Why is it OK to denigrate, belittle, laugh at, and otherwise disrespect a successful woman governor? And women are some of the worst about this. She's a uniquely American Western feminist. She married, bore and raised children, worked her way up the state political ladder, took on powerful men in her own political party and won, and now is a national figure. She is apparently the feminist dream: she did it all, just like feminists said they wanted women to do.

Could it be that she is too self-reliant and successful? Those who sneer at her seem to want women to be weak and needy creatures, the victims of men who need protection from the powerful government in order to hold their own in a male dominated world. Women aren't supposed to be self-reliant in this feminist worldview. They aren't supposed to be able to hunt and kill their own food, be married with children ("a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle"), or play with the boys and win. No, boys are supposed to be made more feminine to "level the playing field."  Feminism is sexist.

Sarah Palin is a can-do frontier woman and that offends the feminists. But think about it: were the East Coast feminists the ones who got the vote first? No. The women of the western states were the first to vote because they were seen as equal to men. They worked alongside their men in settling the western US. The East Coast women whined and cried that things weren't equal for them and begged men to make equality happen. The women of the West actually worked to make it happen. Which is more rational? Well, some of you will say "whining and crying" I'm sure. But I don't think so. I think the ones who worked were the ones who approached it rationally.

I think what's going on here is that socialism trumps everything else. Feminism, equality of opportunity regardless of race, religion, sex or nationality, everything takes a backseat to the establishment of socialism. If Palin were in Biden's place, and believed in Biden's politics (whatever they are besides Biden first), she's be a heroine and nobody could criticize her without being called sexist. Since she isn't a socialist, anything goes including the objectification of her image in pornography, which feminists claim is degrading to women. I didn't see any liberal women complaining about this.

The cat's out of the bag. Feminism is all about socialism, as is the liberal call against racism, sexism, and whatever other "ism" they complain about.  I hate these political threads on a dog board. But I hate even more seeing the crap that's dealt out in this election.

Well said Sam!!!

sexism & racism suck.  as does every other form of prejudice including hating someone for their political views.  an important component of a democracy is having a respectful conversation regardless of ones differences. but more important for a democratic society to be fully functioning we must have open self-expression, include ones that differ greatly from our own.

problems arise when the expression encroaches on the rights of another.  when this happens we as members of a democracy need to question it.  and when it has the potential to do harm we need to ask that it not be put in a public place where it can't be avoided. when someone is offensive those that are offended are the ones who need to step up and take action via legal channels and not sit back and complain; because sitting back and waiting for others to "right a wrong" would be socialist thinking and not democratic thinking. 

the reason is a democracy requires members to exercise personal responsibility in both what they say and what they stand up for - i.e the quality of our society is our responsibility and not the governments.  so if you don't like something complain to those who have the authority to do something about it.  start by working from the bottom up - neighborhood associations, local police etc. - otherwise you are asking someone to interject themselves into an issue better handles by those closest to the problem. this is why decentralization is key to a democracy.

it's a tough line to walk - the line between exercising free speech & offending others. it would be far easier if people just 'knew' when they had 'crossed the line' because it is an impossible line to legislate. unfortunately not only is 'the line'  in different places for different people but many people resort to these lowest forms of communication - all those nasty 'isms" - to express their fears and frustrations.  when someone is offended individuals need to step up and let it be known that the speech is offensive, but we must also remember offensive speech is by in large not illegal; though we can still ask that it be kept private.

we all have to do our part to stop prejudice in all forms and not leave it to others to handle it.  but we also have to realize not everyone see things the same way so not everyone is offended by the same things. we have the hard task to recognizes when we are silencing free speech and when we are stopping prejudice.  in a democracy we must maintain free speech while risking offending some and in the same breath risking the loss of freedom while we attempt to reduce offense.

Comparing Palin to Obama is like comparing the bottom student in the remedial class to the top student in the gifted class. Who do you want to help you get out of a messy, complicated situation that is gonna take a whole lot of thinking, negotiation, foresight and problem solving?

Palin has not proven that she can go beyond talking rhetoric and stirring up negative sentiments. She has caused all sorts of problems within her own campaign within a short period of 2 months. Obama on the other hand is someone who has proven to run a well-organised campaign and can match the best people in the US and the world on ANY issue be it economic, city finance, healthcare, workers issues, foreign relations. He is a uniter not divider.

The McCain campaign, by and large, has been about personal assaults on Obama and very little about anything else. Palin has been in the thick of it from day one winking and mugging to the camera while not so subtly questioning Obama's patriotism, preaching half truths,  and suggesting that some parts of the country are not as "American" as others.  Her interview with Kati Courik (sp) was a disaster and from that day forward she was referred to as a "diva", a "wack job" and a "bimbo" by members of her own party. Influential  and respected republicans like Colin Powell have endorsed Obama chiefly due to McCain's showing poor judgement in selecting Palin as his running mate. She has publicly given no respect to anyone including McCain, ergo is getting  none. 

There are no boundaries for this ambitious woman; she has brought a level of vulgarity to the campaign that is unprecedented. History may well show that she single handedly did more to defeat McCain than anything Obama promised if he were elected. They have only suceeded in supporting the  democratic mantra - want more of the same?.... pick McCain.  Sadly, the John McCain the country respected as a true maverick has disappeared and been replaced by a stranger who appears at times to be on the brink of dementia. He has sold himself and his values up the river  by choosing the low road as mapped out by a campaign staff that seems more intent on electing Obama than McCain. Too bad, he would have a much better chance of being our next President had he selected a running mate like Liebermen and acted more presidential himself. He and Palin together are like a traveling medicine show hawking snake oil; him pounding his fists on the podium, rapidly blinking his eyes and clinching his jaw, she acting all kittenish and cutsie. Talking about feminism and Palin in the same breath is an oxymoron. Her winking and mugging smacks of  her using her sex appeal to her advantage. Her behavior mocks the women who have worked hard for years to break through the glass ceiling without using their pheromones to do it.  Sarah Palin is an anti-women woman.

