7thriv

I wasn't going to write about the Sarah Palin - David Letterman war, but this post by Andrew Sullivan that just popped up on my "Sarah Palin" Google Alert was so stupid, dumb, and retarded - "Stumbtarded," if you will - that I had to comment:

It's getting worse. This is a classic:

"The Palins have no intention of providing a ratings boost for David Letterman by appearing on his show. Plus, it would be wise to keep Willow away from David Letterman," PalinPAC spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton said Wednesday.

So Letterman is a child abuser for making a tasteless joke? But the surrealism and narcissism of the Wasilla nutcase is what stands out:

"First, remember in the campaign, Barack Obama said, 'Family's off limits. You don't talk about my family.' "And the candidate who must be obeyed, everybody adhered to that and they did leave his family alone. They haven't done that on the other side of the ticket and it has continued to this day so that's a political double standard."

So brandishing a special needs infant as a campaign prop was putting your family off-limits? Pushing your own daughter into the klieglights to divert attention from your own fantastic lies is family-protective? Pushing Bristol Palin into an absurd abstinence campaign to gin up support from the Christianist right is looking after your kids? Palin reaps what she sows. And she clings to any whisp of victimhood like the attention-starved celebreality star she really is

First off, I would like to see Sullivan walk up to Todd Palin at a bar and say that to his face. He won't, of course. He's a whiny ninny who doesn't understand one of the basic rules of manhood: i.e. speak your mind, but don't act surprised when you get your a** kicked. Most progressive "men" are like that. That's why they hide their cowardice under a veneer of hip liberalism. Oh, I forgot, Sullivan is a "conservative." Impossible. True conservatives would never write about Gov. Palin, or any GOP politician in the manner Sullivan does (and, as long as we're being hostile and judgmental, Sullivan shows himself to be an almost comically stereotypical prickly, emotional gay man who is irrationally hostile towards women).

More important, nothing Sullivan has written on this matter makes any sense.

1. "It's getting worse." It is?! Palin's coming out of this looking re-energized and righteous, while Letterman and his apologists are acting quite defensive and out of sorts. Their Solomonic attempt to explicate his "joke" so as to make it look like it referred to the 18-year old in Alaska, rather than the 14-year old who was at the freakin' game (!) are worthy of a sleazy defense attorney with mobsters as clients

2. "So Letterman is a child abuser for making a tasteless joke." Um, I read the statement Sullivan quotes more than once and saw no reference to child abuse. Calm down, Andrew. You're projecting again. No one's calling you a child abuser.

3. "So brandishing a special needs infant as a campaign prop was putting your family off-limits?" Uh, Andrew, Gov. Palin had a baby. The baby, as you know, is a member of her family. News flash: all politicians bring their families to campaign events. Does this really need an explanation? I seem to recall Chelsea Clinton showing up on stage with her parents back in the Nineties. I also seem to recall that she was "off-limits" at the time. Indeed, she has been "off limits" even as a young adult. That almost sounds like a double standard. Or maybe it's Gov. Palin's narcisism and surrealism.

4. "Pushing your own daughter into the klieglights to divert attention from your own fantastic lies is family-protective?" What???? Which daughter is being used to distract from Gov. Palin's 'fantastic lies?' What lies? What makes them fantastic? I'm afraid Andrew is heading out into the tall grass on this one.

5. "Pushing Bristol Palin into an absurd abstinence campaign to gin up support from the Christianist right is looking after your kids." At this point, I would imagine Sullivan's voice is rising in pitch. Why Bristol Palin's abstinence advocacy has given rise to these sorts of hysterics is beyond me. As if no ex-gangbanger ever went around trying to keep kids off the streets. As if no former drug addict ever wrote about his experiences to set an example of what not to do. As if no former alcoholic ever founded AA to help his fellow sufferes kick their destructive habits. Jesus, Andrew, haven't you ever heard of the Fall and Redemption? It's a pretty basic human story and one that many people relate to. Nice use of the insulting phrase "Christianist," by the way. All true conservatives talk about the dangers of "Christianists."

6. "Palin reaps what she sows." Oooo. A biblical allusion. Must be a conservative!

7. "And she clings to any whisp of victimhood like the attention-starved celebreality star she really is" Gov. Palin was in NY for three things: to visit little Auburn, NY, which has an Alaska connection (and where she was joined by a crowd of 20,000); to attend an autism fundraiser; and to go to a Yankees game. Oddly, only the Yankees game seems to have attracted any interest. Gov. Palin is also (you might want to sit down, Andrew) the Governor of Alaska. Do you know what governors do? They make public appearances! Really, I'm not joking! As for clinging to her "whisp of victimhood," I'd say what she is doing is pushing back against the media attacks against her and her children in a manner that is sadly uncommon among GOP ranks. Maybe that's what offends you so.