Natalia Antonovna says it better than I did:
Sarah Palin not an elitist? From where I stand, she’s as elite as they come. The fact that she hasn’t used her privilege to learn something about the rest of the world is not a compliment to her. I have seen Alabama housewives who scrimped and saved for a trip abroad with their kids pause in front of a Da Vinci in sheer wonder – are you telling me that Sarah Palin is better than they are?
There are things to be said in favour of Sarah Palin – the simple fact that she has managed to juggle a political career with having five kids, all this in a day and age where childcare is still considered to be the primary responsibility of the woman, is terrific.
What you can’t compliment Sarah Palin on is her profound lack of depth wherein national and international politics are concerned. You can’t sugarcoat that with “well, at least she’ll be at home in Applebee’s” rhetoric. THE WHITE HOUSE IS NOT AN APPLEBEE’S. Why does anyone even need to point this out?
…
Oh, but I’m the evil elitist who can’t talk about what is happening to our country? Sure, I have a diploma from Duke University. I’m proud of it too. I worked for that. My parents worked for that. I have the student debt to repay for that – but hey, at least I stuck it through, even when it got really tough, my junior year especially. I did what was right for me: I took my education seriously – and gosh darn it, that is just wrong! We don’t celebrate academic achievement in this country, there’s no room for that high falutin’ intellectual curiosity pinko commie islamofascist satanist mumbo jumbo!
Can place Pakistan on a map? You’re just one of them liberal elites then, shut up and know your place.
Oh, and if you missed the VP debate and were planning to watch it, just watch the Saturday Night Live skit instead, it’s shorter.
3 comments
6 October 2008 at 4:41 am
don
I don’t know Megan. I read Natalia’s piece yesterday and I really enjoyed it, but I don’t really see Palin as an elitist. Perhaps I have too much in common with her.
I come from pretty much the same place as Palin. I’m only a sort distance from Sandpoint Idaho and not far from where she first went to college. My mom and grandparents lived in Sandpoint. I know lots of people who left here and moved to Alaska like her family did. We actually almost moved to Alaska.
My parents took me different places on vacation when I was young but like Palin I never (really) traveled. It wasn’t because I wasn’t curious. Every time we went anywhere it was so much nicer here in the northwest I just wanted to come home. I’m not kidding It’s really nice here and people don’t want to leave. (I’ve thought about blogging about this.)
We were lower middle class at best. Actually most people when I was growing up didn’t have much. I was lucky as my dad worked for the Forest Service. Most people worked in logging or something like that. There was a lot of poverty.
I’d be a total redneck had I not gone to liberal arts school. (I fight it. It’s a constant battle… :) I totally come from where Palin comes from and I’m pretty sure I understand her. I’m very sure… Fundamentalist Christian I’d agree to. Redneck most likely. But elitist?.. Just beause she recently became governor of a sparsely populated state and has expensive glasses doesn’t make her an elitist. And I’m not seeing the privileged thing either. Privileged to live here in the northwest perhaps.
Sarah puts the red in redneck. Believe me. But elitist she is not.
6 October 2008 at 10:11 am
megancase
Well, I don’t necessarily agree that Sarah Palin is an elitist. But I do think it’s pretty disingenuous for the right to sling the word “elitist” at anyone who manages to get an education, travel, and be a little bit informed about what is going on in the world.
7 October 2008 at 4:35 am
don
I see Palin as a right wing polulist, but even David Brooks is unhappy with the choice of Palin and has recently predicted the demise of the republican base in the so called heartland. Now I’d agree with Natalia if she’d said David Brooks was an elitist. Perhaps she did, I can’t remember.
The situation with Alaska senator “Uncle” Ted Stevens makes me wonder about the nature of politics up there. Stevens and Palin are both well liked in Alaska according to my Alaskan friends. It reminds me of the song Sweet Home Alabama. Where they loved the governer too. Wasn’t that George Wallace…? (The pro-states-rights, pro-segregation dixiecrat..)
This states rights thing and less government in our lives,. I’m almost thinking Palin might be more of a separatist. Her husband’s “religious” associations might suggest it.
They’ve faulted Obama for is associations,.. Now he associates with “domestic terrorists”. What if Michelle Obama had belong to a church that wanted to suseed from the union? I’m sure we’d have heard a lot about that. But Todd,.. somewhat harmless I guess.