September 1, 2008

"Palin is now where she is ... not because she has fought her way to the top of the national greasy pole."

Andrew Sullivan brings the phallic symbolism to his answer to the question why he hasn't "swooned over the chance of a female vice-president who didn't get there by marriage, like Clinton." Well, that's his (sexualized) paraphrase of what Ross Douthat asked about:
For months and months, all through Hillary Clinton's losing campaign for the Presidency, my colleague Andrew Sullivan insisted over and over again that his furious anti-Hillary partisanship was in fact a defense of authentic feminism, since Hillary's ascension to the White House would represent the worst sort of pre-feminist, second-hand success - a woman marrying her way into power, that is, rather than attaining it on her own. Well, now John McCain has picked as his running mate a woman who embodies all the post-feminist virtues Andrew insisted were absent in Hillary Clinton's ascent - she's risen from working-class obscurity to govern a state dominated by an old boys' network (where the other prominent female politician is a classic legacy pick), while successfully juggling motherhood and her career and never, ever, piggybacking on any of her husband's achievements.... [Y]ou'd think that Andrew would confine his attacks on Palin to critiquing her record and mocking her lack of experience, rather than, say, posting emails accusing her of being a bad mother for accepting the nomination, snickering over her children's names, and razzing her as a bimbo and a "trophy candidate."
In short, it looks sexist. Sullivan's answer is well-composed -- though that "greasy pole" sticks out:
Please. I do admire someone who's risen the way Palin has, and I've said lots of nice things about her. But let's be honest: Palin is now where she is - not as Alaska governor but as vice-presidential nominee - because an old white guy decided to play some identity politics, and felt he had to shake up his campaign, not because she has fought her way to the top of the national greasy pole. It's great that by a combination of a decrepit and degenerate political establishment in Alaska, and her own personality and tenacity, she has just become governor of Alaska. But McCain's choice of her - as is impossible to miss - is a cynical ploy to exploit Democratic divisions over gender. I mean: how many Republican vice-presidential picks have lauded Hillary Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro in their acceptance speech? It wasn't even subtle. I find this kind of attitude to be about condescension, not feminism, about tokenism, not post-gender meritocracy.

And, please, there is nothing sexist in being amused by the names of someone's kids; I found the Romney gaggle hilarious. She was a beauty queen, for Pete's sake. She has been presented to the nation like a trophy candidate. And some women do indeed find her running for vice-president with a four-month-old disabled child somewhat incongruous. These are the big leagues. These issues are worth airing.

My sense is that this pick is insulting to voters, especially women voters, and terribly condescending to Palin. It's as much about countering sexism as picking Clarence Thomas was about countering racism.
Is there also some place where Sullivan talks about the whether Obama had to climb the greasy pole or whether there was some "condescension" and "tokenism" there too? Surely, he can't believe that was all "post-[racial] meritocracy." And since Obama was propelled in part by revulsion against Hillary -- did Sullivan himself feel reflexive revulsion? -- there is some reason to view his rise to power to be about condescension, not feminism, about tokenism, not post-gender meritocracy.

IN THE COMMENTS: Bissage writes:
I really don’t get where Mr. Sullivan is coming from with all this greasy pole stuff.

Maybe he should hang with a better crowd.

All I know is the people I hang with keep their poles bright and shiny clean.

It’s really not so very hard.

ADDED: Yes, I know "greasy pole" is an established expression, not some concoction of Sullivan's.



Now, enough of those disapproving, patriarchal sneers.

56 comments:

Ben (The Tiger in Exile) said...

While I'm all for drawing and quartering Sullivan for his posts of the last few days, "climbing the greasy pole" is an old metaphor for political advancement.

It was Disraeli who coined it, I believe.

Sloanasaurus said...

Abe Lincoln rose to national prominence because he was the third choice in a convention where they could not agree on the first two better known and more experienced candidates.

You need a little luck in life sometimes. G W Bush was lucky that Colin Powell didn't run for President.

Sloanasaurus said...

