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Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Because you need more vetting.



Don’t worry, I’ll get off the political subject matter, um, when I feel like it? If you never caught it and you’re looking for something other than the usual Fox/MSNBC play-by-play vetting analysis, throw The Contender in the cue. Made in 2000, it’s just as relevant now. You can find the official trailer here, but the clip above seems a better representation of the movie’s main theme: The public’s right to know vs. a candidate’s right to privacy. (Great as usual is Gary Oldman as lead attack dog taking the moral high road.) Watching this scene though, I’m guessing Palin wasn’t vetted by someone quite like Sam Elliot.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

If Palin wasn’t adequately vetted, McCain should be the one to step down. I’m still not convinced there is real dirt on this woman. A pregnant daughter is not a deal-breaker for the role of vice presidency. If anything, it brings a relevance and connection to the middle class that John I-don’t-know-how-many-homes-I-own-but-remember-every-detail-of-the-POW-hut McCain lacks. Even her alleged improprieties with the firing of a trooper are not significantly more scandalous than, say, Obama’s Rezko dealings. Cynical as it sounds, one does not get to high political places in this country without legal skeletons in your closet. Remember, a few months ago Biden was literally announcing that Obama didn’t have the experience to be President, in addition to making the politically-incorrect observations that Obama was “articulate” and “clean.” Ultimately, Americans realize and recognize all the political games and pitfalls—and they’ll forgive if the positives outweigh the negatives. What’s disturbing about the Palin attacks are all the sexual/misogynistic angles. Who is generating all the lurid Photoshop work? This woman was only announced a few days ago, but there are already more disgusting fake pics than any candidate out there, including Hillary Clinton. I could understand if the images were based on something she did (put her in a sexy trooper uniform, if you must). But much of this stuff is pretty sad. It should be noted that in The Contender, the vice president character was ultimately revealed as completely innocent—the charges were false. Palin’s real-life treatment is turning out to be far worse than Joan Allen’s fictional trials and tribulations.

Anonymous said...

Understood, but the gist here is that it’s not about real dirt, it’s about how much do people have a right to know about that dirt. If it’s about family, and it doesn’t hurt anyone, it’s their concern, not ours.

If it has to do with abuse of power regardless of party, then people should know. Forget that she supposedly had that trooper fired. Problem is she was on tape saying no pressure was put on anyone. Next tape shows a member of her office doing just that. Photoshop may be an amazing app, but it can’t put words in someone’s mouth. Gotta say that’s a problem.

Supporters may write it off as just a ‘little thing,’ but doesn’t abuse of power start with little things just like that?

As for connection to the middle class, maybe. But every family doesn’t sit around basking in their redneckedness and living in a state that prides itself on being different from the rest of the country. It’s almost as if they think the rules of the rest of the country don’t apply to them.

“Americans realize and recognize all the political games”

Not sure, when push comes to shove, I think people tend to fall back on what they’re comfortable with and what talk radio scares them into believing.