What America Needs: ‘Politics Without Sex’ – Die Zeit
Exasperation over the standard of debate in the U.S presidential race is definitely global, and in ‘Old Europe,’ this exasperation centers on how sex and religion insert themselves into a debate that ought to be about better public policy.
“What I don’t understand is all the fuss about Sarah Palin. She, the clueless, internationally inexperienced Governor of the pygmy state of Alaska has been chosen by John McCain to be the Vice President of the United States, and all the media can get animated over is the fact that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is expecting a child?”
“Why should I be at all interested in their husbands or wives, their mothers or children?
What does it matter if Palin’s husband was driving drunk, if her teenage daughter’s sex is good or bad, or whether Barrack Obama’s stepfather taught him to box in Indonesia? Why during an out-sized mass-gathering in Denver, do I have to witness Obama’s two little daughters standing in the spotlight waving like little dolls whose batteries are about to run out? Why should whether John McCain and his wife Cindy are happy be relevant?
“As far as I’m concerned, Sarah Palin’s children might not have sex at all, John McCain could be single and Obama’s children could play at home with their slot cars. They could all be bad husbands or wives, frequent brothels and subsequently lie to their families about it.”
By Carolin Emcke
Translated By Ulf Behncke
September 6, 2008
Germany – Die Zeit – Original Article (German)
Carolin Emcke asks why she should care about Palin’s daughter and Obama’s stepfather…
What I don’t understand is all the fuss about Sarah Palin. She, the clueless, internationally inexperienced Governor of the pygmy state of Alaska has been chosen by John McCain to be the Vice President of the United States, and all the media can get animated over is the fact that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is expecting a child?
Sarah Palin isn’t only against to abortion. She’s also against sex-education to schools, which is why, on both counts, it is perfectly obvious why her teenage daughter is going to have a baby. Since Palin is also opposed to sex before marriage, it seems equally obvious that her suddenly well-known daughter Bristol is now going to be forced to marry so that the child – although conceived out of wedlock, will not be begotten in “sin.”
So much for the logic of religious-pragmatic reasoning.
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing translated and English-language foreign press coverage of the U.S. election.
7 Responses to “What America Needs: ‘Politics Without Sex’ – Die Zeit”
Quite a rant. But what's up with the “pygmy state of Alaska” line?
Alaska is the 48th largest state in the US, when ranked by population. You can choose to get emotional about it, but it's a fact: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state…
Davigoli's making me cry!
It's understandable outsiders would view the level of discourse as low, because it IS. Americans should be embarrassed by it too. For example, there is no reason why the Obama campaign needs to go anywhere but policies, issues and records. They have so many advantages in those areas, they don't need to play the McCain distraction game. And McCain is really stretching his hard won honor by engaging in some of the outright lies that show up on his ads. Trust me, it isn't only exasperating for Europe.
I have to agree with, McCain's man, Davis, that issues really don't matter that much. One problem is that politicians lie and mislead about issues, about their stances on them, about their ability to do anything about them, about their relative importance, even about what they are, just as they do about everything else.
Another problem is that most important issues are too complicated in too many ways for people to understand, unless the people have considerable background in economics, law (domestic and international), geology, geography, nuclear fission, etc., so most “discussions” of issues amount to little more than dueling assertions, based on lies, cynical simplifications and fantasies.
Speaking of fantasies, one of mine is, just for fun, to have real, formal, “Resolved…” type debates of issues, where the candidates are the captains of teams of selected advisers, judged by experts in the field. I can't figure out what the winners would get, though.
[...] What America Needs: ‘Politics Without Sex’ – Die Zeit [...]
MLK said that the content of one's character counts. That means that so-called “personal issues” make a difference. What does it say about a candidate who dumped his first wife at the point when she needed him most? What does it say about a candidate who is left of Ted Kennedy on abortion, and arguably supports infanticide? These are questions of character, and they cut to the heart of who should be in the Oval Office. For the record, Sen. McCain at the Saddleback Church event listed his first first marriage as his greatest moral failing. I've yet to see Obama repudiate his extreme views on abortion/infanticide.