No, not literally (yeow, there’s an image I don’t need). Harris had some wonderful commentary in Newsweek on the Republican VP candidate. Of particular worth is the following comment regarding “elitism” in US politics:

Ask yourself: how has “elitism” become a bad word in American politics? There is simply no other walk of life in which extraordinary talent and rigorous training are denigrated. We want elite pilots to fly our planes, elite troops to undertake our most critical missions, elite athletes to represent us in competition and elite scientists to devote the most productive years of their lives to curing our diseases. And yet, when it comes time to vest people with even greater responsibilities, we consider it a virtue to shun any and all standards of excellence. When it comes to choosing the people whose thoughts and actions will decide the fates of millions, then we suddenly want someone just like us, someone fit to have a beer with, someone down-to-earth–in fact, almost anyone, provided that he or she doesn’t seem too intelligent or well educated.

I never understood how people could see the “just a plain guy” image as a positive in situations such as this. I would never want a presidential candidate whose idea of a good time is having a beer with me. I want someone who would be stultifyingly bored by the concept. I certainly don’t want someone who’s just like the average citizen. I want someone who is way, way, way smarter than the average citizen. Otherwise, we might as well use a lottery system for the presidency. Are people really so threatened by the intelligence of others that they’d gladly forfeit their future for immediate emotional comfort?

Michael Medved’s speech at the “Values Voter” Summit in Washington was a wonderful example of lunacy and demagoguery. I’ll bypass the entire concept of a “values voter” to begin with as it implies that there’s a voting segment that has “no values” (even Adolf Hitler had values, just not ones that most sane people share). I caught a chunk of his speech last night on CSPAN.
At one point Medved was discussing the difference between the Republican and Democratic parties. He stated that Republicans agree on the big issues. For example, while there might be some disagreement in the Republican ranks on the details of abortion, such as whether or not exclusions for rape or incest should be allowed, most importantly, all members agreed that abortion is bad and should be banned. In contrast, stated Medved, Democrats believe that “abortion should always be available, right up to the moment before birth”. This is demonstrably false. I don’t know a single Democrat who thinks it would be perfectly OK for a woman in her eighth month to just decide on a whim that she wanted an abortion, which is precisely the scenario Medved has described. Thus, I conclude that Medved is either a liar, sadly deluded, stunningly ignorant, or the victim of mind-altering chemicals.
Medved has simply a created a boogeyman. It’s a mindless caricature of “the other side”. And it works both ways. “All Democrats” are not “evul, librul commies” and “all Republicans” are not “evul, fascist bastards”.
I think a better description might be that many (not all) Republicans agree that abortion is bad and would like to see a day when it is no longer performed. They seek to do this by way of edict: they want to outlaw it. This, of course, ignores reality. In contrast, many (not all) Democrats also agree that abortion is bad and would like to see a day when it is no longer performed. They seek to do this by way of education, contraception, and similar means. This, of course, is not fool-proof, but appears to be more effective overall than a simple ban given parallel examples and human nature.
Either way, Medved remains true to form: the village idiot incarnate.

There’s a great piece over on The Nation by Katha Pollitt regarding Sarah Palin. Pollitt offers a dozen questions that I’m sure will never be asked on a televised “debate” but should.

There have been some particularly inane comments regarding Sarah Palin’s “experience” including this bit of craziness from Steve Doocy of Fox News (and echoed by Cindy McCain a short time later). Applying the same sort of logic, we naturally arrive at the following top-ten list.
10. Alaska is the land of the “Midnight Sun”, consequently, Palin must be an expert on solar energy.
9. The Iditarod race commemorates a rush to supply vaccine to Nome, and therefore Palin has obvious experience with health care delivery.
8. Mount McKinley is the highest peak in North America, and thus the closest point to outer space, so Palin has experience with space exploration.
7. Alaska is twice the size of Texas, therefore Palin is twice as good as any Texan.
6. Alaska has the lowest population density of all states, therefore Palin is an expert on family planning.
5. The famous Yukon gold rush implies that Palin is particularly knowledgeable in financial matters.
4. As the Empire of Japan invaded the Aleutian Islands in 1943, Palin has experience as a “war-time leader”.
3. Alaska is the home of many glaciers, therefore Palin has experience with climate change issues, especially in determining whether or not climate change even exists.
2. Most of America’s wild salmon comes from Alaska, and as it contains significant amounts of healthy omega-3 fatty acids, electing Palin will lower your cholesterol.
1. Palin was runner-up in the Miss Alaska contest, so she has experience in how to be number two.