I forgot to add that barack Obama was lucky that his better known opponents had sex scandels at the opportune times.

Michael S said...

So is also saying that Geraldine Ferraro was right about Obama?

rhhardin said...

It doesn't strike me as phallic; more county-fair pig reference, a she's-a-hick attack.

rhhardin said...

The ``did it on her own'' concern is a worry about a theory of gender, namely the worry that you can't in fact build the world on women's interests (as opposed to capabilities) alone, against the theory.

Capabilities are not in question; but interests may do in the theory.

Bob said...

The basic difference between Palin and Obama is that Sullivan doesn't want to have sex with Palin. That's what this is all about, when you get right down to it.

Alcibiades said...

Remember when Sullied went gaga over Romney's mormon underwear. He thought that was hilarious, too.

Anonymous said...

Obama earned the nomination. Forget Hillary - he was running against other significant opponents, such as Edwards (pre-scandal). Yes, you can question his inexperience, but 18 million voters said he was experienced enough, and he won the nomination fair and square.

You can't say the same of Palin. Maybe she would have won the Republican nomination if she ran, but that is doubtful. She has the same constituency that Alan Keyes has. Yes, the wingnuts were ecstatic about him running against Obama for Senate, but the voters didn't feel the same.

Anyway - what if McCain had picked Marilyn Quayle as his VP choice. Would she have "earned" it? No - she simply would have been selected.

But unqualified males have been selected in the past (Quayle, Agnew) and they both won. So why not have an incompetent female for once.

Time will tell what people think of Palin. She seems like the church lady to me. As for the pregnancy rumours, why doesn't she just produce the Birth Certificate. After all - people asked the same of Obama. The rumours do seem insane. They can't possibly be true, could they? But the wingnuts are getting vehement about this instead of just laughing it off. Which makes me think there might be something more there. The Down Syndrome points towards Sarah as the mother, but the fact that she got on an 11 hour plane ride after breaking water sounds crazy to me. But who knows - maybe that's normal, I'm not female.

Ann Althouse said...

Right, DTL. You don't even know the difference between breaking and leaking.

Anonymous said...

Why can't Alaska have a clean, wholesome political establishment like Chicago's?

bearbee said...

... national greasy pole...

Also evokes images of slutey pole dancing.

Is there also some place where Sullivan talks about the whether Obama had to climb the greasy pole or whether there was some "condescension" and "tokenism" there too?

White guilt.

Lisa said...

Didn't Obama get to the top of the greasy pole because the Republican candidate in his Senate race had a sex scandal?

Didn't Obama get to the top of the greasy pole because he used race (I don't look like other Presidents) and sexism as a weapon?

Is that what Sullivan means by earning it? Because as far as I can tell, Obama has done NOTHING in his time in the Senate but run for office.

garage mahal said...

You have to admit it's odd if your water "leaks" in Dallas you would first give a speech and then hop on a 8 hour plane ride to Alaska. And then another 1 hour car ride to a much smaller hospital from where you landed? I doubt I could give a speech while my water leaked.

Bissage said...

I really don’t get where Mr. Sullivan is coming from with all this greasy pole stuff.

Maybe he should hang with a better crowd.

All I know is the people I hang with keep their poles bright and shiny clean.

It’s really not so very hard.

Meade said...

garage mahal said... "

"I doubt I could give a speech while my water leaked."

I wonder if you could even post comments on blogs while your water leaked, Garage.

Ben (The Tiger in Exile) said...

Come on, guys, this isn't an obscure reference. Really.

But hey, if you feel like being silly in return for the last few days, have at it.

Roger J. said...

My god--here we have men talking about pregnancy like they have the remotest possible idea. This has already descended below farce--The big word is this, and I am sure a doc can check in: The fact that Gov conceived a down syndrome child has nothing at all to do with the pregnancy--that was predetermined by genetic factors--Labor and delivery does not create a down syndrome child. The fact the child was born alive and healthy is proof of the fact that Gov Palin did NOT jeopardize her infant. And the idea that she whould would jeopardize her infant is laughable. What in the hell is wrong with you people.

