Make The Bad People Stop

I fell asleep last night so missed the rousing Sarah Palin speech. I saw it today and it was, as expected, well delivered (if a wee bit sarcastic) and full of lies. It's weird to see someone say something in front of millions of people that can easily be disproved by photos or video footage or voting record. Bridge to Nowhere, anyone? (On another note, did she really actually reveal the exact date of her son's shipment to Iraq?! Is she TRYING to have him killed?! What a fantastic commander in chief she'd be!

Anyhoo, I'm watching McCain's speech now. It's rather uninspiring, but that's not a crime. What is a crime is the past week's revival of the culture wars we lived through years ago. Hating on community organizers? So poor people who sit around and stay poor are lazy. Oh, but poor people who organize (with the help of "community organizers") to better themselves and their communities are--what?--Stupid? To be mocked? "Do Nothings?" Either way, those poor people can't win, can they?

Oh, and Rudy Giuliani, he from New York City where he lives with his THIRD wife in between cross-dressing on TV comedy shows, criticizes Obama for looking down on those who are not "cosmopolitan" enough. How would Rudy--a man who wouldn't live in a 6,000 person Alaska town if it were named NineEleven--define "cosmopolitan?" And why is it bad to like it? And again with the 9-11! His primary concern with the Democratic convention? He heard barely a mention of 9-11! As Jon Stewart says, "every time someone mentions 9-11, Giuliani gets a royalty check."

And all the talk of "small towns" and how the angry left disparages the good people who live there. Newsflash to the Rethuglicans: hard working people live in cities too. And those "small town folks" who serve in the armed forces? A huge percentage of our forces come from the inner cities too. And Mitt Romney deriding the "Eastern Elites." And what would you be, Mitt? A Western Elite? Gimme a break. It makes me sad to see the divisiveness, the clear strategy to not discuss issues, but to make personal "contrasts" with the opposition. It's just frankly depressing to watch.

And don't even get me started on Joe Effing Lieberman.

Okay, back to McCain's speech. If it's 20 minutes long, I'm saying 16 of it is about Vietnam. Also, is it just me, or does the audience seem to be applauding and cheering at inappropriate moments? He'll be in the middle of a line saying, "Many of my fellow servicemen had it much worse than me..." and they start cheering. "These are tough times for many of you..." Wild applause and cheers of "USA! USA!" ** Weird weird weird. And my final note as the speech ends: he just seems terribly uncomfortable delivering this speech.

**UPDATE: Apparently the chanting broke out in response to codepink protesters...

Oh and PS, for those who are challenged in this regard, here's a list of Sexist and Non-Sexist remarks:

Sexist:
How could you do the job of Vice President with 5 kids?
Why did you go back to work 3 days after giving birth to a special needs child?
What kind of mother are you that your daughter is now pregnant?

NOT Sexist:
Specifically what qualifications do you bring to the position of Vice President of the United States?
What experiences have you had that give you the knowledge, skills and abilities to do the job?
You are currently under an ethics investigation. Can you comment on that?
You were for the Bridge to Nowhere for a long time before you were against it. Can you explain that to us?
The town of which you were mayor hired an administrator to undertake many of the mayoral administrative duties. Can you walk us through the reason for that?
If you were a tree, which one would you be?