Both Sides Now

My father just sent me this, an open letter from a Wasilla resident about Ms. Palin, and the flurry of responses that followed.

The letter is interesting and appreciated. Not terrifically enlightening, at this point, but I'm very glad it happened.

It's the responses that intrigue me. First of all, there are a couple of people who casually, easily refer to Mr. Obama as "Hussain" [sic], and one who says "Osama—oops, Obama!" I mean, yes, these are angry people, but I had no idea that had become so common. Which just goes to show, I guess, exactly how much influence Rush Limbaugh has. Then there's the vociferous belief that Obama wants us to be dependent on foreign oil.

There are plenty of leftist, pro-Obama, anti-Palin (have we noticed that anti-McCain, as a concept, has been kind of eclipsed in the last two weeks?) responses as well, of course, but I already knew what they said. Except the mommy ones, I suppose—the "I can't support Sarah Palin because I'M A MOM and a REAL mom would NEVER do what she's doing!" complexes. Which I can't say I am any more behind.

I forget, in spite of my best efforts to the contrary, that I have lived in liberal enclaves ALL MY LIFE. New York City. Chicago. Very brief interludes in Vermont and western Massachusetts. Three months in South Africa, whose majority leadership at that point in time (2003) was substantially further left on a classically defined political spectrum than McCain/Palin (though, to be fair, probably more so than Obama/Biden as well). I know nothing.

To suggest that the media was silent on the Obama-Rezko affair, and to consider Bill Ayers more of a terrorist than, say, Blackwater, seems ludicrous to me. And most likely to all sixteen of my readers. But IT'S NOT LIKE THAT.

The time, I believe, has come for me to really volunteer in swing states. I'm looking on the Obama website for trips I can take. The whole liberal urban elites argument holds some water, and I'll be much better off if I can admit that. But it's certainly not all there is to it. At least I don't believe it is. But it's time I tried to prove it.