Sarah Palin, GOP pariah?

I was doing a bit of surfing on Google News today and, lo and behold, a number of articles popped up discussing newfound Republican criticism of everybody’s (least) favorite Alaskan, Sarah Palin. Slate notes that the GOP is an “unlikely” source of criticism and outlines the recent barbs aimed at Palin by conservative heavyweights such as Karl “Turd Blossom” Rove, Charles Krauthammer, Peggy Noonan, David Frum, and Mike Huckabee. The Wall Street Journal has taken Palin to task for her overblown comments regarding Michelle Obama’s campaign against obesity. And now a new CNN poll shows Palin losing ground to other potential Republican nominees, such as Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, in a hypothetical primary match-up for the 2012 presidential election.

Putting aside Palin’s one-sided feud with Michelle Obama, Slate was wrong to characterize the Republicans as an “unlikely” source of criticism, although the publication was right to say that such criticism is telling. The GOP is sharpening its knives because Republicans know that a Palin candidacy would effectively kill their hopes of retaking the White House. If she wins the nomination, then independents will surely break for Obama. She simply does not have the intellect or the “gravitas,” as Rove put it, to be taken seriously as a presidential contender (of course, Rove neglects to mention that neither did Baby Bush, yet he got elected – however, the public won’t make that mistake again with Palin). Furthermore, no one in his or her right mind takes seriously Palin’s claims that members of the “lamestream” media, such as Katie Couric, went after her in the last election; no, it was painfully obvious that Palin simply had no idea how to discuss the complex issues of which any presidential candidate must have a firm grasp and little desire to bone up on them. And no, asking someone what kind of newspapers she reads is not evidence of a media conspiracy – where I am from, we call that kind of question a “soft ball” – as in, ridiculously easy to knock out of the park. The interview with Couric was particularly damning and, I would argue, the turning point for a lot of independents. Thus, the GOP is now preemptively conducting a political hit job on Palin because they want to make sure that someone more appealing to the middle – i.e., Romney – gets the nod. Using Sarah Palin to whip up the base into a frenzy and infuriate liberals has been convenient for Republicans, but now that it is becoming obvious that the public does not want a President Palin, the GOP  will attack her mercilessly until they make sure she can’t get anywhere near 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Once someone else gets the nomination, watch Republicans do an about-face and start kissing Palin’s arse to persuade her to get out the base.

Quite frankly, it is a mystery to me why anyone would find this kind of political jujitsu surprising, since both parties have a long history of cannibalizing their own candidates when an election is at stake. I, for one, agree with Babs that we’d all be better off if Palin stayed in Alaska, hunting caribou or whatever it is she does – this way, she’d also spare Republicans the trouble of cutting her down. Either way, I’m busting out the popcorn.

I’ve refrained from commenting up until now because this is a personally painful subject for me–I’m Greek-American by birth and have family and a home in Greece, so this state of affairs does not make me happy, but I knew I’d have to address it at some point, so here goes. Although the Greek government is partly to blame in this debacle for its chicanery in cooking the books (not a surprise, really–the Greek government has always been extremely corrupt), I don’t see the U.S. doing so unbelievably well economically either from where I sit, and a common factor between the two situations seems to be investment banks such as Goldman “doing God’s work” Sachs. We bailed those “masters of the universe” out (how’s that for socialism?) and now these same firms are handing out bonuses and slapping each other on the backs like they deserve some kind of medal while profiting off the economic devastation of other countries. These people should have been drawn and quartered, not bailed out by American taxpayers. It’s frankly disgusting.

Anyway, I do not want to see my parents’ country of birth (and my second home) fall due to the actions of a corrupt government–it would have grave ramifications for the EU and, by extension, the world economy, particularly if Italy, Portugal, and Spain follow. I do, however, think that something seriously needs to change in the way government and business is run in Greece. Eliminating much of the nepotism and clientalism that characterizes the way things are done over there (which results in serious ineptitude and corruption) would be a good place to start. And it doesn’t help when practically half the population works for the government (can you say “unsustainable?”) and everyone strikes when the government tries to implement the austerity measures that are needed. It’s just a particularly crappy cycle. Even so, perhaps we Americans ought to be looking at the economic problems in our own country, starting with the investment banks and our own inept government, before pointing the finger at others.

