Lipstick and Pitbulls

I am so speechless about The Whole Sarah Palin Thing that I can't even finish a post about it I started a few days ago, let alone write about more recent developments, such as her speech tonight. But I reiterate, that a candidate for a national office (or in more populous areas, state or even municipal office) seems like someone one would like to have a beer or Barolo (or hunt moose or go to the symphony) with is truly insufficient grounds for a vote in his or her favor. Nonetheless, it does appear to me that this vote of the 'common man,' with his presumed demonstrable less-than-vigorously-cultivated critical-thinking skills is precisely what McCain was informed that Sarah Palin could deliver, and which his preferred vice-presidential choices, meanwhile, would preclude. Sarah Palin's positions on some issues may yet remain a mystery, some other positions may be objectionable or ideal to one side or the other but, if it is indeed true that what motivates the Common Man most in an election is the candidate's life's resemblance to that of the voter, Mrs. Palin, despite her 'extreme' attributes like moose-hunting, midnight suns, and marathons, takes 'common' to dazzling, giddy new heights:

--mother
--new mother
--working new mother
--small town
--blue-collar, steelworker husband
--child with disability
--married high-school boyfriend
--PTA member
--husband in labor union
--son in military
--hunting, fishing, snowmobile racing
--no passport for most of life
--pregnant teenage daughter
--mispronouncing foreign words as proof of patriotism
--beauty queen
--big hair
--wacky and whimsical children's names
--believes religion and science are at odds; chooses religion
--anti-intellectual; Obama's education/Constitutional expertise disqualify him

Surely her life story has many aspects with which an 'average' American person can relate. It's a compelling narrative of a strong, opinionated, charismatic, attractive woman. And, like the majority of American citizens, she was not born into inherited wealth: in her sudden rise to the national stage, she embodies the long-cherished image of the United States (or 'America,' as she would say) as the Land of Opportunity: that anyone can make it here and that hard work and tenacity matter more than pedigree. It is a great story; I just wish it had built slowly to a climax rather than suddenly to a punch line.