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Posted
Thursday, October 02, 2008 3:22 PM
| By
Rachael Larimore
It's been a heck of a month, hasn't it? When John McCain introduced you to the nation, I was immensely excited. You were great at the convention. You're a hit with the base. But I've got to fess up, you're making me uneasy.
It's not the easiest thing to admit. Liberal bloggers have spread falsehoods about you, and some in the media have been questioning you since Day 1. The vicious things people have said about you hit me personally for some reason, and I don't want to dignify them. But the interviews speak for themselves. I don't know what happened between the time you spoke at the convention and when you sat down with Charlie Gibson. But you've been like a different person.
My colleague Emily Bazelon has a thoughtful piece in Slate today about the agony women feel watching you. Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker wants to like you but thinks you should step down. I'm not going to go that far. At least not yet. (And if I did go that far, I'm not sure what I'd do, because you'd probably have to stumble through the alphabet before I'd want to vote for your opponent.)
I'm imploring you. Please bring your A-game tonight. I don't want you to do well just so you can ward off sympathy votes or pity parties. I want you to do well because there are many conservative women who support you or did support you but are wavering. We don't want feminism to be defined by the left, but if you fail, many are going to see it as a failure for all of us who share your ideology. We relate to you. And sure, whenever someone brings up the point that people want relatable candidates, someone fires back saying that we don't want "average joes" in office, we want someone exceptional. Well, what I think most people want is someone who is at once exceptional and likable. Someone who's talented and hardworking and successful but understands what it's like to fret over retirement funds and putting our kids through college. You've got that potential. God knows we've seen your relatable side. And you must have some exceptionalism in there. How else could you have gotten from the PTA to the governor's mansion?
Here are some tips and some things to keep in mind.
You're debating Sen. Joe Biden. In the past few weeks, he's asked a man in a wheelchair to stand up and reminisced about President FDR giving a televised speech in 1929. How hard can this be?
Everyone is making a huge deal out of the fact that you'd be "one heartbeat away from the presidency" if McCain wins. That's a lot of pressure. Well, Nancy Pelosi is two heartbeats away from the presidency, and if the bailout disaster in the House this week is any indication, she clearly doesn't let the pressure make her slow down and think too much.
I don't know what calms you down in times of stress, or if you have any tricks, like picturing the audience in their underwear. But if you need to, imagine that Gwen Ifill is Sean Hannity. Pretend that Joe Biden is former Gov. Tony Knowles. Do whatever you have to. Some of us are still pulling for you.
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