Palin will no doubt end up on the FOX news channel as  a political consultant or as a sidekick to someone like Rush Limbaugh or Pat Buchanan. Maybe she'll get her own show and I suspect she will make a good entertainer, but she won't make a good VP and, if most ofAmerica agrees with that, the election results will be proof positive that John McCain picked the wrong running mate. Maybe he should have stuck to his own convictions by being John McCain instead of some sideshow freak created by his mindless campaign staff. If the country remembers the real John McCain and elects him, then we all need to get down on our hands and knees and pray that he lives out his term in office.

Frankly, as a woman, I am very offended by the way Sarah Palin conducts herself. She does NOT behave in a professionial manner, and perhaps THAT is why woman do not respect her. I cringed when she stood before the cameras, flirting and winking.  I was embarassed! I am sorry, but that is just not professional behavior, nor something any woman, who wants credibility, should be doing to gain attention. Heaven help women, if she epitomizes someone's notion of a feminist. A demagogue, yes- a feminist, noooooooooooooooooooo. As a woman, I did not feel proud watching Sarah Palin behave in the manner in which she has behaved in, throughou this campaign. I find her dangerous and to be nothing short of a hate mongerer. Aside from that, I like her ;) NOT!

Well said Marjorie. I completely agree.

As an Alaskan- I am totally embarassed by her. I can not wait for tomorrow so she can hopefully melt away from the spot light untill next election when she will FAIL miserabley in the primaries.

Obama is such a uniter that he never crossed aisle in the Senate to work with Republicans. He has such courage of conviction that he voted "present" many times in the Illinois legislature and has missed many votes in the Senate. He himself has said "I am new enough on the national political scene that I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views. ... I am bound to disappoint some ... of them." He is annoyingly vague on exactly what kind of change he proposes, although it involves taking from the rich and giving to the poor - but how does he define "rich" and "poor"?  This kind of equlity seems appealing - give up some to those less fortunate, only without that inconvenience of having to actually donate to charities. The government will take it right out of your paycheck and other financial instruments before you even see it, because after all, it all belongs to the government anyway. Right? 

A man from the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, now the Czech Republic commented thus: "The prospect of an Obama presidency is like déjà vu for me," he explained. "The socialist goal back home was that everyone had equal wealth. They met that goal -- eventually no one had anything. Any attempt to work harder to achieve a better standard of living for your family was considered contrary to the welfare of the state, and dutifully discouraged. Socialism is a big hole, easy to fall into and hard to climb out of."  National Journal, which ranks politicians strictly by their voting records, last year ranked Obama as the most liberal member of the Senate. He beat Bernie Sanders, the Socialist from Vermont.  (Sanders runs as a Socialist, for those who don't know.)

Back to Sarah Palin: It's fascinating to see the venom spit out at this woman by other women. I've seen male politicians "flirt and wink" at their sympathetic audiences and nobody thinks anything of it. But of course, for a woman naturally it's different somehow. I don't especially like Hillary Clinton, but I've never seen such venom spit at her even by those who can't stand her. This is a visceral hatred for a woman whom the haters have never met or likely never seen in person. Amazing.

As far as attacks, poor little Barack Obama can dish it out as well as anyone. He's questioned John McCain's patriotism and judgment. McCain's patriotism is beyond question. He moves funny because his arms and legs were broken when he was a POW. His arms were pulled out of the sockets and painfully reduced by another POW. Judgment is fair game. Obama's is certainly questionable, with his associations with Ayers, Dorhn, Rev. Wright, Acorn, and the list goes on. His achievement of college degrees is admirable, although the world probably has too many lawyers already. But what has he actually run, other than a few political campaigns which are in reality run by campaign managers, not by the candidate as people naively imagine. When has the buck ever stopped on Obama's desk and forced him, and him alone, to make a serious life and death decision? Never, to my knowledge. As a military officer, McCain has been there, done that. 

I'm going to run out of room shortly here. We shall see what we see tomorrow or the next day. I hope it's not several days.

--- >  But think about it: were the East Coast feminists the ones who got the vote first? No. The women of the western states were the first to vote because they were seen as equal to men.

And the part of the country a woman is from has what to do with this election?

--->This is a visceral hatred for a woman whom the haters have never met or likely never seen in person. Amazing.

No, certainly not a visceral hatred- but certainly a major lack of respect and complete disgust that a woman who got to be in the position in which she is in, would set this kind of example! ! Respect needs to be earned, and her conduct cut her legs out from under her. How any human being could just stand there while whipping a crowd into a frenzy that yells "Kill him" is something I cannot comprehend. Not one word came from her mouth to convey the fact that that is just not ACCEPTABLE behavior! I find it morally reprehensible, whether or not you *like* or want to vote for the person who is the subject of these hateful remarks, to aid and abet this kind of frenzy. With all her supposed Christian values, she stood there and said not one word, while listening to people who screamed to break the first commandment "Though shalt not kill"and call for the life of a presidential candidate! .. Sick, just sick... How could anyone admire anyone who would engage in ignoring such heinous remarks??? She might need to go back to her pastor for another round of getting the witches cast from her. Evidently the first witch removal didnt work well....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl4HIc-yfgM

BTW, this is the same pastor who had a woman run out of an african town for being a witch.....::::::::sigh:::::::::: THATS REALLY NORMAL...PFFFFFFFFFFFFF......

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Well said, Marjorie.