lyons
As we head into November I fear that the national political stage has once again deteriorated into a personality contest and a new style of banter, disguised in a bizarre passive-aggressive cloak, has come into the fore. The media is as docile as ever. One has to dig extremely deep to find any substantive reporting. Four years ago I was amazed that George Bush was reelected. How could this have happened? Kerry had soundly beaten him in the debates. And so I have given up faith in the intelligence of the American people as a whole and become a cynic. In 2004, I thought that whichever manager from whichever baseball team had won the World Series should just get the job of President of the United States. It could not have been any worse than what we got. In 2008, I feel that what we need is a sort of American Idol contest where candidates have to sing, or dance or twirl hoops and then we all vote on whomever we like best. That is the state of our political landscape. The media does not ask real questions. The Democrats try to look as common and suburban as possible and refuse to fight. Monday morning I woke up truly depressed.
And so it is that someone who has little true awareness of the great diversity of our land or of the vast world as a whole will become Vice-President. Sara Palin, the Republican nominee for Vice-President just recently acquired a passport and has hardly traveled outside of the United States. She believes in the banning of books, getting rid of U.S citizens’ right to a fair trial (The Sixth Amendment to the Bill of Rights), the joining of Church and State… the list goes on. But we hear rarely of this in the media. Instead they have adopted her as their darling child. I am waiting for some real questions for her. Surely the Republicans will protect her no end.
In 2009, when John McCann is laid up in the hospital on life-support and our newly elected self-proclaimed "Pit Bull with Lipstick" takes over, we must all simply blame ourselves and our failed political system. I fear that we are no longer a country of The Enlightenment but a fearful and selfish people ruled by poorly trained religious fanatics. In her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention Palin went after Obama and his work that he did soon after college in Chicago as a community organizer. I thought this was a strange tactic. Is not the role of good civic leaders to encourage community building and civic responsibility? Then it occurred to me that perhaps Sara Palin is illiterate. Perhaps if she were to read from "The Bible," she would learn of Jesus. Jesus devoted his life to helping the downtrodden and poor. It is strange and ironic how this example is lost on the Republican Party!
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