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There were so many lies and distortions in Sarah Palin's speech, it's hard to catalog them all in one piece - I leave it to the folks at Think Progress, as well as Joe Klein of Time and others, to remind us that Sarah Palin has been the opposite of what she professes. But there are two aspects to her snarky swipes at Barack Obama that really got under my skin.
First was her sarcastic jabs about Obama's supposed attitude towards people like her, from small towns - topped off by the gratuitous suggestion that community organizers have no responsibilities. Well, I think Gov. Palin just displayed her attitude towards poor, disenfranchised people who live in big cities. People who have been abandoned by the likes of her and John McCain, who cozy up to corporate lobbyists, who turn around and ship jobs overseas. People who lose their right to organize due to anti-union policies long championed by the Republicans, and left with dwindling social services due to their idea of "reform." The same people who are also disenfranchised on election day, with few voting machines, caging operations, and more error-prone voting methods. Sarah Palin needs to look at her own form of snobbery before she points the finger at Barack Obama.
The other raw moment for me was a bit more personal. The added burden that bringing a special needs child into the world is real, and Palin is to be commended for taking on that challenge. But her exploitation of that fact has already worn thin.
I welcome her into the family of people dealing with special needs. I have recently taken over the care of my identical twin sister, who also has special needs. Palin and her family are at the beginning of their journey, ours is about fifty years along. What makes Palin's use of her entry into this unique fraternity, is the fact the Republicans in general, and McCain in particular, would sacrifice the very programs that help the disabled, to save their tax cuts for the rich.
My sister depends on medicare and social security for so many of her needs. In addition, she is able to communicate with her doctors with the help of sign language interpreters, thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act - a dreaded regulation!
McCain and Palin deride Obama for giving a good speech. Palin has shown that she can also give a good speech. But it's a lot easier when you turn reality on its head.