Moose said...

I'm wagering that McCain was counting on the whole "Mr. Smith goes to Washington" vibe combined with the fact that Palin was a woman.

The fact that Sully & Co. are calling McCain's pick of Palin "cynical" is sorting damning Obama with faint praise in the process.

By the standards the literati are using to judge Palin, Obama is a marginal VP pick himself, much less a good presidential candidate. Clearly Obama was accelerated in the process due to the DNC's evaluation of his potential to sieze the day, without consideration of his seasoning or the maturity of his judgment.

My wife and I were discussing Palin, and she pointed out that if Palin had faked the pregnency in order for her daughter to keep the child and not have the stigma of having a child out of wedlock, then more power to her - would abortion have had been better?

bearbee said...

Instead of political debates how about this televised.

Meade said...

"Stop [using Andrew Sullivan's greased pole to pry into his complex psyche], even if you happen to oppose him politically. What is wrong with you people?"

Zaplito said...

To quote Hillary, "Obama had a speech he gave in 2004." That seems to be his qualification to govern us.

His record shows almost nothing about his ability to govern. If he wasn't black with a compelling story he's be a freshman senator with a very unimpressive first term.

Palin at least geverned something.

Peter V. Bella said...

She was a beauty queen, for Pete's sake.

Sullivan says that like it is a bad thing. He seems to forget that she was a beauty contestant to get money to go to college. Yep, Sullivan is emulating Truman Capote.

Is there also some place where Sullivan talks about the whether Obama had to climb the greasy pole…

Obama is the product of the Chicago Democratic Party; the South Side Black faction of the party. His sponsor was Emil Jones, a man who is as venal and politically corrupt as they come. (He is now bequeathing his Illinois Senate seat to his son upon his retirement.) Obama was chosen and anointed by Jones. The Democratic Party in Chicago fell into line and threw their whole considerable support behind him. Obama climbed nothing and earned nothing. It was handed to him on a silver platter. When he got to the state legislature he was told to sit down, shut up, and learn the ropes and vote the way Emil Jones told him to; thus all his present votes.

Somehow this was left out of the vetting process.

Susan said...

Obama earned the nomination. Forget Hillary - he was running against other significant opponents, such as Edwards (pre-scandal). Yes, you can question his inexperience, but 18 million voters said he was experienced enough, and he won the nomination fair and square.

You can't say the same of Palin. Maybe she would have won the Republican nomination if she ran, but that is doubtful. She has the same constituency that Alan Keyes has. Yes, the wingnuts were ecstatic about him running against Obama for Senate, but the voters didn't feel the same.


Well, let's see, how ecstatic were the voters about Joe Biden? Wow, an impressive 3%
of the vote in his home state of Delaware, 1-2% in a handful of states, and 0%
in most states
.

Tom Grey said...

Obama made it because a) Affirmative racism made a "token" black attractive, just as Jesse for President always gets some media exposure and (b) he IS a US Senator (unlike Jesse ever was), and (c) Hillary would lose to McCain, because she is so hated and (d) Obama really really can read a speech. Better than Reagan.

But Obama has little or no actual successful accomplishments in his terms of office -- "Get out the vote", sorry, that's a not a big deal. (What is the percentage of Chicago folk who voted in 2004 & 2006?)

Palin has real accomplishment, and she was chosen as the MOST accomplished Rep woman (governor/senator/US Rep). I think Condi was a tiny bit better, but single, very Bush-tied.

A pro-life woman is good -- I think she's the best the Reps have. And good enough.
(Unless she's been lying about her 5th child, no evidence yet.)

Expat(ish) said...

I think people (DTL among others) are confusing "unqualified" with "incompetent" and, in the example of Agnew, "felonious."

I thought, FWIW, that Edwards, Quayle, Gore, Ferraro, et. al. were perfectly qualified to be VP. As are Joe and Sarah.

Now, as to their competence, that is another matter. Gore struck me as competent in a political sense, Ferraro and Edwards and Quayle, less so.

