Fun With Politics

I don't know that I have ever watched an entire episode of Saturday Night Live in my life. It's on later than I can usually stay awake and quite frankly, I don't really get or appreciate much of the humor. Today, based on the recommendation of my grandmother, I went online to track down a download of Tina Fey, portraying Sarah Palin on SNL. I have been reading and hearing many rave reviews about Fey's portrayal of Palin, but I hadn't actually watched any of it myself, prior to this afternoon. I have to say, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I guess what I appreciated most was that the people at SNL keyed in on and were able to mock a lot of the instances when as a viewer, I was thinking, "hugh?" just like they obviously were.

For those of you who may not be extremely internet savvy, I have embedded the SNL skit for you to enjoy right here on my blog.





Since we live in Alaska, I guess by default, we have become a bit of a "Palin barometer" for many of you living in the Lower 48. Friends and family are often asking what our take/view of Palin is. After those SNL skits I'm almost embarrassed to offer my personal perspective on Palin, but I've decided to go out on a limb and I am going to voice my opion on all things Palin (I pasted most of this from an email I recently sent to my mother-in-law before I had even viewed the SNL clips). My view is just that, my view. I'm sure some of you may read this and will be horrified at my lack of political perspective, but the really scary thing is, I still get to vote right along with the rest of you on November 4

The Palin question is a loaded one for me. Eric and I really know about as much as the rest of America knows about her. The one thing I know for sure is that aside from being the governor, Palin really does come from and live in middle America. I still don't know who I'm voting for, but that's her appeal to me. Joe Biden can say he grew up in Scranton, PA all he wants, but he hasn't lived like us in I don't know how long. When Palin tells you she lives like all of us and knows what we are all going through I believe her. Her children go to school in the same exact public school system ours do, she and her husband don't live an extravagant lifestyle, and her house is not any fancier than yours or mine.

I do not think Palin is perfect. I think she has made an error or two in judgement (specifically Troopergate). I think she has looked like a fool in her interviews with Gibson and Couric. I wish that she would have told the world that she reads People and ESPN Magazine and that she doesn't read the local newspaper because they are biased. Instead, she chose not to give Katie Couric an answer, and by default, made herself laughable. All of that being said, I do believe that she wants the governement to provide for her family the same things that I would want it to provide for ours. From everything I can see, her family is in a very similar demographic as ours. I don't completely understand politics, nor do I necessarily know what I want from the government, but I do believe that for the most part, Palin could speak on my behalf. I'm not with her on some topics , but I have to look beyond that and look at the bigger picture.

Like I said, I have no idea who I'm voting for and I probably won't know until I walk out of that booth on Nov. 4. I haven't always given Palin the benefit of the doubt. I wasn't thrilled when McCain brought her on board. Ironically though, as time has passed, Palin's inovolvement in this election has made my decision even more difficult. I am drawn to the fact that she seems to be a lot like me, and that makes me feel like she would want for this country the same things that I would want.

Enough said...

All Palin All The Time

To know me is to know that I am pretty conservative, perhaps to a fault sometimes. I usually vote as a Republican down party lines. Despite what my dad will tell you, I think our country is in a pretty pathetic state and continues to be on a downward spiral. I feel like this country desperately needs change. I don't know which candidate is the answer for our country, but I certainly know that the status quo is not the answer for me! I also know that I will not vote for McCain simply because he has a woman on his ticket. I need substance and clarity from one of the candidates before I will know who I am voting for. Wish me luck with that!

Having said all of that, it seems to be very exciting for the state of Alaska that our female governor is running for Vice President and the state is now directly involved in November's election. Anchorage is buzzing! Friday night we went to the Alaska State Fair and by the time we got there (around 6:00 p.m.), people were already walking around with their McCain/Palin '08 t-shirts on. Let me tell you, the money-makers don't waste any time! Our local newspaper, The Alaska Daily News, has practically been cover to cover with articles about Sarah Palin since Saturday morning. It has certainly been all-Sarah-all-the-time for the past several days. If nothing else, Friday's news successfully gave Obama's campaign, in the great state of Alaska, a t.k.o. The way I call it, McCain just earned himself 3 electoral votes overnight. 3 electoral votes may not seem like that big of a deal, but until Friday, they were 3 votes that were very likely going to go to the democratic party for the first time in many years.


In the few days that have passed since McCain's big announcement, I'm sure we have all learned more about Sarah Palin and her family than many of us would ever care to. I'm certain I wouldn't want the world to look into my family with a magnifying glass. I don't know for sure, but I can't help to think that because we live in Alaska we are perhaps more inundated with McCain/Palin stories than even all of you in the Lower 48 are. Square footage aside, Alaska tends to be very small town.

In fact...

I have to say, my personal favorite by way of bombshells has been Palin's daughter's pregnancy. It is my favorite disclosure, not because of the circumstances, but because several months ago (while visiting with several neighborhood women) I had heard "the rumor" that one of Palin's daughters had been pregnant with Trig and that the Palins were claiming him as their own. I did not know if either of her daughters was currently, or had ever been pregnant, nor did I care. I just thought the whole notion was preposterous! Too many people would have to keep their mouths shut for the rest of their lives, in order to pull off a whopper like that. It would never happen, someone would eventually blab.

Imagine my glee when the news broke yesterday morning that Bristol is in fact pregnant and that Palin went public to curb rumors about Trig's legitimacy! In a wierd, twisted way, I felt like I had sort of been privy to a dirty little secret before it had been made public. To me, the most entertaining part of all of this was reading the McCain camp claim that the Obama camp started the rumor. I am not generally "in the know", especially relating to politics, but I can pretty safely say Obama's camp did not start "the rumor". Now, they may have perpetuated it or brought it to the public light, but they did not start that rumor. When I first heard about it, Obama and McCain hadn't even been nominated and most of the nation had never even heard of Sarah Palin.

hmmm...