Miss Perception

Oh John, Oh Sarah!

I'm beginning to wonder whether John McCain wasn't having another "senior moment" when he chose Alaska governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate. McCain, never one to get caught up in trivial detail - such as Sunni versus Shiite or whether he's got five homes or seven - didn't seem to notice that Saint Sarah, hockey mom of America, has a few stains on her apron.

It seems that, so long as the woman is a political opponent, Mrs. Palin will laugh heartily enough when someone calls that other woman a "bitch", or a "cancer" or just plain fat. As the Huffington Post reports, the Repug veep nominee did just that during a talk show appearance earlier this year that the Anchorage Daily News called, "plain and simple one of the most unprofessional, childish and inexcusable performances I've ever seen from a politician."

"Early on in the conversation before Palin started to crack up, Lester referred to Sen. Green as a jealous woman and a cancer. Palin, who knows full well Lyda Green is a cancer survivor, didn't do what any decent person would do, say, "Bob, that's going too far."
But as the conversation moved on, Lester intensified his attack on Green.

Lester questioned Green's motherhood, asking Palin if the senator cares about her own kids. Palin laughs.

Then Lester clearly sets the stage for what he is about to say by warning his large audience and Palin. He says, "Governor you can't say this but I will, Lyda Green is a cancer and a b----." Palin laughs for the second time.

What were teenage boys thinking when they heard the governor laugh at someone being called a b----? How about the teenage girls who look up to Palin. What did they think when they heard her laugh?

But there is more. Lester then describes Green's chair as big and cushy. A clear reference to the senator's weight. Palin laughs a third time. She's just having a grand old time.

Palin was clearly enjoying every second of Lester's vicious attack on her political rival."

Mrs. Governor Palin later released a statement. "The Governor called Senator Green to explain that she does not condone name-calling in any way and apologized if there was a perception that the comment was attributed to the Governor."

It's sort of like how Mrs. Palin addresses the "perception" that two dozen phone calls from her governor's office to urge the commissioner of Public Security to fire trooper Wooten might be an attempt to twist arms, just because Wooten was in a custody battle with Palin's sister.

It doesn't take too many incidents like this before a real perception emerges and, in the case of this Repug, it's a perception that comes with its own odour.