Skirts, Masterbation and Palin? What?

Apparently desperate for a narrative that can ride on the wildly successful coattails of the Palin narrative, the media has attached itself to Christine O'Donnell, tying her with Palin to cash in on a ratings bonanza. The article below is a perfect example of soft news at its best, emotive and immediate in its impact. NOTHING in the article or any other Christine O’Donnell article of late has given the citizen consumer ANY insight into her political positions on important issues that should resonate with voters in these harsh economic times. Instead of learning her position on taxes we learn that her skirt hitched high and her hair loosely bunned in the back remind the media of their villain dijour: Sarah Palin. Instead of learning O’Donnell’s position on cap and trade or environmental regulations we are educated that her dalliances as a teenager deserve more attention than our own presidents. Remember that Obama admitted snorting coke and smoking weed, but oh yeah..he was just a silly teenager and somehow O’Donnell is Satin incarnate. Why would the media attach O’Donnell to Palin? Well, for starters, how about ratings. Despite your personal opinion of Sarah Palin, she has become a national sensation, creating a brand empire that is now credited with winning races. She also is the embodiment of soft new. She draws immediate emotion. Her stances are clear and unambiguous and create easy, definable targets and her folksy message has resonated with millions and millions of dissatisfied voters. BUT this is not the story told, because it does not fit the more profitable narrative of what lipstick she wares, who her daughter has sex with and religious views espoused by millions of Americans across the land. A hot chick from the woods who rose to fame sells a lot more newspapers than debates on the issues.



Is Christine O'Donnell a Palin 'mini-me?'
New York – O'Donnell may be the Tea Party's latest star, but her fashion sense is reminiscent of the movement's original guiding light. Is the "new It Girl" ripping off Sarah Palin's look?

People can't stop talking about Christine O'Donnell, the unexpected victor in Delaware's Senate primary. The media has confronted the Tea Party-backed candidate with a string of gaffes from the past — her admitted dabbling in witchcraft, her declaration that homosexuals have an "identity disorder" — not to mention her fashion sense, which some say deliberately mimics Sarah Palin's red-suited, hair-tossing personal style. Commentators weigh in:

It's all about Palin: O'Donnell's appearance on the campaign trail has been an "unmistakable homage" to Palin, says Margaret Carlson at The Daily Beast. The controversial candidate "used to be a dead ringer for Elaine on 'Seinfeld,' but now she sports a "bright red suit," along with a couple of other Palin touches, like "bedhead hair and the glasses she doesn't seem to need."

She's a dead ringer: "The Palin [influence] is strong in this one," Jon Stewart joked after O'Donnell's primary victory. "Just give her bangs" and "oh my God!" (Watch Stewart's comments)
Fox News is loving this: The conservative network is pushing O'Donnell as a "younger female Palin clone, who sells the whole right wing clueless cutie, warrior-of-God gimmick harder than Palin ever has been able to," says Jason Easley at Politics USA.

There's a Tea Party fashion code: The similarities are striking, notably the pairing of "ketchup red" suits with pink lipstick (more subtly matte in O'Donnell's case), says Simon Chilvers at The Guardian, but all female conservative candidates have a fairly uniform look. Palin may have popularized a "breed of power-dressing that thoroughly reeks of the 80s," but O'Donnell is hardly her first imitator.

There's one key difference: Bill Maher, who hosted O'Donnell on his "Politically Incorrect" show during the '90s — and was witness to more than one of her head-scratching comments — highlighted one dissimilarity, appearances aside: "Sarah Palin is mean and Christine is not."

Serving Democracy requires the electorate to be adequately informed about the reprsentatives that serve their districts. Nothing could be more important then the electorate knowing "who it is" they are electing. This person is their sole voice in expressing their views to a national institution. Hank Johnson, United States House of Representatives member representing Decatur GA, barely made headlines other than a few talk show jokes, when addressing a United States Naval Admiral with his concerns of Guam "tipping over" due to a couple thousand service men and women being re-stationed there. What the local media did do was cover for his unbelievable stupidity in saying his comments were a joke. You make the judgement for yourself. There is no joke here, just utter incompetence. How is he sitting in a position of power?