All this talk over the last few days about McCain’s running mate has really started to irk me. Almost every time I hear people talk about his new running mate Sarah Palin there inevitably has to come some idiotic remark about how Palin is going to sway moderate women voters to vote Republican simply because she’s a woman – like it’s some promise we girls made as kids when we were in our tree houses talking about boys.
Maybe I don’t speak for every woman in America, but if I voted for McCain/Palin simply because Palin’s a woman wouldn’t that make me an idiot? Wouldn’t that defeat the whole purpose of our great grandmothers fighting for the right to vote like mine did? Heaven forbid I actually do something like watch a debate or listen to a candidate’s policies or *gasp* learn about their previous experiences. That might cut into my crying time or making dinner for my boyfriend.
I also hear that Palin makes women “feel good” so therefore we will vote for her. Apparently that’s how she snuck away with the governor’s race four years ago in Alaska if The New York TImes is to be believed. Lots of things make me feel good. Hot chocolate makes me feel good, buying something on sale makes me feel good, getting my paycheck makes me feel good. Do I want a sales rack and a cup of hot chocolate running the country? (Maybe.)
The fact that all these analysts can’t seem to look beyond this narrow-minded view of women voters is just so infuriating. “Obama’s hot, women will vote for him,” “Palin’s a woman so they’ll vote for her.” What ever happened to people listening to the issues and not judging this like some kind of tragic wet T-shirt contest? If this bullshit is going to continue I may just have to write in “Sales Rack/Hot Chocolate” for my vote. It would be stupid and pointless, but hey, it would make me feel good.
