Recovering from a Nasty Case of Palintitis

I have spent the last 72 hours foaming at the mouth and grimacing about this reactionary, religious zealot that showed up last week, this moose burger chomping politician from Alaska, Governor Sarah Palin. I was all over this politician. I criticized Sarah Palin for her ruthless pursuit of power at the expense of her pregnant teenager. I lashed out at her for her backwards stand on abortion (none, no more abortions, even in the case of rape and incest), and perused the online archive of Sarah Palin's hometown newspaper to compile what turned out to be a sizable roster of serious misdeeds she committed in her terms as mayor and governor.

I made fun of her updo. And her Marge Gunderson/Fargo accent. And, I  posted this video - but it's so funny I really can't take it down.

Then, suddenly I stopped foaming from the corners of my mouth and my face relaxed into a serene, Buddha-like expression. I had a red hot sweaty temperature, now I'm cool and my forehead's soft and dry. A bumpy rash bloomed on my abdomen, now I'm no longer itchy and swollen.

It looks like I'm cured of Palintitis, a nasty infection that seeped through the TV and laptop monitors and sickened the American people! The culprits behind this biological warfare were those wacky mad scientists, the Republican spin doctors, always eager to distract us from the real and frightening problems we Americans must resolve - the Iraqi war, abysmal health care, unemployment, foreclosures, the declining worth of the US dollar, the energy crisis, a crumbling infrastructure, and the dwindling hopes of prosperity and life contentment for regular middle class working folks, etc., etc. and more awful etc.

What snapped me out of my fever and facial tics (had those too) was this piece from Katrina Vanden Heuvel, excerpted here:

If the Republicans succeed in making this election about something other than the big issues, they are likely to win.  If it's about a likable woman governor who can shoot a gun and field dress a moose, or a churchgoing commander of the Alaskan National Guard, they are likely to win.  Or if they pull off the feat of making the reactionary right-wing McCain-Palin ticket seem more "connected to the people" than Obama-Biden whose stance on the issues is in touch with millions of Americans who seek a more active American government in these economically squeezed times, then they are likely to win.

I also got a big booster shot from Arianna Huffington, whose analysis of Senator McCain's acceptance speech on Larry King/CNN is summarized in her HuffPo entry:

Americans love the outsider plucked from obscurity . And Palin provides bucketfuls of the new and exciting. As long as voters and the media are caught up in the latest installment of As Sarah Turns or the Alaska version of All My Children, they aren't paying attention to the lack of solutions McCain is offering to the serious crises that face us.

Forget worrying about the economy or health care or the housing crisis -- think about how many people live in Wasilla, whether Bristol and Levi will live happily ever after, and if Sarah and her "First Dude" really want Alaska to secede from the union.

This is why the McCain campaign wants Palin front and center -- did you notice how much time McCain spent during the speech praising Palin and how quickly the celebratory post-speech music shifted from "Raisin' McCain" to "Barracuda"?

And it's why Democrats need to ignore Palin, and keep the focus on reminding voters about the stark contrast between an Obama and a McCain administration. It's tempting to prime the Palin attack pump. But Obama and the Democrats do so at their own peril.

John McCain wants to distance himself from Bush, cloud the huge policy differences between him and Obama, and hope his compelling life story carries the day. Obama's job is to make sure he doesn't get away with it. Forgetting Sarah Palin is a good place to start.

Once I "got this", and I got it hard and right between my eyes, I pronounced myself done with this politician.  From here on out, I will focus on the real task at hand - working towards solving the many and urgent problems in our beloved country by getting Barack Obama elected, and paying no more attention to this tawdry reality show.

Smoke screen gone, Palinitis cured, mother is well again because I'm done with you Sarah Palin! (except for the vlog, I'm hooked on the vlog)

 

 

Comments

[Karen]

I think you're dead-on with this, Grace. She's nothing but a smokescreen.

[GraceD]

But an entertaining smoke screen, don't you think, Karen? Wait, don't answer that. I'll get another rash.

[Don]

Man I couldn't agree with you more Grace! I think the Democrats should just forget all about Palin. There's nothing behind that curtain. ;)

[Elizabeth]

I agree. Let's stop talking about why we don't like Sarah Palin and start talking about why we DO like, and NEED, Obama/Biden to get elected. What we don't need is to elect someone who voted with George Bush over 90 % of the time. EIGHT YEARS IS ENOUGH.

[Kris]

Thank you, dear Grace, for snapping us out of this virus like state.

Back to hope and change and solutions.

[Melanie]

rats. does this mean i have to cancel the t-shirt i designed? (the difference between sarah and dick? lipstick.)

i'm glad you were able to zen your way out of it, and i will try. i will try bc otherwise i'm going to have a heart attack or stroke before the election.

[True Jersey Girl]

Thank you for curing me of Palin-itis as well. Ive been seething for days but now I see the cure.

[mary]

I read another piece on ignoring SP: http://blogs.vibe.com/humanitycritic/ that somewhat cured me, too. Although the mere sight of her still makes me want to spontaneously convulse. Cured? lol

But we must think of her like we do an annoying gnat. A gnat with an updo and open-toe shoes, but a gnat all the same.

[pam]

ZOMG, did you really get a rash? Well, can't say my case of Palinitis is out of my system completely, but am hoping the O'Reilly interview of Obama will burn it out of me.

[Stephanie]

Absolutely. Wonderful. Thank you...I'm linking to you today.

[Izzy]

It's true. Palin is merely a distraction and if we're smart, we won't fall for it. Keeping our eyes on the issues and keeping our eyes on the prize — those two things are critical if we are to win this election and take our country back.

[MarathonNurse]

Grace...I had to get over my case of Palintitis too over at my blog...

http://neokalypso.wordpress.com

But I'm so glad you reminded me to stayy focused on the issues and campaigning for Obama!!!

[Marie]

Oh my gosh, SP offends me on so many levels that I even got into a verbal altercation with my Hillary-loving mother. Whoa, that wasn't good. That post at Chez Huffington helped break the fever for me too. Now it's all about McSame again. Not that I don't still roll my eyes, but my focus is different. I hope I've been inoculated!

[Rachael]

Palinitis is truly a terrible affliction. I only hope that with proper treatment, more people can be free of the symptoms that come with this disease.

Please consider posting your wonderful blog entry to villagewit.org. It would make a great follow up to my piece: Palinits, which won me a Wit of the Week Award.

You could be the next witty champion with this!

[Rachael]

Palirexia is not much discussed (or if it is, it is often misnamed by its sufferers as Palinitis)

This condition affects the reasoning abilities of conseratives across the country. Check out my blog entry to find out more about the spread of this affliction.