Politics Ahead

The recent surge of political articles in my Google Reader has gotten me actually thinking about the upcoming election for the first time since Super Tuesday. More specifically, Sarah Palin has invaded and threatened my hope and belief that my views on the way this country is run might actually get addressed.

It's hard to avoid talk about Sarah Palin these days. And no matter how much I disagree with her views and actions, I cannot deny that she's a great choice for McCain. Her emergence from a half-forgotten state in the town Bumblefuck, America in order to become McCain's running mate has elevated her to celebrity status. Instead of stories about her adopting African children, we now know about her son with Downs Syndrome and his misfortune at being named "Trig". Instead of cameras snapping pictures of her exposed crotch, her scandals come from the alleged lies that are coming out of her mouth.

And her new celebrity status leads me to the main point of contention I have with her and McCain's entire campaign: she is taking away the focus from real issues. The Guardian puts it best - Who knows if Palin will bring victory or defeat? But the culture wars are back.

This election shouldn't be about whether creationism ought to be taught in schools or whether gay individuals can be converted. These questions have no straight answers. There will always be people on both sides of the fence. And yet, somehow we're back to talking about a woman's right to choose vs. a fetus's right to live all while our country's economy is in shambles. The government just took over two of the largest holders of mortgages and loans, which means more of our tax dollars are getting spent to prop up the consequences of others' greed. The contention between the Georgian peoples and Russia demonstrates just how low the US has fallen from the graces of other countries - we can't suppress Russia quite like we used to. How can we work to solve these problems when we're all just sitting around arguing about creationism?

Right now I'm banking on the increasing spread between the haves and the have nots eventually pulling people away from voting Republican, at least for this election. According to the NYT, the larger the spread, the more likely an area is going to vote Democrat because the middle class, the ones who end up paying the greatest percentage of their earnings towards public benefits, feels the divide more strongly. And already you can feel the American middle class getting restless at the prospect of losing more of their hard-earned money.