The Palin Phenomena – Victim of Politically Driven Sexism to Hot Commodity

Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska and 2008 Vice-Presidential candidate, is a force to be reckoned with. Palin, announced as the bottom of the GOP ticket in September, was immediately shredded by the press, for a variety of reasons, most notably the fact that the McCain campaign refused to allow press access – the result: the press, already infused with an emotional attachment to the opposition candidate, sought every opportunity to discredit her. They left no stone-unturned, from the despicable false charges regarding her youngest child, to the benign “Trooper Gate”; hordes of press descended upon the State of Alaska like locusts, hoping to dig up anything to discredit her, and if that failed, as it did, going straight to the fact that she was a “woman”, one who was in touch with her feminine side. The fact that she participated in the Miss America system (the organization that provides the largest volume of college scholarships to women in this country), gave rise to articles which began, “the Governor and former beauty queen”, as if to say, a bimbo from Alaska. She did not attend an Ivy League school; therefore, she must not be as “smart” as those other candidates, and the fact that the RNC provided her a wardrobe, for the family, at a whopping $150,000, was played out as if she were worse than a serial killer. Those that signed up for Google News alerts on Sarah Palin, were treated to hundreds of emails, all negative and all much more mean-spirited than the next – a focus on her education, her personal style, her family, were the norm – not one article came across mentioning her policy positions (unless it was to deride her for being pro-life and a Christian), her style of governing, or her ability to manage one of our nations greatest treasures: the State of Alaska.

The problem was simply that having focused on demonizing Clinton, her pantsuits, her husband, her laugh, until she conceded to Obama, the press was not ready or willing to accept another woman in leading political role in this election cycle. Simply put, she had to go, and what better way than to ratchet up the sexism: Caribou Barbie was born.

Now the election is over, and Palin is being sought out by every major network – why the sudden interest? Math might have something to do with it. The polls taken after the election found that Palin enjoyed great popularity with the Republicans, additionally, she is not an inside the Beltway politician, rather a woman who is most interesting; living on the outskirts of the Continental US, managing a household and a State, and having the ability to pose for Vogue, while taking down a powerful member of her own party – a young, attractive, intelligent woman who reaches out to those who are in the middle. Viewers are more likely to turn into these interviews in larger numbers, boosting ratings that have fallen off with the end of the election. Those that despise Palin will watch looking for further proof that she’s incompetent and those that are merely interested in or are a “fan”, will tune in to learn more about a rare phenomena: a Republican Rock Star. There is no doubt, that she is capable, she has fended off and dismissed the worst that our press had to offer, and came out the better for it. Should she run in 2012, she will be battle ready. Those political junkies and the press are already betting on a 2012 run, and they should. Palin, a natural politician, will be in a prime position in two years time (when the process will begin all over again), and depending upon who assumes the RNC chair, she will come out gunning. Should Michael Steele become the next RNC chair, Palin and those young grassroots, non-beltway, populist Republicans will be a force to be reckoned with in 2012.

A note to those who would find a woman who participates in “beauty pageants” to be somehow inferior: One should learn a few facts regarding the programs available and exactly who these women are: The Miss America Organization attracts budding scholars, and those seeking scholarships in order to further their educational goals. From Rhodes Scholars to the Girl Next Door who hopes of becoming the next Marie Curie, there is little fluff but much substance to these women. A fact: The organization NOW (an off-shoot of the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s”) should be grateful to the Miss America Program. They were desperately trying to get national attention, and failed repeatedly until they protested the 1968 Miss America Pageant. Women’s Liberation finally had the spotlight. Other prominent women who have competed in "Beauty Pageants": Diane Sawyer, and Ophra Winfrey to name but two.

Loose Lips, Sink Ships - There are No Secrets with Obama Administration

Matters of National Defense - What's that?
From leaks to the press regarding the normally confidential transfer of power meetings between the President and President Elect to the disclosure of the First Family Secret Service Code Names, it appears we are in for a very long four years.

Bailout Transparency Not Necessary? Barney “Rubble” Frank: “Trust Us”

Photo Courtesy of Online.CasinoCity.com

Taxpayers weren’t necessarily sold on the “emergency bailout”, but some may have rested a bit easier knowing that there would be transparency and oversight of the millions of dollars that are being thrown at the likes of Fannie and Freddie and AIG. This week, the Federal Reserve refused to indentify who received close to 2 trillion dollars in tax payer funded loans, let alone the questionable assets that the Fed is accepting as collateral! Enter Barney Frank, the pride of Massachusetts – the same Barney Frank who had his paws on Freddie and Fannie in the first case, assuring the public that all was well with the institutions – right before the big collapse. Barney, in a conversation with Timothy Geithner, a possible pick for Treasury Secretary and current executive officer of the Fed’s New York Branch, feels that the Feds failure to disclose is just fine and dandy.

“``I talk to Geithner and he was pretty sure that they're OK,'' said Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat. ``If the risk is that the Fed takes a little bit of a haircut, well that's regrettable.'' Such losses would be acceptable, he said if the program helps revive the economy.
`Unclog the Market'
Frank said the Fed shouldn't reveal the assets it holds or how it values them because of ``delicacy with respect to pricing.'' He said such disclosure would ``give people clues to what your pricing is and what they might be able to sell us and what your estimates are.'' He wouldn't say why he thought that information would be problematic. “

To recap, the Fed is not disclosing who is getting the 2 trillion dollars, nor the types of risks being assumed, and Frank is ok with this because Geithner is “pretty sure that they’re ok”, and would not say why disclosing this information would be problematic. Barney Frank’s advanced degree in Economics doesn’t appear to be serving the tax payers – perhaps because he doesn’t have one. Barney is also bringing the Massachusetts model of decriminalizing Marijuana to the national stage. Barney might not be the crackpot many in his district believe (granted he was re-elected handily due to weak opposition), but this move may answer the question: “What’s he smoking?”