McCain has picked his cabinet! Picture here

[jpertello]

[rurallib]

1. ROFL!!!

[oldtime dfl_er]

2. LOL

That's hilarious!!

[Fox Mulder]

3. Haha.

[TheCowsCameHome]

4. McCain to his GOP cronies: "Gentlemen, swallow your Viagra"

[ThatsMyBarack]

5. ...

:rofl:

[Liberal Gramma]

6. Shoot! There goes my chance!

I know it wasn't a great chance since I'm a Democrat, but if you're going to insist on beauty queens......

[DutchLiberal]

7. So it's allowed to crack one sexist joke after another, as long as we are the ones doing it?

:puke:

[dchill]

9. That's not a sexist joke...

it's an incisive political observation. Eye of the beholder, I guess. :shrug:

[DutchLiberal]

13. How is reducing a governor and running mate to 'just' a bikini model...

"an incisive political observation"?

[Liberal In Texas]

27. Bikini? Looks like dresses to me. n/t

[dchill]

34. There was no Bikini Atoll!

:shrug:

[DutchLiberal]

39. Oh, get over it, 'bikini model' is just an expression. You get my point, don't you?

Or were you *really* confused when you realized the ladies weren't wearing bikinis?

[dchill]

42. I "get" your point...

I just disagree with it. Pointing out sexism is NOT sexism. I don't confuse easily. Try to figure out whom you are insulting, and who is insulting you.

[progdonkey]

11. sexist?

The post is making fun of McCain for picking an underqualified, inexperienced former beauty queen, almost primarily because she's a woman and former beauty queen. It's satirical.

Those models are not the real punchline.

[DutchLiberal]

14. It's sexist to reduce a female governor and former major to 'just a bikini model'...

Because that's what this "joke" is doing.

[progdonkey]

25. but now you're insulting those models... (and making up quotes)

How do you know those models don't have PhD's but they're just modeling because they can make some extra money at it and it's respectable?

The point isn't that Palin's "just a bikini model" (Who said that? I didn't, nor did the OP; besides, they're not in bikinis.), it's that McCain chose her because she's a good-looking woman and for little else--because there's little else she offers. Being the mayor of Wasilla, pop. 9,000, does not qualify you for national office, and being the governor of the 48th most populated state does not make you qualified to be VP. She has no other qualifications at all. She knows nothing of foreign policy--or really national policy, for that matter--just that we need more guns, less taxes, more drilling, and more babies.

That's the point: if McCain's going to pick an unqualified, good-looking woman because she's a good-looking woman, why not fill his cabinet with other unqualified women because they're women? The joke is that any of those models would be just as good a VP as Palin and fit the bare-minimum criteria that she obviously was subject to--and who knows, if you picked the right one, instead of a $1,000,000, you might get a woman who graduated from Harvard with a Masters in International Relations after interning with the mayor's office of Los Angeles, which would sadly make her FAR more qualified than Palin.

[DutchLiberal]

36. You're right about about McCain's reasons to pick her. However...

in spite of that, this 'joke' *still* reduces a female governor to 'just a model' (and that's not an invented quote, but it's my way of making this point clear), because it suggests a women who looks good, like Palin (or such is the communis opinio) can't ever be smart enough to be qualified for VP...

The fact that in case of Palin this is actually true, doesn't make the joke any less sexist.

[progdonkey]

47. I don't think the joke suggests that at all...

I don't see it as insulting to the women in the picture or even to Palin, but simply saying that they're just as qualified as she is--and could in fact be more so. We just don't know--and neither did the McCain campaign, nor did they care. The only sexism present is on the part of the McCain campaign for making being a woman who looks good the prime criteria.

I see the primary target as being McCain, not Palin. As I said in my earlier post, you don't know if any of those models might actually be Ivy League graduates with extensive qualifications, but who just happen to model at the moment because they're good at it.

