This was a great read and represents a lot of what I have been feeling lately. Because I am a feminist and an ex-Hillary supporter, I am constantly being asked what I think about Palin. Both her and the media's reaction to her has angered and worried me. We are already seeing the impact she could have on women's rights and on the devaluation and continued societal misunderstanding of feminism. I can hardly bear to think of what will happen next. This has been a nightmare and my optimism is wearing thin.

Word. That parallels what I said on a friend's blog when I first saw that video:

he's enthusiastic because he can construe "the feminist ideal" as something that plays to his personal desires and continued privelege, so the idea that there would be hordes of "feminists" fighting for the chance to conform to this ideal is practically an erotic experience for him.

I think this can be generalized to much of the reaction to Palin, this bizarre dystopia in which Palin is "the feminist ideal." It almost seems as if people aren't even viewing Palin as having a position of real power (otherwise they'd be a lot more interested in her politics, I'd imagine), but rather a kind of "feminine" "power" that consists simply of being hyper-present in the media, carefully modulated to please.

It is interesting that more and more people are noticing that The Handmaid's Tale may unfortunately be more prophetic than even Margaret Atwood had intended. My husband and I were just talking about that the other day. He said that if McCain wins and especially if he dies while in office, that would most likely be what happens. It is so creepy.

Honestly, two political candidates have never given me the willies like these two.

Thank you so much for posting this. I have been feeling extremely depressed about the whole Sarah Palin situation. After looking at the latest poll results I almost lost faith that Obama has any chance at all. I also feel like I've lost faith in the American people and women. Are they really so stupid and so easily fooled? Why are McCain's numbers going up so much? Why is Sarah Palin so appealing? Are people really NOT paying attention to what she stands for?

This is just devastating.

aniri -- I'm not even sure there's any sense to the poll numbers and such. Aside from methodology issues, I think McCain's numbers might be going up just from the sheer attention garnered by all this drama, totally regardless of whatever policies. As long as there isn't something like a sex scandal, any publicity appears to be good publicity at this point :/

"But while the Republicans would have us believe that Palin can simply stand in for Hillary Clinton, there is nothing interchangeable about these politicians."

Because Palin is essentially a blank slate in the public mind, the conservatives in the media have been attempting to paint her as a "feminist."

The best way to counter-act such a construction is to illustrate the stark differences between the issues important to actual feminists, vs. Sarah Palin's positions and actions on these issues.

Their attempt to conflate Palin and Clinton should be received as an insult.

Learn the difference, vote smart.

www.SarahPalinISNTHillaryClinton.com

I feel like you, aniri. I have never been so consumed with an election, and I'm not sure the respect for my fellow Americans will be there should McCain win in November. I'm just praying that more people are overcome with common sense and that those who aren't included in the polls (cell phone only users, for example) are going to surprise the media by voting for Obama-Biden.

Of course, beyond the disappointment, I'm pissed that the media is not busting through the bullshit. I'm pissed that so many people are ignoring the glaring hypocracy. I'm shocked that so many people (some I know, some I've seen on TV) were moved to vote for the McCain-Palin ticket based on her speech at the RNC. What in the hell was moving about it? What policy did she mention that helped you make up your mind? I heard about her kids, her husband, her snark, but nothing that moved me to think of her as qualified or competent to be Vice President of the United States. And how can so many people overlook the fact that she has still not spoken to the media? If she's ready for the job, then she should be ready to talk and quit rehashing that same tired lie-filled RNC speech.

again, i want to step in say it's not time to be discouraged... it's time to step out and campaign... to reach out to people who don't vote or who nominally support the McCain/Palin ticket... because we don't just need Obama/Biden to win... the whole world needs it.

and don't forget that all the house seats are up this election cycle... we need to get the warmongers and social fascists out of office... quickly!

lawl SarahPalinISNTHillaryClinton is droppin some knowledge on us yall!

I loved the points in the article asking where was the support for hillary from her party when she was faced with sexism; "Only after she was good and gone did Howard Dean come out of his cave to squeak about the amount of sexist media bias Clinton faced."

And believe me shit like Palin and the coverage shes gotten regarding faux feminism leaves me anything but discouraged.

You're right, puckalish! I'm going to contact my local Democrats and get moving door to door. We're one of the few families not hit so hard by the economy (I can't find a teaching job but my husband just got a promotion), so along with upping our contribution to the local food bank, we will also be making an additional donation to the campaign.

Jessica,

I share your fear. I am amazed at how the republican party keeps presenting itself as the opposite of what it is,... on every issue!

I am very frustrated because I am ready and willing to do something but I don't see a call for action from the feminist community. That frustrates the hell out of me.

It would be so great if there is a unified thing we can all do to send a message.

I think feministing can take the lead in this one and suggest some unified action we can all take to expose the false image the republican party is putting on, especially when it comes to women's rights and demands.

Please let us know if you come up with something.

ps. Does pailin support the ERA? It might be good to push for this question to be asked of her in the VP debate.

yeah, AlmostAmanda, i've tended to be too disillusioned with this two-party political crap to get too involved in promoting the democrats (living in NYC, i may still vote for the McKinney/ Clemente ticket, as their platform is on point), but the last 8 years have really changed my mind... my partner and i are thinking about doing some traveling over the next several weeks to get out the vote in contested areas... and we haven't done a whole lot of traveling lately because of money issues...

It's nice to see I'm not the only one seeing shades of The Handmaid's Tale in Palin and women like her. She, Schlafly (etc., etc., etc.) actually remind me of a very specific character in Atwood's novel.

In that spirit, here's an idea for a t-shirt/bumper sticker/whatever:

MCCAIN/SERENA JOY '08

Another question I've been pondering:

Do these women who shill for right-wing fundamentalists not realise that they will have totally outlived their usefulness (and, accordingly, be quickly discarded) the minute their maximum objectives have been realised? The disingenuous/naive debate has been going back and forth in my head for years.