Ahh... THAT's what bugs me about Sarah Palin!

It's election day. Indulge me.

I have been struggling with the whole "Sarah Palin" issue. I couldn't figure out why she bugged the hell out of me. I wouldn't talk about her because people literally go ape-shit when her name is mentioned.

Apparently I don't live near the "patriotic" parts of the U.S. because everyone around me hates her. The reasons they give are sexist, personally insultling, childish and immature (not to mention mean)... so I can't subscribe to any of that silliness. For the record: (1) I believe McCain when he says he's proud of her. (2) I think she is a smart woman (3) I do find her a tad inarticulate, but hell, I respect a lot of folks who are not well spoken, so that's not enough for my fundamental distaste for her, and my FEAR of her as a politician.

Yes Y'all. That woman scares me.

At any rate, Peter Beinart penned an article in the Washington Post yesterday. Good Job man! for seeing past the noise and articulating one of the real reasons the nation has turned on the Alaskan Govenor:

Obviously, her wobbly television interviews haven't helped. Nor have the drip, drip of scandals from Alaska, which have tarnished her reformist image. But Palin's problems run deeper, and they say something fundamental about the political age being born. Palin's brand is culture war, and in America today culture war no longer sells.

Ahh.... that's it. Her political paradigm is out of date. That's why when she presents "Palin on Patrioism" she is coherent, but her ideas don't add anything to the landscape; when asked about the economy, healthcare or foreign policy she can't even put a sentence together. With an issue that partially invokes a culture-war (like taxes) she makes half sense...

Her political perspective is as outdated as her hairstyle.

Sigh... it also explains the qualities that I actually like about the woman (I find her ambitious, spunky, feminine, and competitive.) But that the focus of our politics and the proof of our patrotism must manifest itself in a war with "other" Americans is antithetic to the goal of the current body politic.

In the New World Order there's still a place for identity politics, don't get me wrong. We are a salad afterall, not a melting pot. But the my-identity-is-more-American-than-your-identity-game must stop. The pendulum is on the macro not the micro. We are no longer single-issue-me-me-me choosers; We are national-international-global choosers. So when she rants about abortion, and defines what's truly American; we go, "alright, whatever." But when she explains she keeps her eye on Russia out her window, or "Drill baby Drill," we go, "WHOA!"

She's ten years too late. That she can't even see the disconnect, is also of course, worrisome.

My dear sweet Peter's article also sheds light on my confusion over the Palin-as-the-future-of-the-Republican-party idea. I know some Republicans love her and she's got that cover-girl quality. But the idea fuckin scared me for some reason. It's because her paradigm will just get in the way of our progress.

The economic challenges of the coming era are complicated, fascinating and terrifying, while the cultural battles of the 1960s feel increasingly stale. If John McCain loses tomorrow, the GOP will probably choose someone like Mitt Romney or Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal to lead it back from the wilderness, someone who --although socially conservative -- speaks fluently about the nation's economic plight and doesn't try to substitute identity for policy. Although she seems like a fresh face, SarahPalin actually represents the end of an era. She may be the last culture warrior on a national ticket for a very long time.

A little insight is good.

I'm sure it's not the only reason she bugs me. (her knack for stoking white crowds into bloodthirsty mobs is unsettling.) But it's a good start :-P