Just as people seeing those models don't care if any of them speak three languages or are Rhodes scholars, McCain didn't care if his VP was really qualified. He just wanted a pretty woman. So, if that's his criteria, if he were picking a cabinet, why wouldn't any of those women be qualified when they meet the only real criteria he had for his VP, which is much more important than any cabinet member?

Context is all-important, and in a different context, I could see the exact same post being absolutely sexist. That context, though, would be if Palin had the pedigree of Hillary Clinton or Barbara Boxer, etc., and who just happened to be a former beauty queen and a woman, but the poster was reducing her to nothing but a pretty face. The key difference, though, is that in that case the poster would be the one diminishing her, whereas in this case, her VP qualifications can't really be diminished, because she has none. The thing is, she is nothing but a pretty face (though, one who shares the same batshit insane religious and political beliefs of another group he's pandering to; her one other "qualification")--and McCain chose her to be his VP! So that's the real context: a pretty face with no qualifications is what McCain has chosen for his VP--what's his criteria for his cabinet, then?

To use another example, say there's a female anchor on Fox who's saying something extraordinarily stupid (difficult to imagine, I know). If someone says she's only on TV because she's got nice legs, is that sexist? Not if it's true--and the person saying it can point to her stupid comments and lack of qualifications to prove that the only real reason she's on TV is because she's got nice legs. Now, say that instead it's Lara Logan, who's as smart and courageous as she is hotter than hell, but someone reduces her to "just a pretty face." That's sexist, because it's demonstrably not true. If Lara Logan were butt-ugly and a male, she'd still be a star journalist (hell, she'd likely have had an easier time of it); if that Fox anchor were butt-ugly and male, she wouldn't have been on Fox; and if Sarah Palin were butt-ugly and male, she wouldn't have been picked to be VP. McCain had just as much reason to pick her as he'd have to pick any of the women on that stage, and that's the point.

Last thing: you mention in other posts that she's a governor, so that's got to count for something, but she's the governor of Alaska, with a population of 600,000, and only for two years, with her previous experience being the mayor of of a town with a population of about 9,000. And when you read about the situation of her election, the main reason she got in was because she was a Republican who was new. It's a heavy Republican state, and they didn't want to cross over, even though they were sick of corrupt Republicans, so when she came along promising to end corruption, she was a welcome choice. It seems, though, that she's just as corrupt as anybody else there.

El Paso, Texas, has about the same population as Alaska. Would you say that someone who's single qualification is being mayor of El Paso for two years is qualified to be VP (and highly likely to have to take over as POTUS)?

[jpertello]

49. Thank you

Yes, that was entirely my point. If his VP pick was any qualified Republican woman, even if she subscribed to the same half baked neocon right wing agenda as him, I would not have made the joke. Hell, even Condi Rice would not have provoked this comparison. But Gov. Palin is supremely unqualified to be president! And the specter of grim death hanging over John McCain like a large wet blanket makes the thought of Sarah Palin sitting in the oval office saying "Yup, yup, sure! So what exactly does the president DO all day?" terrifying!

I would never make a joke like this about a newscaster or public figure of the stature of Maria Bartolomeo, Leslie Stahl or Kay Bailey Hutchison (a lawyer and former Chairman and now Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense)*. I name 3 attractive very accomplished women of various ages to prove that I (also a woman) am NOT sexist and would even have accepted a President HR Clinton because she is obviously an extremely smart public servant with an encyclopedic knowledge of health care reform and many many other aspects of government which would've made her a very qualified leader. I am backing Barack Obama as I have done for many months because, among many other reasons, I relate more to his fundamental approach to foreign policy and am awed by his overall prescient judgment. I feel that he made a fine choice of Biden for VP. However, this choice by McCain to choose not only an untried untested individual with no national or foreign policy agenda, and a person who subscribes to some shallow minded obtuse theories on women's rights proves that he underestimated the intelligence of American women (so it is HE who insults women!) and has clearly illustrated to any Americans who may have entertained the notion of voting for him that HE HAS POOR JUDGMENT.
The selection of Gov. Palin as VP is a mystery. And I fear that a President McCain would pepper his presidency with a similar potpourri of mysteriously poor judgments.




