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 GOV. SARAH PALIN |
Making her a national joke
may be going a bit too far
of TheColumnists.com
This presidential election is the first one I can remember where so many animals have some political connotation. We always have the elephant and the donkey as party symbols, but this year we also have the pit bull (with lipstick), the pig, the barracuda, the moose and perhaps a polar bear or two, all courtesy of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her campaign as the GOP vice presidential candidate.
I've found her campaign intriguing--and my interest really had nothing to do with the politics.
For some reason known only to God, the media didn’t let any grass grow under their collective feet as to Ms. Palin's eligibility as the scapegoat for their clever humor, I've had a few laughs at her expense, too. But, after awhile, the barbs began to turn a little heavier and something subtle began to happen to my own view of what was churning around under the surface.
I don’t know who moved in for the kill first. It could have been a well-known evening TV show or any one of several magazines. That doesn’t matter. It was funny. I think even Sarah thought so.
Then we learned of the pregnancy of Gov. Palin’s unwed teenage daughter and the humor continued to balloon in the media, although shifting slightly to the dark side. There were unpleasant charges whispered about Palin's husband and still the nation continued to jab and thrust at this mother of five. Joke after joke was aimed at the good-looking governor. And yet she was supported by 80 percent of Alaska's voters, even if so many of us wanted to snicker at the fact she's a moose hunter.
I began to feel uneasy about the fact that so many of us were treating Sarah Palin this way. I was guilty, too, but I was no longer feeling pleased with myself because of it. After all, only a couple of generations ago, Palin would have been considered very close to the ideal American wife and mother.
I say it's time to forget politics. The
beating up of this lady has nothing to do with
with either the Democratic or the Republican Party. It sadly
shows a side to human nature that I’m sure most of us don’t
like any better than I do.
©2008 by Audrey Yeager-Moore. The caricature of Audrey Yeager-Moore is ©2001 by Jim Hummel. This column first posted Oct. 16, 2008.
TO ACCESS AUDREY YEAGER-MOORE'S ARCHIVE OF COLUMNS ON THIS SITE, CLICK HERE: YEAGER ARCHIVE
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