Real world competence? Well, Sarah seems standout in comparison with the coddled examples above. Maybe Edwards, an undoubted success in his field, was better.

It's certainly not simple.

-EX

MC said...

No need to take Governor Palin seriously, folks. "She was a beauty queen, for Pete's sake. [...] These issues are worth airing."

Expat(ish) said...

Sorry, re the water breaking thing....

My first son was born 57 hours after my wife's water broke, my daughter 46 hours later, and my last son 40 hours later. I used to kid my wife that by kid #7 we'd be under a day and able to have a baby in a single trip to the hospital.

I'm sure SP felt she knew what was going on.

It was very hard for my wife to fly when she was pregnant. I wonder if SP was able to pull rank on the airlines (bully for her, if so) or just wore a mumu or something?

-XC

Peter V. Bella said...

downtownlad said...
She has the same constituency that Alan Keyes has. Yes, the wingnuts were ecstatic about him running against Obama for Senate, but the voters didn't feel the same.


You really do not know too much about Chicago politics do you? Actually, you really do not know anything at all.

MC said...

Biden is like the anti-Palin. The washington insider with experience but not competance.

Wasn't his big idea for a post 9/11 foreign policy to send Iran a check for $200M with no strings attatched?

And check out Palin calling him out on wrongly opposing the Alaskan oil pipline 30 years ago. Nice.

Should be a fun VP debate.

Bob R said...

VP candidates who had not been engaged in national politics have been chosen since we have been choosing VP candidates. Pawlenty and Kaine would have been in this category had they been chosen. Palin will have to show that she can survive the national spotlight including jibes from unprincipled narcissists who will do anything to gain attention like Sullivan. If she can she's a great pick and McCain has a chance to win against all odds. If not, McCain loses. High risk, high reward.

Sloanasaurus said...

Sullivan dislikes Palin intensely because she is not for gay marriage. It makes it worse with Palin because she is a woman who is not for gay marriage. Women are seen by gays as a victim group, so if you get a woman of national prominance that is not for gay marriage, she is more than just a person who opposes, she is a traitor and therefore must be despised even more than a white man conservative like Bush, and Sullivan and his ilk will treat her as such.

Sullivan used to be known as a moderate, but when gay marriage came an issue, Sullivan became a one issue voter and opposed Bush and conservatives on all other issues because of one issue.

Sullivan supports Obama because he assumes in his heart that Obama really supports gay marriage and only says he doesn't for political reasons. He could be right, since we don't know what Obama really believes about anything.

IN Sullivan's mind, he could only vote for a candidate if they are for gay marriage. Nothing else matters, nothing.

There is nothing wrong with being a one issue voter, however, Sullivan's opinions need to be assumed from that point of view.

MC said...

garage mahal said:
"You have to admit it's odd if your water "leaks" in Dallas you would first give a speech and then hop on a 8 hour plane ride to Alaska."

Gee, I don't know, I'm just speculating here, but maybe she wanted to go home and be with her family for the induction of birth? Wow, odd. Stupendously odd. No wait, I'm being sarcastic. You're a retard.

Sloanasaurus said...

Yes, you can question his inexperience, but 18 million voters said he was experienced enough, and he won the nomination fair and square.

Obama won the nomination because he was first and foremost a black man. A white freshman senator from Illinois who was a good speaker with no accomplishments would not have gotten 90% of the black vote right out of the chute. Hillary's black supporters abandonded her for Obama for one reason, he was black.

garage mahal said...

mc-
I guess I am retard then. Although I still think "give a speech and fly to Alaska" after you've broken water wouldn't be the top answer on a Family Feud question on "things to do first" though. She must have been confident she wouldn't give birth on the plane I imagine.

Ben (The Tiger in Exile) said...

Re the added picture --

Wish we had more politicians like Dizzy.

JAL said...

"She was a beauty queen, for Pete's sake."

And what was Barack Obama doing when he was 20 years old?

Snorting coke?

What was Andrew Sullivan doing when he 20 years old?

