Cultural Cuisinart

I've heard some whoppers in my day, but this latest post by Douglas MacKinnon over at the Huffington Post rates pretty high on my "Are you fucking kidding me with this shit?" meter:

Which brings me to a question I've been asking for months of my liberal friends: Why do so many on the left have such an unhinged hatred of this woman? Why do so many alleged feminists and female members of the mainstream media openly and gleefully despise Palin?

[. . .]

But why Dowd and the feminists? With regard to The New York Times columnist, I asked a female friend of mine who happens to be a psychologist, what might prompt the anger? She mentioned a host of possibilities, but settled on one theory. That being that Dowd "may be threatened or envious of Palin... or both. As an aging but still attractive woman, Dowd may resent Palin's good looks. Further, as a single woman of a certain age, she may be envious that Palin has a husband, a family, and has carved out an accomplished political career."

While not a fan of psycho-babble, it does seem to be a plausible explanation.

Wow. Just.... wow. You know, I have my issues with Maureen Dowd (particularly the way she goes after certain prominent females), but still... to suggest that it's because she's jealous that Palin is prettier than Dowd and has a husband and kids? That's so fraking stupid, it's hard to respond without just breaking down and laughing at the insanity of the idea.

Oh, but wait. If you gents thought you were free of this "you just hate the pretty girl, all you hairy-legged feminist women" attack, think again:

With regard to why Purdum, David Letterman, and other liberal males continually go after Palin, the answer might be as easy as they secretly lust after her while also seeing her as the "girlfriend of the quarterback" they could never get in high school. Seriously, look at the "men" who belittle Palin on a regular basis. For the most part, they fit the description of "the pencil-neck geek" from high school. Are they now trying to make Palin pay for their long-ago inadequacies? Is that why Letterman imagines her now as a "Slutty Flight Attendant?" Because she is his fantasy and rather than admit it, he strikes out at her?

Ah, my OTHER favorite insult, the classic, "You just hate her because she's pretty and won't sleep with you!"

Attention: according to this writer, you may only question Sarah Palin's suitability to hold high office if you are a square-jawed quarterback with a hot wife and 3 kids, or a super successful business woman and mommy who still retains her high school figure (or is hot).

Look, I'm going to attempt to get past the asinine statements made by MacKinnon, to address the question he asked: why do so many of YOU PEOPLE hate Sarah Palin so much?

First of all - I don't hate Sarah Palin. Most of us don't. Hate is something that implies passion. I personally reserve my hate for the real villains out there (*coughcough*AnnCoulter *coughcough*). I dislike Sarah Palin, because her nomination for the Vice Presidency of the United States was an insult to the country and to its citizens. Second of all - don't make this just a liberal thing. Lots of people from all points along the political spectrum dislike Sarah Palin.

Getting back around to the question, though, I think the main reason most people hate/dislike Sarah Palin, is that believe it or not, people believe in a meritocracy. That's right - we like to think that in an ideal situation, only qualified people get to hold the highest office in the land. It's not unreasonable for people to be interested in whether or not the woman who ran for VP (and who, by the way, is still a front runner for the presidential nomination in 2012) is 1) qualified, and 2) able to handle herself under pressure. More importantly, several valid concerns were raised about her integrity (Troopergate, the $150K spent on clothing), and her willingness to abuse the power of the office she held. I could go on and on - but then, just read the Vanity Fair article that so provoked MacKinnon in the first place and you'll get the jist of people's problems with ol' Sarah Palin.

Things like this always crack me up, because I'm always left debating: "Is this person a liar who just twists reality to fit his needs? Or is he truly that willfully ignorant about what it takes to lead the country as President?"