Letter to the Editor

Your View: Political reactions

Friday, September 26, 2008

Wednesday night, my wife saw Pat Oliphant's cartoon spoofing Sarah Palin's "speaking in tongues" on the Washington Post website. She complained for a few moments about how the liberal view of tolerance applied to everyone's beliefs and lifestyle except the conservatives and Christians. The lament continued over the fact that a cartoon ridiculing Muslim beliefs, ethnic traditions or homosexual tenants would never be published online or in print by the mainstream media for fear of backlash from one of those communities.

And thennnn...she found the Katy Couric interview with Matt Damon. As she watched the YouTube clip, she became visibly frustrated and began speaking to the computer screen -- and trust me, it was not in tongues. She grilled Matt Damon with a few of her own choice questions, ones that I am sure would not have fit into the agenda of Katy's line of questioning.

Oh, I might need to mention here that she was already unhappy with Senator Obama's "lipstick on a pig" comment before this evening's episode began.

As I was sitting there watching her (hey, who needs TV when you have your own personal HBO right in front of you), I could not help myself, I just started laughing. Hindsight being 20/20 and all, I realize now that laughing at the scene before me was probably not one of my more brilliant moves. However, in my defense, I was not laughing at her or the "attacks" she felt that she was personally enduring.

She spun around in her chair and with anger that should have been vented at Oliphant, Damon and Obama, she asked me, "How can you be laughing at this?"

Here's the thing, while many become outraged by lipstick comments, tongue talking cartoons, Matt Damon rhetoric and so on...I am just laughing long and hard. Though I certainly don't approve of these things, I do recognize them for what they are...signs of desperation. They are pitiful jabs of a campaign and party that is losing a "sure" thing and can't figure how to right the vote…I mean boat.

Three weeks ago, the entire left side (politicians, media and special interest groups) walked into Denver assured in their own minds that nothing could stop them and that this would be an easy victory. Counting on a post acceptance speech bounce that would carry them through November, the "rabbit" filled the stadium and prematurely congratulated itself. After all, they had a celebrity and "everyone wants a celebrity," not Wilfred Brimley McCain.

Suddenly out of nowhere, comes a turbo-charged tortoise that passes by the DNC so fast that it leaves the Magnificent Hare looking more like a Mexican Hairless. The RNC now has a celebrity also, only she is more articulate, attractive and approachable. Then again, the fact that she actually has some executive experience doesn't seem to hurt anything either. Her selection breathes life into the party and campaign; grabs the attention of undetermined independents and disgruntled democrats; and appeals to women and minority voters.

How does one attack the vice-presidential candidate without drawing attention to the fact that their own candidate has the same glaring weakness and yet he wants to be president? It was easy for Obama's team to spar with Hillary, but when it comes to Sarah…well, that's different. After all, everyone knows it isn't proper to hit a lady and from every account, this mother of five is certainly a lady, even if they did nickname her the "Barracuda."

So, all that's left to attack is moose hunting, speaking in tongues and personal beliefs about the age of dinosaurs. After all, we understand that anyone who prefers Intelligent Design instead of Mysterious Explosion (either way, one must accept by faith a scientifically unproven theory), that person must not be a sensible enough person and to carry "the football."

When the liberal candidates and pundits speak of desperate times, it is no longer political rhetoric to get them elected. For them, these truly are some mighty desperate

times. And so out come the most indefensible arguments. Grasping for anything that might slow the leak, they hurl accusations and insults. Each appears more ridiculous than the previous, all appear more desperate than before.

Speaking of desperate times, would somebody please stop emailing these links and stories to my wife. I can't afford the pay-per-view.

Richard Whitman
Sikeston, Mo.