The stereotypical thinking our "progressive" brothers and sisters is amazing. Do they ever look at their ideas?

Automatic_Wing said...

Although I still think "give a speech and fly to Alaska" after you've broken water wouldn't be the top answer on a Family Feud question on "things to do first" though.

I imagine you'd have been just fine with everyone questioning dear leader Hillary's feminine care regimen if she had won the nomination. Really, when was the last time she had a pap smear? Can't be too careful, you know, given all the places Bill's been.

Patm said...

Never before have I realized this: "liberals" are the most prejudiced people in the world.

Biden supposedly is rehearsing a "Gov. Palin, you're no Hillary Clinton," for the debates.

Thank God she's not.

I read today that Hillary is "galled" and "insulted" that Palin is comparing herself to her.

Palin is not. Hillary got where she is on Bill's coattails. Obama got there because he was the only safe alternative to Hillary, plus he was black, so that made everyone feel good. He SURELY did not get where he is on merit.

He's passed no legislation, no bills. He handed out community flyers and knocked on doors. He voted "present" and then spent 140 days in the senate, but he's "ready to be president."

Please.

Palin is refreshing because she did not start out PLANNING to end up where she is. That alone is worth gold in my book. I'm so sick of professional politicians and the ivy league know it all elites on the left.

And Sullivan - how does he keep drawing a paycheck?

Ron said...

Normally, Sullivan wouldn't grease the pole as he likes his politics rough -- but it is a federal holiday!

Ron said...

and if Hillary had been the nominee would Sullivan spoken of "a cynical ploy to exploit divisions over gender," or is it only Republicans who are cynical? Surely not the Clintons!

Dust Bunny Queen said...

You have to admit it's odd if your water "leaks" in Dallas you would first give a speech and then hop on a 8 hour plane ride to Alaska. And then another 1 hour car ride to a much smaller hospital from where you landed? I doubt I could give a speech while my water leaked.

Until you've been a woman and given birth, I suggest all you men STFU about 'leaking water'. You don't have a freaking clue. There is nothing odd about it all.

Take a biology class for crying out loud. Talk to some actual women instead of living in your garage.

Since Sarah Palin had already experienced child birth 4 times before, I think she might have a better handle on how her body handles this giving birth thing than you.

When my water started 'leaking' it was more than 24 hours before I went into actual labor which then lasted for 12 hours. Lot's of time. We played cribbage for the first 6 hours. Big deal. My biggest complaint about the whole thing was that they wouldn't let me eat. I was starving. :-)

Beta Conservative said...

I'd like to offer my sympathy to Governor Palin, noting that my rugged good looks get in the way of my intellect being taken seriously.

I'd like to, except it ain't true.

You go Beauty Queen.

Beta Conservative said...

P.S. Just went to Andrew's archives and noted, like others here, the indignation and heavy handed criticism that greeted Ferraro's "because he's a black man" statement back in March.

Nagarajan Sivakumar said...

"Obama is the product of the Chicago Democratic Party; the South Side Black faction of the party. His sponsor was Emil Jones, a man who is as venal and politically corrupt as they come. (He is now bequeathing his Illinois Senate seat to his son upon his retirement.) Obama was chosen and anointed by Jones. The Democratic Party in Chicago fell into line and threw their whole considerable support behind him. Obama climbed nothing and earned nothing. It was handed to him on a silver platter....."

"Somehow this was left out of the vetting process."

Peter Bella, you sound like some one who lives in or around Chicago. And you do know your stuff ! Could nt agree with you more. ! And you have nt even got to the part of how close he is with Daley and how he backed Todd Stroger over Forrest Claypool in Crook County elections.

The problem with Brit Americans like Andrew Sullivan (who has been so far up Obama's rectum) is that they still don't understand America a whole lot. His argument that Palin's selection was a cynical ploy to attract Clinton voters is dishonest and condescending.

