11 February 2010 Poll out the barrel

11 February 2010 Poll out the barrel


A break in what seems to be an interminable series of snow storms happened today. Half of Greene County must have decided to fill up their pantries today. Enjoying food quite as much as the next couple, we joined the throng and restocked our larder for the coming weekend and following week. Lean ground beef and a chuck tenderloin roast were the primary features in today’s haul. We also restocked bratwurst, baked beans, artichoke hearts, and orange juice. Grapes, strawberries, apples, bananas, and a bit of watermelon found their way into the cart. All is now put away in the appropriate storage area and we face the ageless problem, “What do you want for dinner?”

I am heartened by an ABC/Washington Post poll released today which indicates that the percentage of people who feel that Sarah Palin is completely unqualified for elected office is rising. I was not called by the polling firm who did the sampling. I’d have been happy to have provided my opinion. I find her unqualified for any political or civil service position.

I would have voted for Hillary Clinton to be the nominee for POTUS in 2008 and I would have voted for her in the general election rather than vote for McCain. This is not a statement that I am fond of Ms. Clinton, I’m not. I think she is an extremely ambitious, coldly calculating woman who saw a chance to trade political power for a figurehead marriage. Her choices must have caused immense pain and regret over the years. But while I do not care for her as a person, she is politically palatable and intelligent. I think that had she been chosen as the nominee she would have won the election against McCain. I don’t know what she could have done differently to stave off the economic meltdown that resulted from 8 years of Bush following the Reagan trickle down plan.

I actually felt McCain to be a tolerable politician, not preferred but probably highly preferable to Bush II; and not connected by a slime umbilical to the religious right. Then his machine and the GOP foisted Palin on the voting public as a candidate. It was almost certain that her only qualifying feature was her gender. At that point, McCain lost any chance of ever obtaining my vote for any office.

It speaks loudly and truthfully about the GOP that they would consider running a female candidate to lure the disaffected Clinton supporters. It indicates how little they know of what really matters to anyone outside the GOP’s religious base and the managing privileged party bosses. Still, they have an impressive BS machine that is somehow capable of convincing working class people to vote against their own best financial interests. They’ve run on a hidden platform of racism, anti-intellectualism, bigotry, and theocracy since the Nixon days. While their voter base has aged, it has also spawned enough replacements that the GOP will have ample voters to fill in the roles and to vote for incompetents like Palin for years to come.

I hope this latest poll is correct. I hope that the American public is becoming aware of what an incompetent and unethical candidate we were offered. I hope that Palin manages to steer herself into a huge public train wreck that will permanently link her name with lack of qualification and lack of honesty.

Tonight we dine on pizza. Tomorrow classes resume.