"Go-go boots", "Babe", "dumb", child is a "genetic freak" [Updated]

Photo by Tricia Ward

Continuing my run-down of Gov Palin coverage, the above are just a few of the choice adjectives in the media/blogosphere. [Note: several updates. I can hardly keep up!]

Michael van der Galien at Poligazette hits the nail on the head when he points out how the Palin nomination shows that "readers and other bloggers are going completely insane" over the amount of vitriol this election. Michelle Malkin calls it "Palin Derangement Syndrome". But whatever you call it, it may very well backfire. This muckraking is not only ugly, but it is really counterproductive. As John Podhoretz put it:

The effort to pre-determine her unfitness is not only a losing proposition; there is something fundamentally foolish, about it. Even un-American, in the sense that it suggests rule by wonk rather than popular fiat.

Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard claims that Dems are doing this because they are terrified of Palin. I wouldn't go quite that far, but there does seem to be an undercurrent of insecurity here both in the number and intensity of the slime.

Her gender, appearance, intelligence, and despicably, even her handicapped child is mocked. Not just by the anonymous small-time bloggers but by some big names as well.

Check out this article by Maureen Dowd. This is what passes for an opinion column in the NYT:

Vice in Go-Go Boots?...“The P.T.A. is great preparation for dealing with the K.G.B.,” President Palin murmurs to Todd, as they kiss in the final scene while she changes Trig’s diaper. “Now that Georgia’s safe, how ’bout I cook you up some caribou hot dogs and moose stew for dinner, babe?”

Incidentally, it's probably not just Palin; Ms. Dowd doesn't seem to like female politicians at all. Her columns on Hillary Clinton were so virulently sexist and insulting that even the NYT's public editor admitted that they were beyond acceptable.

Cernig at Crooks and Liars is more subtle, but no less condescending. He calls Todd Palin, Gov. Palin's husband, the "shadow governor", implying that Sarah, the woman, can't actually be in charge.

Steven Colbert on the Colbert Report:

Who the f**k is Sarah Palin? Wha - the sexy librarian? (He then goes on to mock her political experience)

.
UPDATE:
Jon Stewart on the Daily Show:

Republican Presidential candidate John McCain introduced the world to his third wife [laughter] ... no, actually the mild-mannered but troubled librarian from every Cinemax movie, yes, that's it.

Another comedian, Bill Maher on Real Time, probably crossed the line. Some quotes:

The maverick and the MILF...the maverick and the MILF!... but if I [McCain] die, this stewardess can handle it... the infant has Down's syndrome, she had it when she was 43 years old, and it looks a lot like John Edwards! (mixed reaction from audience)... she has five kids - does anyone in that party know the concept of pulling out? (laughter)

(OK, these guys are comedians, so they get some latitude here; but strangely, I've never seen them make similar jokes about Obama's appearance or experience).

And the less well-known Obama supporters sound off as well. Here are a few samples of the garbage floating around the net [warning - strong language]:

Stopthemadness at Democratic Underground:

hey, she's got all the qualifications of his [McCain's] last 2 wives: she was in the miss alaska pageant and she's dumb as a post... clearly, mccain picked wife no. 3, not a running mate.

Anonymous at Breitbart.tv:

So is she going to be breastfeeding in Cabinet meetings or what?

This whole thing is ABSURD! McLame is out of his mind. So is anyone who votes for this Northern Exposure Prima Donna. She seems excessively narcissistic and am already tired of seeing her BAT HER EYELASHES, and it’s only DAY # 2!!!!

Sheesh!

bullfrog at Crooks and Liars:

could mccain have become so pissed off by all the factions vying for his audience, he just yanked out his cell phone and called sarah?

could he have called her late in the night, when the viagra kicks in?

Press to Digitate at Daily Kos:

Gidget Goes to Washington

JoeSixPack at Washington Monthly:

But she has nice tits!

Don't be fooled.

Politically speaking: Those aren't real. She just happened to have the best plastic surgery Washington has to offer. Rovian politics can make anyone into a politically viable candidate during a general election.

bp4truth at Salon.com:

It looks like McCain has sold his soul to the devil. His pick of Palin is just the latest example of cynical politics at its worst.

