John McCain is trying to make things easy on us. And I gotta say, as a female voter, I really appreciate it. As you’ve probably noticed, this election season is all about Diversity. And by Diversity, I mean white men realizing they “need to represent” aka “can totally pander to” the hundred-odd million women and black people living in the U.S.
In the past, when I didn’t have the option of voting for someone with sexual organs that resembled mine, I have had to choose a sort of *de facto* candidate, based on things like his voting record, his experience, and his qualifications for the job. Thank god that’s over.
So I can’t express to you the deep relief when I logged on to check the news the other day. John McCain, with his deep compassion and concern for women everywhere, is reaching out to us. And he’s saying, it doesn’t have to be that hard.
So now, courtesy of the McCain campaign*, here is a succinct, honest, hard-hitting graphic that even your average woman will be able to understand:
*not really.
But, as usual with McCain, the damage here is far greater than it seems to be. Whether or not you liked Hilary, this election cycle was shaping up to be a momentous one for women. A long-overdue turning point, but a turning point none-the-less. A qualified, smart woman running against a man on her own merit. It looked like real change.
With his choice of Sarah Palin as Vice Presidential candidate, McCain has not only sent an insulting message that I can only hope any woman seriously thinking of supporting him will now pick up on, he has taken an important, albeit sneaky, step to getting things back on track for the wealthy white males who control the country. They don’t mind women candidates, but Sarah Palin is really more their style. With this choice, the Republican Party has found a way to jump the “Diversity” bandwagon while establishing a role for women in presidential politics that it is entirely comfortable with: the inexperienced, unqualified (but pretty!) woman at the side of the president. She’s like a first lady, only better—contributing sex appeal and novelty votes, not having the experience, will-power or authority to further get in the way.
