New York, 28 Oct 08, 9.45am:
My queasy fascination with Sarah Palin seems to be a perversion shared not only by a great swathe of wet-liberal Gothamites, but most of America. The blogosphere is sick with it — a search produces over 41 million listings with 160,000 in the news category. Cable news is obsessed with her, never mind the entertainment industry. Our New York friend, R, recently entertained some friends including a writer for the New Yorker who, he says, explained her loathing-fascination in similar terms to mine: a gobsmacked, blogsmacked, open-mouthed wonder at everything from her sudden revelation, Venus-like on the pro-life waves of the GOP beach head, to her mind-bending locutions, to her careening fireball passage towards the final site of Republican train wreck 2008. Her utility to the McCain candidacy continues to diminish.
A lovely recent example of her style and substance; one needs the whole quote for that essential Palin effect (try not to think of Tina Fey):
To a whooping crowd in Tampa, Florida:
“This whole thing with the wardrobe, you know I have tried to just ignore it because it is so ridiculous, but I am glad now that Elisabeth (Republican shill and co-host on TV show The View) brought it up, cause it gives me an opportunity without the filter of the media to get to tell you the whole clothes thing,” she said.
“Those clothes, they are not my property. Just like the lighting and the staging and everything else that the RNC purchased, I’m not taking them with me. I am back to wearing my own clothes from my favorite consignment shop in Anchorage, Alaska. You’d think — not that I would even have to address the issue because, as Elisabeth is suggesting, the double standard here it’s — gosh, we don’t even want to waste our time.”
“I am glad, though, that she brought up accessories also. Let me tell you a little bit about a couple of accessories, didn’t think that we would be talking about it, but my earrings — I see a Native Americans for Palin poster. These are beaded earrings from Todd’s mom who is a Yupik Eskimo up in Alaska, Native American, Native Alaskan.”
“And my wedding ring, it’s in Todd’s pocket, ’cause it hurts sometimes when I shake hands and it gets squished. A $35 wedding ring from Hawaii that I bought myself and ’cause I always thought with my ring it’s not what it’s made of, it’s what it represents, and 20 years later, happy to wear it. And then finally the other accessory, you bet I’m a gold — I’m a blue star mom. I’m wearing this in honor of my son who is fighting over in Iraq right now defending all of you.”
