We can imagine a presidential election where the candidates' policy positions and visions for the country are so similar that we could all afford to slow our pace and rubberneck our way past the Sarah Palin tabloid train wreck. We could debate whether she ought to stay in Alaska and raise her family and we could sort out which criticisms of her are sexist and why. We could try to fight a hopeless battle against what my sister calls "scandal inflation" -- when there are so many objectionable aspects to someone's candidacy that the "value" of each scandalous aspect is significantly reduced. With all due respect to Ralph Nader, this is not such an election. Rarely, if ever, have the differences between the Republican and the Democratic choice been more stark. And the republicans are doing everything they can to distract our attention from these differences.
Let us stay focused! McCain's Palin pick may have been cynical, but it was neither impulsive nor reckless, but rather clever and calculated. McCain played the media -- and DailyKos! -- like a fiddle, capitalizing on our pathetic schadenfreude and on the ever renewable resource of rumor mill wind farming to fabricate enough interest to get more people to tune in to watch Palin speak than watched Obama last week. This is pathetic. Enough.
Let us reclaim this campaign so that we do not lose sight of what matters:
Ending the needless sacrifices of ordinary Americans in Iraq. Ending the wasteful and corrupt spending of tax payers' money on a war waged under false pretenses and that has served the interest of nobody except the corrupt Bush/Cheney lobby and its Republican henchmen.
Tax breaks for middle income Americans.
Healthcare for every American.
Real commitment to renewable energy.
Saving the Supreme Court from an anti-choice, pro-business, intellectually corrupt majority.
Restoring America's reputation, status and influence in the world community.
Restoring transparency and accountability to government.
These are the things that matter! These are the things that we all need to stay focused on!