Klytus at Salon.com:

Sarah surely isn't the brightest bulb in the box, when they were passing out brilliance, she did indeed get a pretty face, but a brain just about as active, as an inert bag of rocks.

Jameka at Salon.com:

Mrs. Palin is unable to say the word "nuclear." Says "nucular" like George Bush. She should not be VP.

MMelcher at Salon.com:

Sarah Palin represents to me the kind of trophy fascination that I've witnessed in a lot of NRA and oil-dependent fanatics...Taxidermied kills from hunting expeditions are referred to as trophies; younger, cuter, perkier second and third wives are sometimes also referred to as trophies.

If you thought they couldn't go any lower, many commenters actually attack Palin's child with Down's syndrome:

"Pinky" on Salon.com:

Doesn’t she remind anyone of the self-righteous blond twit on ‘The View’? ‘Hey, I’m special because I’m a republican and married some sports star and I don’t need this job and gosh are there people suffering to feed themselves’.

It sounds like she is a fence sitter on the whole right to life thing, either that or she sees genetic freaks as useful…

Cindy McCant at Washington Monthly:

women who *are* prepared to serve as "second in command" must watch from the sidelines while she travels around the country with her 4-month Down syndrome baby in tow.

Anonymous at Breitbart.tv:

92Percent Are SMARTER Than PALIN

Scientific research has shown that 92% of women who find out they have a MONGOLOID FETUS in their womb opt to ABORT. That means 92% are SMARTER than Palin.

We do not need this sort of MORON in the White House, pushing “prolife” cr*p from her Bully Pulpit.

Finally, there are the sock-puppets. "Dan Quayle with a vagina" is one particularly disgusting slogan that many bloggers/commentators are running with. Just a few examples:

wbonner at Reddit:

McCain Chooses "Dan Quayle With A Vagina" For VP

Antiochchat at Salon.com:

I think what we have here is a candidate who is completely out of touch who just selected 'Dan Quayle with a vagina' as his running mate.

From Openthreat:

Palin is Dan Quayle with a vagina.

Chuck at Ejshia.com:

As it is, I think she's Dan Quayle with a vagina.

Toileteer at JD Underground:

McSame just picked Dan Quayle with a vagina - oops

Chuck Sudo at Chicagoist:

Given all that, my personal take on her is that she's Dan Quayle with a vagina....

johninPortland at Daily Kos:

It's Dan Quayle with a vagina! -- although Quayle's ticket did win, so we shouldn't get too cocky.

One Queer Dude at Colorado Pols:

she could end up being Dan Quayle with a vagina

pers-819178872@craigslist.org at Craigslist:

Whoa -- maybe they should brief Sarah on what a President does as well when she goes to the "What a VP does" conference. And I hope they don't send her to the one where they tell her she needs to get the coffee and visiting heads of state get complimentary blow jobs from the VP.

Feels a little like Dan Quayle with a vagina to me. Better yet, Goldie Hawn's character in the movie "Protocol".
"They told me to show the Emir a good time...a very good time."

The Anchoress also has a pretty good run down on Palin coverage (scroll to the end). Something tells me this election will not be running on the high road this year...

UPDATE - a few more choice quotes:

The Bruceblog:

Heck, I’m a proud & patriotic Valley Trash girl. I don’t mind admittin’ it neither. I know I’m a babe (this quote is accompanied with a fake photoshopped picture of Palin in a bikini).

Woman With Brain for Obama at Pickled Politics:

Her newborn baby is ACTUALLY her teen daughters baby. Look it up. Its going to break HUGE. She is not a VP, she is a new cast member of Desperate Housewives.
First McCain focused on Bimbos in his attack ads and now he added one to his losing ticket.

Johnny Wendell's Diary at Daily Kos:

Go to 0:56 and tell me that ISN'T Sarah Palin (links to a woman in an 80's music video of Adam and the Ants). Pictures are worth a thousand words and as such, videos are worth a lot more. This classic gem was the first thing I thought of when I got an eyeful of La Bimbo de Juneau

There are now a couple of web sites devoted to this very issue: Sarah Palin sexism watch, and Fight the Palin smears.



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