Why its dishonest ::
The first time a Hillary supporting pro-choice woman hears that Palin is pro-life and has carried a Down syndrome to term, her discomfort with Palin will make her rush to vote for Obama. Being Pro life is pretty much a deal killer for a pro choice woman who backed Hillary in the primaries. Not to mention those other things like Palin's support for creationism etc.

No one who has followed US politics for a long time like Sullivan can argue with a straight face that this pick was meant to attract pre dominantly pro choice Hillary voters. That's just flat out dishonest.

Why its condescending::
Does Andrew Sullivan think that Hillary supporting women are going to vote for Palin just based on their gender ? He himself says that women would be insulted by this notion- and then goes onto insult them by saying that they may be vulnerable to such a "cynical appeal".

Why it is wrong:
Here, Sullivan shows how he is still clueless about culture in parts of the Midwest and Eastern USA. She is a hockey mom for Gods sakes - she can pick a rifle and shoot - she HUNTS ! she is a basketball athlete with the nick name of Barracuda - and her husband Todd is a union man who has won the most gruelling snow mobile competetion in Alaska - The Iron Man, four frickin times.

Her humble background, her terrific family will be a very attractive thing to Regan Democrats - you know the men who voted for Hillary - they were a solid 35% of Hillary's total votes - how do you count these people out and focus only on her women supporters.?

It is going to be exceedingly difficult for Obama to paint McCain as "McSame" - with a reform minded exec like Palin on the ticket - she is EVERYTHING that Obama is not - she actually fought the corrupt Gop establishment in Alaska while Obama sought to ingratiate himself with the murkiest elements in Chicago machine politics - Emil Jones, Daley, Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, ACORN - he was connected to the politcal machine, the religious source of power and grassroots organizations like ACORN.

And Palin has more executive experience than any one else on both the tickets.

I would readily agree that she does not have foreign policy experience - but whom are we comparing her to ? Obama ? What the heck does he know about foreign policy ? He was wrong on the surge and voted to cut off troop funding -some thing even Biden did not do. So for all his "intellect", what has he done ? He's been on the wrong side of the immigration reform efforts, the surge, the entire Iraq war issue.

Sullivan has been reduced to such hackery that it saddens me - i used to respect this guy once upon a time.

Peter V. Bella said...

Sloanasaurus said...
Obama won the nomination because he was first and foremost a black man.


Obama won the nomination because the Democratic Party leadership across the board plus 18 million voters really did not want old what's her name to be the nominee.

The munute Obama entered the race most of her internal party support dried up. As far as the Democratic Party was concerned, Obama was the best thing that happened to them in a very long time.

Asante Samuel said...

DBQ, Thank you for stating the obvious. In 1982, while preggers with our first child, my bride's amnion ruptured at term without being preceded by signs of labor. A call to the MD, and we went out to dinner, then to the cinema to see 'ET'. Our baby girl was born almost 36 hrs later. 26 years later, she is in Covington with the Red Cross today. We love her very much.

Seems like SP also has a competent MD.

Far as you progressives go, stop practicing 1950's medicine without a license. And UPS and DTL, I don't mind changing your diapers, but I can't nurse you. My nipples are sore from The Loafer Oaf.

Don't make me come back and throw a pail of cold water on you assholes.

William said...

I'd like to expand on Patm's comment about the bigotry of liberals. During the Clarence Thomas hearings it was alleged that he rented porno tapes and made lewd remarks to a coworker. Of both these sins I have been guilty and I was inclined to him a pass on such venalities. The feminists were quite adamant that I just didn't get it and that the sexism of Thomas disqualified him for any public office. They were quite insistent on this point.....Jump cut to the wonderful world of that lusty rogue Bill Clinton. Once again I did not get it. It was just about sex and any effort to document the details told more about the perverted prurience of Republicans than the depradations of Bill Clinton. An interesting sidebar to this story is the fact that the Rev Jackson, in his capacity as minister, went to the White House to counsel Bill Clinton on his sins. The Rev Jackson took his mistress with him on these trips...The only black man that Obama has spontaneously criticized is Clarence Thomas. Both Bill Clinton and the Rev. Jackson addressed the Democratic National Convention without a single murmur of dissent from any feminist....We all have prejudices but some prejudices are more prejudiced than others. Sins that are committed by Republicans are unforgivable and must be publicized as much as possible for the edification of the Republic. Sins that are committed by Democrats are part of the rich tapestry of human nature, and a wise man gives a sly wink and moves on....My dislike of the hypocrisy of feminists and Democrats would be characterized by them as bigotry.

