Running Like A Girl
why joe biden will be expected to go easy on Sarah Palin
2008-10-02
By Terry Glover

Pass the Orville Redenbacher and break out the libations – for one TiVo-free moment, America will be tuned in to the appointment-TV event of the season tonight. The vice-presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sara Palin should, by all accounts be a bloodbath: small potatoes Palin, who has managed in the past month to go, in no short order, from feminist change agent to Pentacostal punchline, sparring with the crusty unbridled mouthpiece that is Joe Biden.

All things being equal, Biden would have no problem crushing the ill-equipped Palin, scoring handily on points of experience, expertise and his grasp of basic sentence structure. Things, however, are by no means equal. Despite protestations to the contrary, sexism is alive and well during this campaign, and it’s coming from those of us who claim to want it least:

Those undecided women who supported Hillary Clinton and are clinging to the notion of a woman – any woman! to carry on their dream of pantsuits in the Oval Office.

The hockey moms and soccer moms who want Palin to have it all and be it all, loathe to admit that, with a family of five and a super power to co-manage, something’s gotta give.

Both McCain and Palin should be drawn and quartered and tried for high treason. McCain knew at the outset his reasons for choosing Palin as his running mate had everything to do with going for the low-hanging fruit of conservative voter frustration, and zero to do with “Country first.” Palin knows now, as she knew then, that she is not qualified for the office she seeks, a fact made more apparent with every cringe-inducing interview. Her conservative values sealed the deal, but it was her gender that got the ball rolling.

Don’t get me wrong: It is human nature to seize upon an advantage when one is presented. Even Hillary (who I’ve come to appreciate a great deal more in light of Palin’s ascension) tried to play the girl card and work up a tear or two in New Hampshire. But it didn’t play well, and, in all likelihood, didn’t feel right to the woman who once dissed the very notion of Betty Crocker. And she was right to reject it: It is our responsibility, our duty, even, to not allow such distractions to impede the political process.

And that includes the defensive posturing designed to shelter Palin from those that would do her harm, namely anyone looking for a coherent position on topics hanging in the balance for the next administration. McCain’s risky pick that once seemed to underscore his “maverick” status now seems merely reckless. In an effort to correct his blunder, his camp has kept Palin relatively mum. But, rather than opting for such a paternalistic solution, Palin should have been out there getting her chops busted like any other candidate, not being sequestered and shuttled from one undisclosed location to another for fear someone will expect her to answer a question. Sitting next to Palin during her do-over interview with Katie Couric John McCain might as well have been a ventriloquist, injecting excuses and fending off questions aimed at his delicate running mate. Does he order for her in restaurants, too?

Imagine, if you will, a Margaret Thatcher or a Benazir Bhutto or an Ellen Sirleaf adopting a diminutive posture while trying to secure voter confidence. Can’t image it coming from a Maxine Waters, or a Shirley Chisolm or a Nancy Pelosi, either, can you? I bet the gender factor didn’t go down without a fight.

And maybe that’s the issue, the fact that we cannot yet step outside of gender politics, or race politics, or identity politics without a mighty struggle. Obama has had one hell of a time trying to sidestep race. We are still navigating those treacherous waters, still struggling to shake the code that triggers a preconceived worldview. And until we are able to do so, we are doomed to keep acting upon those same impulses.

Joe Biden wants to debate Palin, not date her. He should be able to come out swinging tonight, pressing his case and dismantling hers. Instead he will be expected to spend the truncated time (McCain negotiated a reduction in the duration of the debate) holding back the jabs, pulling punches and acting generally deferential toward Palin because he cannot afford to come off as a bully. I can’t recall a single time when that was an issue between any of the male candidates.

Terry Glover is Senior Editor for EbonyJet.com. She writes about trends, popular (and sometimes not so popular) culture.

View photos from the Anti-Palin Rally in Alaska