Queen Quota

I thought that conservatives were all about individual responsibility, and rewards for hard work - that each person earns their fate. That's their rational for eliminating social services (anybody remember the "welfare queens"?), eliminating taxes, privatizing Social Security, and - most relevant here - ending Affirmative Action. They argue that Affirmative Action promotes those who are unprepared and undeserving. Clarence Thomas wrote that by "lowering the bar", Affirmative Action denies those who strive for excellence on their own merit the sense of real achievement.

So... is there anybody - and I mean ANYBODY, on either side of the political divide - who would claim that McCain would have put Sarah Palin on the ticket if she were not a woman? Even if we grant that her vast experience "commanding the Alaska National Guard" exceeds Obama's experience, not even the most facile Republican could plausibly claim that Sarah Palin has earned the honor and the opportunity that she's been handed. She met a quota of one. Sarah Palin is the mother of all tokens.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both walked through fire for our nomination. They survived the longest, hardest, most visible, and most ruthlessly scrutinized primary campaign in history. One woman. One African American. And through that test they earned the esteem of the nation. Palin, by contrast, was hastily picked, was not even vetted properly, and was parachuted into the Republican nomination just 60 days before the American people must decide whether to let her lead us. Apart from her own shortcomings, McCain's shotgun-ticket should be an embarrassment to every conservative.

But, strange to see, they're not embarrassed. They're all gung-ho for "Palin", "Palin", "Palin".

Facts stopped mattering to hard-core Republicans a long time ago. They still believe that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, and that he masterminded 9/11. But with Palin's nomination it is plain that reason and even self-consistency have now been thrown by the way-side. So, Democrats have nominated a black man for President who fought every obstacle, economic and social, to earn that honor. And Republicans have Sarah Palin, the Affirmative Action candidate.

All hail to Queen Quota.