The Inimitable Tiff

The Palin pick was the most crassest, most bigoted decision that I’ve seen in national electoral politics, in my—admittedly short—lifetime. There can be no doubt that they picked Palin strictly as a stick to drum up the victimhood narrative—small town, hunters, big families and most importantly, women. Had Barack Obama picked Hillary Clinton, there simply is no way they would have picked Sarah Palin. To the McCain camp, Palin isn’t important as a politician, or even as a person. Her moose-hunting, her sprawling fam, her hockey momdom, her impending grandmother status are a symbol of some vague, possibly endangered American thing, one last chance to yell from the rafters “We wuz robbed.” Lineup all your instances of national politicians using white victimhood to get into offices—Willie Horton, White Hands, Sista Souljah, Reagan in Philadelphia etc.—they were all awful no doubt. But I have never seen a politician subject an alleged ally to something like this.

Few people I read have been as articulate and fast as Ta-Nehisi Coates during this remarkable week. Yet another post I meant to skim, but ended up reading in detail.