*source: http://www.senate.gov/~hutchison/bio.html

[DutchLiberal]

53. I'm sorry for misjudging you.

No hard feelings, I hope?

[jpertello]

57. no hard feelings.

A good argument makes coming here worth it. It would get boring if everyone always agreed, nicht wahr?

[jpertello]

58. I meant Maria Bartiromo

[DutchLiberal]

52. Hmmm... interesting. I see your point now. One thing I disagree with, though:

You convinced me with your examples. As I've said before: 99% of the time I don't buy the 'sexist' theme, but in this case I thought it *was*. Until you proved me wrong... :)

But I disagree with you on this:

"you mention in other posts that she's a governor, so that's got to count for something, but she's the governor of Alaska, with a population of 600,000, and only for two years, with her previous experience being the mayor of of a town with a population of about 9,000."

Now, isn't it true Tim Kaine has only been a governor for a few years, yet he also was on Obama's short-list for VP? And a lot of people on DU were excited about him. Also, my pick in the primaries was Dennis Kucinich. He's 'only' a Congressman and he 'only' represents the 10th district of Ohio. Still, I think he would have been the best choice. So, numbers don't mean everything.

[progdonkey]

55. yay! :-)

Nice to know I was able to convince you. :pals:

Regarding Kaine, though, the numbers support his having some right to be on the list. He was mayor of Richmond (pop. 200,000) and now governor of VA (pop. 7.7 million), which is 40 times and 13 times larger than Palin's respective populations. Also, Virginia's quite frankly a much more important state than Alaska (and, no, I'm not biased, even though I'm Virginian ;-) ), with VA having a gross state product of $327 billion to Alaska's $40 billion. (VA has the 12th largest state economy, to Alaska's 45th.) Hell, Washington, DC, alone has almost exactly the same population as Alaska, with a city budget of $76 billion, nearly double Alaska's. (I love Google. ;-) )

I know I was harping on Palin's lack of experience, but that's largely in response to McCain's attacks on Obama as being unexperienced. Someone can have a very short experience record at their job, but still be very competent. The problem with Palin is not just that the job she's had is one of the easiest of all governorships (being mayor of Wasilla really doesn't count at all--her duties there reportedly consisted more of being a figurehead and only voted when the council needed a tie-breaker on town matters), but that there's no indication she has any knowledge (or desire to have knowledge) of the most important issues facing American and the world. She's not just inexperienced, but also incurious.

It's actually kind of funny that you're giving these particular examples, since Kucinich was the mayor of Cleveland before being a representative, and Cleveland itself has a population of 470,000, so it's almost has many people as the entire state of Alaska!

And Kucinich also has the benefit of clearly being someone who thinks deeply about important issues of governance. Whether or not someone agrees with his specific positions, no one can deny that he isn't deeply interested and devoted to the cause of good government. Palin just wants more guns, less taxes, and more drilling.

Think of it this way: there's a huge difference between graduating valedictorian of a class of 150 students and one of 1500 students. Sure, they're both "valedictorians," but the first had much less competition. Yes, Tim Kaine and Sarah Palin are both governors, but being governor of VA is a job with far more responsibility than being governor of AK.

[TankLV]

30. Sorry - the REPUKES did it - this is just a justified response to their PANDERING...

[DutchLiberal]

37. I agree they are pandering, but that is no reason for us to degrade a female governor...

[FatDave]

20. Did it ever occur to you...

..that your definition of sexism may be overly broad?

[Aristus]

26. Hee-hee.

He said 'broad'. :rofl:

[TankLV]

31. stop it! That's SEXIST!!!