Update: Ben Bernanke has acknowledged that the Fed is investigating. The SEC hasn’t said much, but it may also be launching an investigation as well.

AFP

I watched the men’s figure skating long program last night because, well, I generally love ice skating (squee!) even though I’m a tomboy and do find all the pageantry to be a bit ridiculous (I think it has been scientifically proven that an ice skater emits a cloud of glitter every time s/he farts). Anyhoo, first I’d like to congratulate Evan Lysacek–well done, sir. You skated a technically difficult and beautiful program almost flawlessly and you deserved the gold.

Moving along, I’m going to now comment on the brouhaha surrounding Lysacek’s decision not to throw a quad jump and Plushenko’s assertion a) that he was robbed of the gold and b) that Lysacek was not a true champion since he didn’t include a quad in his program. First of all, Yevgeny Plushenko is a grade-A asshole and a sore loser. He was out-skated and yet still felt the need to take a dump all over his opponent’s effort and steal the limelight from Lysacek, whose moment of glory was well-deserved. That’s called sour grapes. It was a seriously classless display. I also love the fact that all of Russia is outraged over Plushenko’s loss due to the new scoring system which was instituted–wait for it–because of cheating by the Russians! Hypocrisy much? I am sure that the quad will become a de facto requirement in men’s figure skating once more people begin to land it successfully, but excellence in figure skating is not just about one jump–it also requires artistry and sound execution of other elements like spins.

The fact is, Lysacek skated a better program. I’m a layperson with zero ice skating experience and even I could tell that Lysacek skated more cleanly. Sure, Plushenko threw in a quad, but that was only one jump and in any case, Plushenko did not land it cleanly. He also flubbed a lot of the other triple jumps (they were wobbly, he was uneven in the air, and his landings were flawed, although it does speak to his abilities as an athlete that he remained upright when other skaters would have ended up on their asses)–thus, he got very little credit for Grade of Execution, which cost him in the final analysis. Lycacek, by contrast, landed almost every one of his triples flawlessly. Furthermore, his spins were more difficult than Plushenko’s and better executed. Swaying hips, batting eyelashes, and winking at the judges was not enough to mask the deficiencies in Plushenko’s program–one got the feeling that he sauntered into the arena expecting the gold as if it was his due. Either way, it was clear who put in more work last night, even to the untrained eye.

Tracee Hamilton wrote a fabulous column in the WaPo that basically sums up my entire feelings on this clusterfuck.

I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me personally, it comes down to integrity — theirs as individuals and ours as an institution…I have served with homosexuals since 1968…putting individuals in a position that every single day they wonder whether today’s going to be the day, and devaluing them in that regard, just is inconsistent with us as an institution.”

It’s about time. The Pentagon was actually laying the groundwork for this change several months  months ago, when Colonel Om Prakash’s article questioning the usual arguments for DADT was published in the Joint Force Quarterly, the Pentagon’s flagship publication. The conventional wisdom is that the military’s top brass would never have allowed the essay to be published if they weren’t preparing for a change. Either way, the essay is worth a read and has a particularly good rebuttal against the “unit cohesion” argument that is typically bandied about as a reason that gays should keep their sexual orientation a secret when serving. In addition, some of the architects of DADT (i.e., Colin Powell) were questioning it as recently as the summer and hinting that it should be reviewed.

