I think far too many men do not realize she is Oprah to soccer moms. She is swinging votes and even issues like abortion. She single handed (imo) has brought the soccer moms back from the dems and the independents. I can not put down sarah palin around any of my wife's friends. She does not seemed qualified for President... but if someone who wants to be elected wants to say that they he will lose half his female voters.
Well said. I got axed at conservativeforum.com for (lightly) bashing Palin. The alpha-hens there came out all guns blazing.
Most ordinary people disconnected from the workings of government are ignorant about how it works, and should work. They only care about seeing their own personalities reflected in the ruling class. What's disturbing is that once some leader comes along that sufficiently apes their opinions they then identify with this leader and a process called introjection takes place. Then they mimic <b>all</b> of that person's opinions uncritically. Sarah Palin is as ignorant as most Americans, but that's her strength -- she doesn't have to ape anything. Now that she's had the balls to keep getting her message out there, most of her supporters start taking up a whole host of other ignorant ideas and causes as their own. Same process takes place with most popular political figures on both "sides" of the spectrum.
Thats exactly what i was getting at originally, most republican candidates wont dare trash her due to the number of votes she brings in, but behind closed doors they dont like her. Like i said before, she is a far more useful tool for the GOP if she doesnt run, as she doesnt have a hope in hell of actually getting elected president. She will figure this out, and the GOP will let her know that come 2012, if they havent let her know already. Thus she can keep enriching herself, off the backs of the stupid liberal media that keeps her in the press day in and day out, and be a big help for the GOP, by playing into the game and pretending she is thinking about running when really i dont think she has any intention whatsoever of actually running.
There are a lot of basically conservative women out there who are put off by the male conservative pols. Palin appeals to them, both because they agree with her and because she is fighting the (male)party hacks. She is an authentic mother too, not like the typical made-for-TV political families. Her family is far from perfect, but they clearly love and support each other. This whole dynamic creates a huge problem for the republican party and potentially the democrats as well.
Introjection is a part of forming one's identity. Transference is about moving your repressed issues with someone onto someone else and then reacting to the second person. I'm no Obama supporter -- at all -- but transference is sorta what I see when certain people (like the birthers) endlessly criticize Obama. They're obsessed with something other than a rational inquiry into his birthplace. Or some people who conceived of Bush as the root of all evil (and I also thoroughly despised Dubya, but not due to transference).
Naw. Foundation for some of the continental philosophy I like to read as a hobby. Something to occupy my mind when I'm in a losing trade (like today!).