[DutchLiberal]

38. That's the usual defense from misogynists.

As I have said in another thread on the same subject: in 99% of the time, I don't buy the 'sexist' claim, but in this case, yes, I think this IS sexist.

[FatDave]

46. You put the "mental" in "judgmental"

You don't know a damned thing about me, so kindly come down off your high horse.

[DutchLiberal]

54. *gets off his high horse*

[tabasco]

45. You must puke a lot.

You're not fooling all of us.

[DutchLiberal]

51. 'Fooling'? Ah, I see, you're one of those crazy paranoid conspiracy DU'ers.

You know, the kind who see a Republican behind each critical post. Haven't seen any of you freepers in a long time. :hi:

[MercutioATC]

8. Yes, but can he trade one in if she's in a car accident?

[liberal renegade]

21. Why drive an old car when you can drive a new one?

[dkofos]

10. Dirty old man

[undeterred]

12. So they'll be as smart as the current Bush cabinet AND better looking.

:shrug:

[Towlie]

15. No Deal!

[jerblaine]

16. I knew this was coming! lol

I just hope America votes against them!! Men need to vote with their big head and not their little one!

I am very liberal and I like women candidates....I love Hillary......I am glad McCain picked a woman......but it should have been Kay Bailey......shoulda seen Kay Bailey being interviewed after the Palin pick.....she was like well i will have to read more about her lol

McCain knows that a hot woman with or without kids can have a huge influence!! just look at the popularity of Desperate Housewives!!

I am so worried!! Liberals need to rock the vote!! We need twice as many that voted in the primaried.....we need 60 million votes to beat them!!

The repubs didnt vote much in the primaried but this girl is going to them voting and if we dont watch it it's gonna be like 00 and 04!!

If Obama wins all the states Kerry won and ADDS COLORADO then he will be president!! so the western states are huge in this!!...assuming Obama wins all the blue states that Gore and Kerry won!!

[Rosa Luxemburg]

17. Best post of the day!

[tridim]

18. Another option..

http://www.clipov.net/pic/robert_palmer+%5Bsimply_irresistible%5D+1988+4-13+deluxe+clear.jpg

[marauding liberal]

19. ha!

[TahitiNut]

22. The only difference between John McCain and an Al Qaeda terrorist is that ...

... John McCain wants his 42 virgins by having America commit suicide by electing him. :evilgrin:

:hide:

[SalmonChantedEvening]

23. I want a job as an Under Secretary n/t

[Kitty Herder]

24. Is this DU or have I stumbled onto some woman-hating site by accident?

[greguganus]

29. Woman-hating? I love those women in that pic! n/t

[TankLV]

33. chill - only in YOUR mind...

[DutchLiberal]

40. Exactly what I was thinking...

[greguganus]

28. Damn, if that's his cabinet, he may get my vote! lol. n/t

[a la izquierda]

32. I think I'm going to pee my pants.

And I nearly sprayed beer all over my keyboard, so you almost owed me one. :spray:

[Stinky The Clown]

35. You'r making a joke .......

...... he wasn't.

[gblady]

41. Hilarious...

thanks for the belly laugh!

[Psyop Samurai]

43. LMAO !!

:rofl:

Damn, I'm starting to get loopy now. I started laughing before the link even opened.

I thought it was going to be another "Viking" joke, though.

[npk]

44. It was a pun

A humorous post to inject brevity onto this historic moment.

[Berry Cool]

48. I think the REAL point of the OP's picture, if I must say so

is that when it comes to McCain, America must say "NO DEAL"!

[ColbertWatcher]

50. Perfect! n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

56. Perfect

[panzerfaust]

59. May vote for McSame after all

Truly - I think that any 26 people picked at random would make a more open, honest, and effective cabinet that any he is likely to appoint.

The original post is, I think, what used to be called 'a joke' (q.v.).

I believe that it is meant to call attention to what was likely a major factor in the choice that those who picked McSame's running-MATE made.