"Yes, we can!" and, the Culture War sucks.

I haven't posted in a few days because I am actually getting sick of the election coverage--or, to be more precise, the lack of coverage of anything real, and the abundance of coverage on Sarah Palin even though she has not given a single interview so far. So I am to believe that this candidate can stand toe-to-toe with Ahmadinejad and Putin, but cannot face Matthews or Blitzer? I call foul. Even more offensive is that any remark made about her regarding her record as a governor or mayor is "hitting below the belt," according to the McCain campaign; excuse me, it's not. As a feminist, I despise this rhetoric; she's a "barracuda," but she can't give interviews yet and no one can remark on her record as a politician? This is clearly an example of sexism in action. And instead of standing up for herself and saying, "Yes, I WILL give interviews; yes, my record IS up for debate," she is taking advantage of the fact that some people expect special priveleges for her because she's a woman. That is no feminist, my friends; that is taking advantage of one's sex and typical attitudes about it ("She's just too weak to deal with the media!" *massive eyeroll*).

And by the way, each candidate in this race has a family. Each candidate in this race, both at the top of the ticket and the bottom, has multiple children. It does not make you more special to have a family simply because you have an additional X chromosome.

My greatest agitation in this race so far, though, is the aggravation of the Culture War on the Republicans' side of the aisle. Yes, Obama said that Southerners were bitter, and that they clung to their guns and their religion; and yes, that was off-putting. But I could understand that he was making commentary on the Culture War rather than deliberately insulting Southerners. He did not phrase it as aptly as he could have; but it was a candid remark, and I can forgive that. He also apologized.

What were not candid remarks were those at the Republican National Convention. Guliani and Palin both insulted the people of the northeastern states and the residents of San Fransisco, and they have NOT issued apologies. This is so reprehensible to me that I actually lack the words to express it. Recently, as a Southerner, and as a (white) Mississippian, I have been accused of being ignorant; I have been accused of being a bigot; I have been accused of being racist. (Let me tell you, nothing could be further from the truth.) How is it any different to insult people from the Northeast or the West by virtue of their birthplace? How is it any different to insult people from large cities, as opposed to those from small towns? It isn't.

And while the Republican ticket is throwing diesel fuel on the fires of the Culture War, the Democratic ticket isn't. As Barack Obama says, "there are people who coach Little League in the blue states; and yes, we have gay friends in the red states!"

And as Barack Obama says: "We are not red states and blue states. We are the United States." Yes, we are. And yes, we can!