Anyway, it’s about time this archaic policy was repealed. Gays are people too and should not be treated as pariahs when they are making what could be the ultimate sacrifice. They deserve to be treated with dignity and respect for serving. Hetero males need to get over themselves–the gays are not going to invade their units, crap fairy dust all over the place, or try to cop feels in the showers. If straight men (or women) are so uncomfortable with homosexuality that they refuse to serve with gays, there is something wrong with the picture, and it ain’t the gays. Oh, and service-members I have spoken to have told me that this law is a joke since many have served with gays and knew that their comrades-in-arms were gay. Furthermore, we’re losing skilled personnel (for example, Arabic language specialists) because gays are being kicked out or made to feel persona non grata because of this foolish law.

And finally, Spartan warriors were schtupping each other a couple of thousand years ago and NOBODY would argue that they weren’t one of the elite armies in military history (today’s Marines try to emulate them as fighters). Acknowledging gays and allowing them to be open about their sexuality is not going to harm anyone. More importantly, it will allow homosexuals to serve without such a heavy burden of secrecy and will make them feel like they are really welcome in the military.

P.S. Does anyone get the feeling that the administration wants to move on this fast in order to throw a bone to the liberal base? There was talk of repealing the law before now, but with healthcare practically dead in the water, I’m sure the administration would like to see this law repealed quickly so that they can point to it as being evidence that they are going to make good on some campaign promises to the base.

J. Puskar/AP

Someone please shoot that annoying, lazy groundhog and put it out of its (and our) misery. As Phil Connors from “Groundhog Day” once said:

There is no way this winter is ever going to end, as long as this groundhog keeps seeing his shadow. I don’t see any other way out. He’s got to be stopped. And I have to stop him.

Anyway, I can’t stand listening to FM radio anymore because I just get bombarded with mediocre music and advertisements. The takeaway? Satellite radio is the way to go.

The thing is, I’m not sure if the Republicans will come roaring back in the Northeast because voters are embracing  the GOP. I think this has more to do with the sheer ineptitude of the Democratic Party, and voters are simply set to punish the Democrats for their failure to get anything meaningful done on the economy, healthcare, the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. What the voters want is a return to sanity in our economic situation–besides the fact that the economy is crappy, a lot of people (including me) are uneasy about the Chinese having us by the short hairs. We’ve been fiscally irresponsible over the last decade, particularly under George W. Bush and the Republicans (who cut taxes while spending ridiculous amounts of money on unnecessary wars), essentially squandering a surplus built by the Clinton Administration. The Dems under Obama have just continued this unfortunate trend. I’ve heard the concern over the Chinese owning our debt voiced several times over the course of the last few days by various people. The main beneficiary of voters’ ire, of  course, will be the Republican Party, since voters always punish the party in power (regardless of the fact that in this case, it was the other party that began the spending free-for-all).

However, I do think that the resurgence of “Rockefeller Republicans” could be good for the Northeast and for the nation as a whole. I actually would classify myself as a Rockefeller Republican. We’re fiscally conservative, but more liberal on social issues. We generally don’t like taxes and excessive government spending, but we’re ok with spending if it will yield good returns (i.e. putting money into infrastructure). We’re a rare breed because the Republicans have basically purged us from the party with their shift to the far right and their excessive harping on wedge issues like abortion and gay marriage. If the Republicans actually shifted back towards the center and went back to basic principles like fiscal responsibility (which we clearly didn’t have under that fool George W. Bush), I think they would pick up a lot of Independents like me and be able to compete with the Dems in the demographic war–because right now the GOP is losing that war. This country has always been slightly to the right, on the whole, but there are a lot of moderates who just don’t like the direction the GOP has taken in the last few decades, and would be willing to join a party that would embrace right-leaning moderates. The thing is, I don’t think the GOP has room for us–they insist on socially conservative principles that moderates just don’t care about–and already villify people like Olympia Snowe, so I think it will be a real problem for them to incorporate more people like her in the party. They’re simply not a big tent.

Anyway, we’ll see how the fall elections play out for the GOP in the Northeast. It should at the very least be interesting to watch.

