a dangerous political mercenary part2

I hope that as this political serpent slithers back to the white plains of Alaska and retreats into deserved obscurity, Sarah Palin sheds the philosophical skin that helped bring her to international prominence and made her the crown jewel of the homogenous, right-wing extremists of the Republican Party.

I always recoiled when Palin flashed that beautiful yet ghastly smile, for she had terrible storms brewing behind those dark brown eyes. She had malice on her mind and destruction in her heart — destruction of Barack Obama the politician as well as the man himself. She is an unrepentant cultural terrorist who seemed to revel in the discord and animus she was able to awaken and enliven within her fanatical following. She is a talented race-baiter and demagogue — a person who is able to reach into the darkest recesses of the human spirit and stir up all types of ideological and cultural vitriol. Palin executed her role with such bloodthirsty and venomous zeal that it was obvious she was not just regurgitating memorized lines. Her phrases like “paling around with terrorists” and “he doesn’t see America the way you and I do” were not improvisations, to be sure, but carefully calibrated catchphrases designed to hit certain emotional buttons, and her speeches were tailored perfectly to her audience’s prejudices. She is a dangerous political monster who should not be allowed to further contaminate the landscape with her vapid personality and extremely narrow-minded political philosophy.

That’s why I watched with detached amusement as Palin was barraged by a torrential downpour of criticism from within her own campaign camp. This follows the famously tragic interviews with Katie Couric that exposed her ineptitude, incompetence, ignorance and impotent leadership qualities. Let Palin cower in the corner licking her gaping emotional wounds. Hopefully, she will let what happened to her marinate in her mind and heart for a spell. It should give Palin pause before she indiscriminately overturns applecarts with little regard for those on the other side of them. –terry shropshire

Hundreds gathered at Chicago’s Mosque Maryam to hear Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan praise President-elect Barack Obama. After nine months of silence, the revered minister and community icon delivered a speech titled, “America’s New Beginning: President-elect Barack Obama.”

“Congratulations are absolutely in order for President-elect Barack Obama,” said Farrakhan who was greeted with thunderous applause from members of the NOI, as well as community members and media outlets in attendance. “What happened last Tuesday has energized the entire world of man and mankind in a way that [hasn’t been] seen before. The huge crowds that President-elect Barack gathered whenever he [spoke] had never been seen before in any political arena.”

Of course, as a man known for speaking out for the community, Farrakhan stressed the importance of Obama’s win for people of color. “With what we have suffered as a people, it was [in] a way — if not for all black people — a confirmation that God has not forsaken us.”
While political pundits and media outlets scrutinize Farrakhan’s thoughts about the first black president, he spoke eloquently, but also remained firm in his belief that Obama’s success is contingent on the support of his community.

“Now if that brother and the movement he leads can produce a change in this society that will make men more free, more justified, more equal, why would anybody want to fight him?” he asked, challenging his international audience. “Suffice it to say, this man really needs our protection and divine protection. He needs every one of us, especially the 65 million people that voted for him, to ask the question, ‘What can I do to make him a successful president of the United States of America?’ ”

Drawing his address to a close, Farrakhan shared his mission for the “resurrection of black people” and spoke of Obama’s long-term impact on the black community. “President-elect Barack Obama’s rise — more than anything — has given our people in particular, hope. [He’s given us] hope that we can change, hope that we can be better than we are, and his rise has proved that in a very spectacular way. What this man has done is put it in the hearts and heads of all our children [that] we don’t just have to be great athletes, we don’t just have to be great musicians, comedians and entertainers for others; we can be world rulers.”
–gavin philip godfrey