Four years later and folks are falling for the okey-doke all over again. I am convinced that people see what they want and hear what they want despite all evidence to the contrary. How Sarah Palin goes from Sarah Who to the darling of the GOP is beyond me.

Only in America can sarcasm and one-liners win over the American public and electrify a political party. Somehow people have convinced themselves that Palin is the answer and they don’t know anything about her. How is it that so-called feminists and former Hillary supporters are clamoring for her? Are feminists that desperate to have a woman in office that any woman will do? They could’ve picked names out of a hat and come up with a better candidate.

Someone, anyone tell me what has Palin done for the GOP other than show up? She hasn’t uttered a mumbling word of substance yet. The RNC was little more than insults with no direction or vision. I swear, I thought I was watching a Nazi Youth Rally or something. It was propaganda and brainwashing at its best. It will be interesting to see how well programmed she is when she hits primetime.

I am simply mystified that whatever the circumstances, the GOP pulls a Jedi Mind Trick to make people believe it is in line with their core beliefs and not another misstep. Of course, Palin was properly vetted and McCain knew her unmarried teen daughter was pregnant before adding her to the ticket. Unwanted teen pregnancy a shotgun wedding = family values. Seriously?

Is Palin supposed to be a no-nonsense barracuda or a sexpot MILF who is the GOP’s wet dream? I cannot figure out which one it is supposed to be but I suspect this is by design. Her mere presence is a distraction, keeping folks from asking the hard questions. If we are too preoccupied with all of the extraneous bull of whether or not she wears glasses or how she wears her hair, she doesn’t have to address a platform.

Can she run with the boys or not? If she is the tough, gun-toting, moose-skinning pioneer woman of the Alaskan frontier, why is she being treated like a damsel in distress? She’s been cloistered away from the big bad media that is out to get her so she can be properly indoctrinated, right? So which is it—a pit bull in lipstick or a shrinking violet? I guarantee that Palin will be portrayed as a victim if Joe Biden gets the best of her in any of the debates. I don’t even want to think about the fallout if she starts crying….

Bottom line: flippant remarks and sarcastic jokes are not what we need when we are in a recession. We need answers and the GOP gives us snide remarks. I don’t care if pit bulls or pigs wear lipstick; just address the issues and concerns of the people. Is that asking too much?

Cindy Barnes-Thomas