Update:

Scott Brown, the new Massachusetts Senator, just stated this morning that he opposes federal funding for abortion but supports leaving the decision to women. He also warned that although he is fiscally conservative, he’s socially moderate. I wonder how the Republicans will deal with him and any other northeastern Republicans like him? Getting the popcorn out…

Bob Martin/Sports Illustrated

Well, folks, Serena Williams won the Australian Open yesterday in a three-set thriller, halting Belgian and former world number 1 Justine Henin’s improbable comeback (this was only her second tournament since her return to pro tennis) in its tracks. Bully for Serena.

The thing is, I was rooting for Henin, because I can’t stand Serena. And no, it has nothing to do with racism, because I like her sister Venus, who has always struck me as classy on and off the court. I don’t care for the younger Williams sister because she is abrasive and ALWAYS ungracious in defeat. My brother and I were talking about it the other day and he said, “I don’t get why she just can’t say, ‘I got outplayed today,’ end of story.” I agree–Serena never gives it up for the other player and always has an excuse for why she lost (usually, she says something along the lines of, “Opponent X didn’t really play that well today and I could have beaten her, but I was off my game”)– she’ll never admit that her opponent simply outplayed her. For example, she lost to Australian Sam Stosur about a month before the Australian Open and blamed it on the fact that Stosur “framed” a lot of balls (i.e. hit a lot of balls off her racket frame, which is apparently some sort of cardinal sin in tennis circles–but their ridiculous conventions are a story for another day). I’m not even going to go into her expletive-laden tirade at last year’s U.S. Open, where she threatened to shove a ball down a lineswoman’s throat. That was a shocking, appalling display.

I mean, I have to give props to the woman–she’s a fierce player and, along with Henin, the best of her generation. She’s got 12 slams under her belt, now tied with Billy Jean King. She probably could have had even more had she not pursued interests outside of tennis. So yeah, she’s an amazing tennis player, no doubt about it, but she needs to work on her attitude.

The only good thing about the outcome of the Australian Open, imho, is that it took Serena three sets to beat Henin and this is only Henin’s second tournament since coming back to the tour. My guess is that by the time the French Open–Henin’s favorite tournament–rolls around in another few months, Henin will be back to 2007 form, in which she beat Serena in three straight Slams. Her return, along with that of fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters–who stunned the tennis world when she won the U.S. Open last summer–will be good for the sport (I was frankly getting tired of watching overrated Russians win Slams).

The one other thing I would like to see is for Venus to return to form as well. It seems she only turns up the dials at Wimbledon, grass being her favorite surface, but it would be nice to see the classier Williams boot her sister out of another tournament for once, because right now you can’t put her in the same conversation as Serena or Justine Henin. It would be nice to see her really contend for another Slam not starting with the letter “W.”

Anyhow, I’ll just leave you with a quote from Catcher in the Rye:

Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all.  Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around – nobody big, I mean – except me.  And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff.  What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff – I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I do all day.  I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.”

Look, I can’t stand Kentucky fans because of their obscene sense of entitlement, which has been nicely illustrated by this latest episode. They’re worse than Yankee fans (and I say this as a life-long, card-carrying member of the Brox Bomber fan club–we’re obnoxious, but we’re nowhere near as bad). They drove Tubby Smith out of town, even though he won them a championship and continued to bring the team to the Big Dance, and they are notoriously hard on coaches who fail to deliver a championship (and nothing less than that, as if it’s their due) right away. In short, they suck (sweaty) balls. If I were a basketball coach, I’d stay far, far away from that program–it’s not worth the aggravation, especially when you can coach other elite programs that won’t cause you to have a premature heart attack or stroke.

Anyway, I’m feeling a little bit of schadenfreude today (what a great word). I’m just undecided as to what would be better in the NCAA tournament–an early exit for that grimy skuzz-bucket Calipari’s mostly freshman team–which will then all take off for the NBA next year (what a joke)–or a loss in the championship game. Either way, I’d be happy.