Game Change -- Sexism at its Worst

So let me get this straight -- with the exception of Michelle Obama, all the women who were center stage in the 2008 presidential election (whether they were candidates or not) are bitchy, stupid, whining shrews?

If this is where we are in 2010 when it comes to permissible portrayals of women, I may have to live to be 237 before we're treated with even a modicum of respect.

I am SO weary of men journalists (and some women) thinking they can get away with sexist slams of women in the name of political commentary. The authors of Game Change, the long on gossip, short on real reporting book, apparently want us to believe that all the things we hated about the 2008 presidential campaign can be blamed on the women who were involved.

Yes, ladies -- apparently everything you didn't like in 2008 was all our fault!

Seriously?

Sarah Palin a-Go-Go!?

A couple of weeks ago, I had a personal crisis -- whether to watch the last Presidential debate or the season finale of Project Runway.  If you know me, you know that this was not a joke. 

Thanks to the miracle of modern technology, I did both one after the other!  But now, I can have both at the same time -- the perfect combination of politics and fashion has been put together by Project Runway mentor Tim Gunn!

Hillary Clinton as the Great Pumpkin?  S&M Cindy McCain?  Sarah Palin, Vice-President a-go-go? 

Not my words, but those of the great fashion guru himself.

When it comes to style, you can take his words to the bank. I really want to know what Gunn thinks about how these fashion choices and statements (or questions!) will impact the final election outcome!

Carry on and make it work!

Hey, Cindy McCain: Military Families Think You Should Put On A Sweater!

Press Release

www.bsf4o.com

Blue Star Families Launch Video: Why We are Pro-Military, Pro-Obama

Blue Star Families for Obama launched a video today that articulates why Senator Barack Obama can count on military families for their votes on November 4th. The video features eight military spouses who share their reasons for voting for Sen. Obama over Sen. McCain.

Blue Star family members share: McCain claims to work for us. His actions don't always agree. He campaigned against the new GI Bill, Voted against troop safety equipment, against vets health care, has a 20 percent rating from the Disabled American Vets.

More Blue Star members add: Barack Obama shows he understands today's military. Obama will help reservists and military families, and he's front-lined mental health care, co-sponsored the GI Bill.

Video below the fold....

McCain Oopsapalooza Tour 11 Along the River DeNial: Special "I'm Rubber, You're Glue" Edition

(Previous Oopsapaloozas here.)

Big words from the angry little man at the Fake Talk Express:

“When are you going to take the gloves off and just go at him?” a supporter asked the GOP nominee, leading the nearly 1,000 supporters in the crowd to leap to their feet and cheer.

“How bout Tuesday night,” McCain said, alluding to the next Presidential debate.

McCain threatened to Bring. It.

But It must've still been in Cindy's purse, or Palin's beehive. Or somewhere. It didn't get brung.

All bark on the stump speech, no bite in the debate I guess. McCain couldn't seem to muster the wherewithal to deliver his sleazy innuendoes to Obama, face to face.

Interesting. And just about every poll on the planet said that Obama was the clear winner--more worthy of trust, more likeable, more knowledgeable, more likely to fix the economy, more likely to care about middle class voters. Oops.

Shame on you, Cindy McCain!

Speaking in Pennsylvania today, Cindy McCain made a statement that made my head explode.  She said:

I’m proud of my sons, but let me tell you, the day that Senator Obama decided to cast a vote to not fund my son when he was serving sent a cold chill through my body, let me tell you. I would suggest that Senator Obama change shoes with me for just one day, and see what it means, and see what it means to have a loved one serving in the armed forces, and more importantly, serving in harms way. 

I suggest [Obama] take a day and go watch our fine young men and women deploy, get on those buses and leave with a smile and a charge.

Are you sure you want to go there, Cindy?

The vote you were talking about has been well publicized.  Senator Obama voted against a bill that contained no time line for leaving Iraq and gave a blank war check to the current administration.  Cindy, you know damn well what that vote meant.  What's even more outrageous is that your own husband voted against a troop funding bill as well!

That's right, Cindy.  Your husband voted against a bill that contained a time line for withdrawal from Iraq.  Senator McCain said he couldn't support the time line, so he voted against the troop funding bill.  To take a line from Senator Biden, let me repeat that:

Senator McCain voted against funding our troops.

McCain Oopsapalooza Tour 7

Neverending gaffes, mistakes, botched strategies, and now, flat-out lies! (Previous Oopsapaloozas here.)

Christian fundamentalists pray for John McCain's death, all the better for elevation of Vice President Sarah Palin to president. Way to activate your fundie base, McCain, and engage that death cult mojo in your favor! Oops.

Speaking of praying for nice, positive Christian things: the overly-religious prayed for it to rain on Obama's acceptance speech. It was gloriously sunny in Denver. But the Gulf coast brewed up a wicked storm in Gustav that kept President Bush from appearing at his own party's convention in Minneapolis. God has distinct and unpredictable meteorological preferences, it seems. Oops.

LiveBlogging RNC08: Rage Against the McCain

What John McCain Says About His Divorce

Attention values voters! Special in aisle six.

Cynematic blogs at P i l l o w b o o k.

McCain Oopsapalooza Tour 3

Welcome to the McCain Oopsapalooza Tour, where (make "L" shape with your pointer finger and thumb, put to forehead) presidential candidate John McCain puts the "looza" in Oopsapalooza. Previous Oopsapaloozas here and here. As always, Digg it up!

Photo credit: WSJ

Now, Cindy McCain tries hard to be an asset to her husband.

 

So why would John McCain suggest her as a contestant in a topless bikini contest? Even as a joke? When that's so clearly not Cindy's thing?

Let me guess--Senator McCain's not so great on women's issues.

When Does Political Satire Cross the Line??

We can make fun of whether Cindy McCain is a trophy wife, John McCain's age, Hillary's pantsuits, Bill's love of women, George's mental prowess and big ears and Al Gore's stiffness.  Everyone seems to laugh at those jokes, no problem.

But apparently we can't make fun of those who think Obama is a Muslim and or who believe that a fist bump is a terrorist greeting.

The uproar over this New Yorker cover entitled The Politics of Fear has been deafening. Should we laugh because the cover suggests that it's just silly to think of the Obamas as political and religious extremists?  Or should we be offended that a major magazine would depict them like this, even in jest? 

Clearly, no one was suggesting that the Obamas are what is shown in the cartoon, and the point was to poke fun at those who still harbor concerns about their backgrounds as Americans.

It's certainly OK for any person to say this was not funny to them.  I admit -- it was not the New Yorker's best cover ever.  But is our collective sense of humor so small that we can't handle this?