© Charles D. Hayes
Sarah Palin put my community of Wasilla,
Alaska, on the map, as the land of know-nothings. Over a few short months, after she accepted
her place on the Republican ticket as vice president in 2008, her approval
ratings here and nationwide dropped like a rock, mostly for coming across in
interviews and on the campaign trail for lacking knowledge about important
matters, that anyone running for high public office should have.
Sarah Palin, in my view, is still an
ongoing local and national embarrassment. I grit my teeth every time she speaks
up about matters she still obviously knows nothing about.
Palin was not smart enough to realize how
far she was in over her head, but it wasn’t her fault that she wasn’t vetted
properly. She would be due our sympathy if she were not so hateful.
But, its vitally important to point out,
that Sarah Palin offers a clear demonstration of the double standard and
implicit gender bias at work in American politics. Palin and Trump read the
same nonexistent books, magazines, and newspapers. Neither, could pass a
citizenship test. Both have college degrees, that warrant an investigation into
how such honors are bestowed since both appear to be lacking an education.
Both Palin and Trump have a history of
saying things that bear no relation, whatsoever, to reality. Both reveal a bias
toward minorities and both demonstrate they lack a clear understanding of the
role of government. But here is the
thing, Palin may have well cost John McCain the election in 2008, when her astonishing
ignorance was revealed, but in Donald Trump’s case, his equally egregious lack
of knowledge and hate-filled rhetoric is overlooked.
Sarah Palin is considered dingy by many
people for the same behavior and lack of knowledge that makes people see Donald
Trump as a leader. The implicit gender bias
in this country is so deeply embedded, that it’s simply accepted as reality and
that so many people are blind to the disparity in the way the current candidates
are being treated by media because of gender in this 2016, election cycle, is
an indictment of our maturity as a developed nation. If the integrity of journalism were a
priority, most of the press corps would be fired for their unprofessional behavior
up to now.
That an unscrupulous, narcissistic,
egomaniacal, racist, know nothing braggart, can even be considered a serious
candidate for president of the United States, is the second most embarrassing
political event, in my lifetime, the first, is the pass Trump is getting from
our so called media professionals.
Make no mistake, Sarah Palin is a thorn in
American politics and I would be willing to help her pack, if she would move
away from Wasilla, but Donald Trump is more of an embarrassment on the world
stage, than Palin ever was, but then, of course, Trump is a man.
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