Spin...an American Tradition

I'll tell you one thing. I don't say this often, but I have to give it up to the GOP. The last three weeks have demonstrated that the brain-trust of the party is truly capable of spinning absolutely anything. I have three particular instances that are so astonishingly impressive and depressing at the same time.

Exhibit A: The Bristol Palin Pregnancy.

Leave it to the GOP, the party of "family values" to take what - for a Democrat - would be a crushing PR disaster among the religious right and turn it into a shining beacon of conservative values. They have managed to turn irresponsible pre-marital teenage sex and turn it into proof that the Palin family is the standard-bearer for all "values voters" to follow. Please note what I called it - Irresponsible (no protection); Pre-Marital (now they plan to wed); Teenage (she is 17) - that is not a value judgment, just a statement of fact. It is the conservative right that has been attaching moral judgment to those terms for the last 25 years.

This is the political equivilent of Tiger Woods' 350 yard drive. You just can't compete, no matter how well you play. They are playing a different game.

Exhibit B: The Biden "Stem Cell" Remark

No matter how you cut it, Joe Biden is right. If the GOP were truly the party most interested in helping families with disability, they would be more open to stem-cell research. What he said makes such a compelling point that - rather than responding with substantive debate supporting their ban on stem-cell research - the GOP attack machine condemmed Biden for sinking to "a new low" in modern politics.

How dare Joe Biden discuss stem-cell research when Sarah Palin's own child suffers from Downs Syndrome! How dare he properly point out that the Democrats have a significant policy difference from the Republicans on the issue of stem-cell research and that such research has the gasp! potential to help millions of American's suffering with disabilities.

And yet, Joe Biden is the bad guy because he has mentioned the "d-word" (disability) which, now that Sarah Palin has entered the race, is off-limits to the Democrats.

This is incredible work being done by truly gifted political minds. Not policy minds, but political minds. These are the same minds that were so preoccupied with scaring Americans into voting GOP in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006 that they ran the country right into the ground.

Exhibit C: The "lipstick on a pig" Remark

Now we see why Governor Palin was selected to be VP. It was not because her 5-month old child would give the GOP a monopoly on all discussions regarding disability - that was a freebie. It was because any reference made, by any Democrat, which might hint at gender is now a "slap" at Gov. Palin. So sensitive to the plight of women (and pigs, it seems) are the McCain folks that the use of the word "lipstick" brought the ire of the campaign. I'm not sure if they are suggesting that "lipstick" was offensive to put on a pig, or if they felt that Sarah Palin was being called a "pig" - it is unclear at this time.

Either way, this much is clear, the GOP will have NO references to gender in this election year. Unless Arnold is up for reelection in California again, in which case all "girlie-man" references will be wildly embraced by the Republican Party.

All this ignores one major consideration. Barack Obama was making reference to his sense that McCain's "change" agenda is bologna. It was not a reference to Sarah Palin. There were no women (and no pigs) involved in his use of the colloquialism.

When John McCain used the saying last year, however, he was specifically referring to Hillary Clinton's policy proposals.

Hypocrisy - at its absolute best.

Just when you thought you'd seen it all when you watched John Kerry's swift boat sink, Karl Rove and Krew swoop in to shame you into submission once more. For a party that whined and cried about Obama "playing the race card," they sure haven't hesitated to play the gender & disability card since adding Sarah Palin to their ticket.

I don't care what political party you belong to, at a certain point its time to get back on the issues. If John McCain doesn't like his "agenda of change" being characterized as a pig-in-lipstick, perhaps he should present legitimate policy provisions that represent the type of change that voters are looking for. If Sarah Palin doesn't like Joe Biden being a voice for millions of Americans living with serious disabilities, maybe she should respond by presenting proposed changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act or Medicare funding for 24-hour in-home nurses to help working families care for special needs children.

Alas, in this age of 24-hour news cycles and talking points there is no room for substance, and those that dare breach the muddy waters of intelligent debate are blasphemous elitist who clearly don't represent our interests.

To paraphrase one of my favorite sports casters, the late Don Poier, "Only in the movies and in America!"

Stay Tuned...