More Politics

(Surprise! And you thought I was boring when all I talked about was marathon training!)

Three things:

1. Colin Powell has endorsed Obama for president. It's difficult to think of a more powerful endorsement. Powell's intelligence, leadership, and experience have long earned him the respect of both Republicans and Democrats, and he has remained a sympathetic figure despite his treatment by the second Bush administration (and perhaps more so now, given the recent fortunes of the latter). For a Republican not only of his stature, but of his military background, to endorse Obama (and to do so so articulately! Remember what it's like to hear such thoughtful, coherent, and well-informed opinions?) is huge. And Powell didn't stop by listing the reasons why he believed Obama was better equipped than Powell's longtime friend and colleague McCain; he pointed out the embarrassing rhetoric coming from his own party that seeks to paint Obama as somehow anti-American, and the harm that does not just to Obama, but to the country itself.

2. Sarah Palin apparently appeals to "dudes," although she's losing favor with many others in her party (she was a major reason Powell cited for backing Obama over McCain). Present, though not overtly addressed, in this article (worth reading, especially to the end) is what I can't help but read as the underhelping of a feminist agenda, here via the "dudes." The article begins with descriptions of the men who outnumber women at Palin's rallies, and how drawn they are to her attractiveness, before moving to their more philosophical side:

But some male fans do seem to feel a deeper connection to Ms. Palin. To a surprising degree, they mention the unusual nature of her candidacy, the chance to make history, break the glass ceiling.

“They bear us children, they risk their lives to give us birth, so maybe it’s time we let a woman lead us,” said Larry Hawkins, a former truck driver attending a rally late Thursday at Elon University in North Carolina.... “...it’s time for a woman, too,” he said. “This one. Palin is our kind of woman.”

I'm sure these dudes are sincere, but the fact that Palin is the "kind of woman" by whom they are willing to be "led" does not exactly suggest a triumph of feminism. Women here are given resect for bearing children and for being beautiful--not for their intelligence, knowledge, strength of leadership, or record of accomplishments, as would be expected of any male politician. An attractive, married mother, chosen by a much older male politician to serve under him, may be a less-threatening image of female power, but it would seem that women, if not the dudes, are realizing that the true achievement for feminism would mean Palin being held to the same standards to which male politicians are.

3. McCain apparently "loves being the underdog." This whole article is exquisitely surreal; either the quotes are taken out of context and patched together in a psychadelic pastiche, or McCain is really struggling under the pressure of the last few weeks.