AlphaLiberal said...

Conservatives agree with you. As conservative Ramesh Ponnuru put it over at the National Review:

"Tokenism. Can anyone say with a straight face that Palin would have gotten picked if she were a man?"

He's got quite a list of reasons why she's a bad idea.

And, yes, this pick reflects badly on John McCain. I find it embarrassing, actually. Such desperation. You wonder how many times he was turned down before he got to her?

AlphaLiberal said...

Williams:
"During the Clarence Thomas hearings it was alleged that he rented porno tapes and made lewd remarks to a coworker. "

Factually wrong. He made lewd comments to a subordinate. You see, that's a different thing. There's a power relationship there, there's a gender difference with a young, attractive woman in the weaker position.

Shows a guy who is a bit of a dolt, frankly. As his record on the court has shown.

And, when you rented your porn tapes, did you tell people at work? Your subordinates?

The things you have to explain to conservatives. Honestly, it's amazing you can't grasp this.

Or that your, and Thomas', shortcomings are not the fault of liberals!

William said...

Alphaliberal: Thanks for clearing that up, but I am still a little confused. Wasn't Monica a subordinate? Wasn't the woman Jackson impregnated at Rainbow Push an employee there and hence a subordinate?. Perhaps both women were willing participants in a way that Anita Hill was not. Or perhaps Clinton and Jackson had so much prestige and leverage that these women could not bargain with refusal in the way Anita Hill did. In any event the sins of these two men were not considered career ending by feminists.... Beyond this, I would like to observe that Clarence Thomas has led a decent life and has overcome at least as many obstacles as Obama. He has been vilified in a way that such corrupt performers as Kwame Kilpatrick, Sharpe James, and a long list of others have not. Why is being black and Republican such a hideous sin? Can't you even entertain the possibility that he was treated unfairly?

Roy Lofquist said...

Andrew is in a dither because she's both more masculine and more feminine than he. What strange beast is this?

vanderleun said...

"And Sullivan - how does he keep drawing a paycheck?"

To a certain extent he keeps going at The Atlantic due to traffic.

Since there is little new about Andrew that traffic is more and more dependent on inbound links. That's where the bulk of his "circulation" comes from. If bloggers decide they don't want to help Sulllivan maintain his circulation they simply have to stop embeding links to him. They can simply quote him with no links.

Those who wish to pursue will have little trouble googling up his site or can book mark it if they wish.

But why give him an easy hit?

Anonymous said...

"Yes, you can question his inexperience, but 18 million voters said he was experienced enough, and he won the nomination fair and square."

DTL if 18 million people believe a foolish thing, its still a foolish thing.

Obama and Biden are the ultimate McSame. A low rent Chicago mob/machine hack with the same old tired socialist nostrums and a six term senator who is famous for being a bloviation hair plug and nothing else. Obama is the ultimate PC fill in the blank candidate. A stage front and nothing more. The machine's candidate, the Manchurian Candidate, the better to set up the ultimate in skimming and scamming government spending.

Abraham Lincoln was right, you can fool some of the dolts all of the time.

BJK said...

I for one cannot wait to see MSNBC debate this story, if only so their pundits can debate whether Sarah Palin (like Jeri Thompson) knows how to 'work' a "greasy pole."

Anonymous said...

Andrew Sullivan's blog has become "All-Anti-Palin-All-The-Time." And it's easy to see why. He made such a big fool of himself uncritically endorsing the notion that Trig was Palin's grandson that he's now got to justify his low opinion of her but printing nothing but dirt. He's just a bigot in purple panic at the sight of a female red state success story.